(FILM.) Ripon College yearbook and supplement showing junior Harrison Ford in his first acting role. 160, xvi pages. 4to, original embossed boards with minor foxing; minimal wear to contents, staple-bound supplement laid in with unused strip of adhesive still affixed. Ripon, WI, 1963
The actor Harrison Ford, widely known to movie fans as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, began acting as a student at Ripon College in Wisconsin. Offered here is the 1963 Ripon yearbook, "Crimson," from his junior year; and the 16-page "Spring Supplement to 1963 Crimson."
The supplement has the most compelling images. A two-page spread is devoted to a 3 May 1963 student performance of "The Three Penny Opera," listed on the website of the Ripon Archives as Ford's first acting role, in which he starred as the charismatic criminal Mack the Knife. At least three of these images feature Ford: "The newlyweds and guests enjoy the wedding supper"; "Mack's wives pay him a call"; and (awaiting his execution on the gallows) "The Queen's messenger arrives in the nick of time." We believe these to be the earliest surviving images of Ford practicing his craft, and (as they appeared in a little-known yearbook supplement) they appear to be otherwise unknown.
The main yearbook volume will also be of interest to Ford fans. As a junior, he is pictured only once: in a group shot of his fraternity, Sigma Nu, on page 86 (the center fold passes through his ear). On page 41 can be found Ford's favorite professor, William E. Tyree of the philosophy department. Ford worked Tyree's name into the script of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." While teaching an archaeology course, Jones tells his students "Archaeology is the search for facts, not truth. If it's truth you're interested in, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall."
