Harrison Ford's bit part
Eight years before Star Wars, Han Solo tries to make a living
Alex Q. Arbuckle
Nov. 24, 1969
In his final semester at Ripon College in Wisconsin, the young Harrison Ford decided to try his hand at a drama class as a way to overcome his natural shyness. After college, he moved to Los Angeles and landed numerous uncredited and non-speaking bit parts in movies and television shows. In the 1967 Western film A Time For Killing, he was credited for the first time — as Harrison J. Ford. The “J.” was an invention; Harrison Ford was already the name of a famous silent film actor who had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.In 1969, the 27-year-old Ford appeared in a segment on the ninth episode of the anthology comedy series Love, American Style, playing the character of Roger Crane opposite Jenny Sullivan, Carl Betz and Dana Wynter. A few years later, Ford was so frustrated with acting that he quit and became a carpenter to support his family. He did manage to snag an audition for George Lucas’s 1973 film American Graffiti, in which he played the part of Bob Falfa. His performance netted him a job reading lines for Lucas’s next project, a little film called The Star Wars. His charisma won Lucas over, and he cast Ford as the interstellar scoundrel Han Solo.
