[Music] Harrison Ford has long been one of the biggest names in Hollywood but he was lucky enough to have his on-screen debut in a movie starring one of the biggest acting Legends of the western movie genre the figure in question may have been in a role outside the genre he's most known for but it was still a brilliant opportunity for Ford to be part of the same cast the movie in question doesn't come anywhere near Harrison Ford's best movies in fact it can scarcely be described as one of his movies at all but it remains a vital career milestone for the veteran actor Ford has shared the screen with huge names throughout his career and has become an icon himself in that time even in the present day he continues to make movies and TV shows alongside other incredibly successful actors some of whom weren't even born at the time of his debut back in 1966 Ford has been around for so long that it's difficult to imagine the industry without him in it but there was a time when he wasn't quite as ubiquitous Harrison Ford made his movie debut in James Coburn's Dead Heat on a merrygoround his role in the 1966 Thriller explained Ford made an uncredited appearance as a bellhop Harrison Ford as a bell booy in Dead Heat on the merrygoround Harrison Ford's first ever onscreen role came as a bellhop pager in 1960ss Dead Heat on a merrygoround the cast is led by James Coburn embodying a con man named Eli cotch Coburn's name was often a huge draw when promoting movies in which he starred which only highlights even further how Miner Ford's role was in Dead Heat he had very few lines and went uncredited for his brief Performance Ford was in his early 20s when the movie was released but the role was far from a career breakthrough for the young actor understandably Ford's Dead Heat character has very little impact on the movie's plot instead the story revolves around coban's character as he tries to raise funds through nefarious means for a project he'd been working on Eli cotch is not a traditional protagonist but is still the character that the audience is encouraged to root for throughout dead Heat's ending is Bittersweet as while kotch eventually accumulates the money he's been seeking throughout the audience discovers he could have achieved his goal in a marginally less villainous way Harrison Ford's Dead Heat on a merrygoround roll began a career feud in Hollywood a Columbia Pictures executive didn't like what he saw from Ford in his debut Ford's performance in Dead Heat on a merry-go round was criticized by Columbia Pictures executive Jerry tarkovski the actor's delivery as the movie's bellhop was said to be too nuanced for a role that was deemed small and simple tarkovski compared Ford's Dead Heat performance to a similar scene by Tony Curtis and declared the latter to have done a much better job in those particular circumstances the Columbia executive generally doubted Ford Star Quality as a result of the actor's brief appearance in Dead Heat the friction between Ford and tarkovski eventually led to the forers exit from Columbia's new Talent program he also suggested Ford adopt an acting moniker as he described his real name as pretentious eventually tarkovski apologized to Ford in the form of a written note delivered by a waiter at a Hollywood party the note in question simply read I missed So tarkovski eventually admitted his fault of criticizing Ford in Dead Heat and fell in line with the countless others who admire the actor for his talent and endurance Harrison Ford's Big Break wouldn't come until 7 years after his movie debut American Graffiti eventually resulted in further collaborations with George Lucas many people would most commonly associate Harrison Ford with the Star Wars franchise or perhaps the Indiana Jones movies however his breakthrough can be traced to another movie that predates both sagas 1973's American Graffiti is arguably the biggest turning point in Ford's acting career although Richard drau was the movie star American Graffiti gave Ford his biggest role at that time the movie Not only raised his public profile but its director also recruited him for the project that would turn Ford into a household name