River of No Return: Tennessee Ernie Ford and the Woman He Loved

Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (7/08) Jeffrey Buckner Ford has written an amazing book on the inside of his family's life from the beginning of his dad's start to fame to the downfall of the family. While most of us think that the rich and famous have no problems, Buck Ford shows us that is not true. Tennessee Ernie Ford started his career as a radio announcer in Knoxville, Tennessee. As Buck recalls, his father always said he didn't go looking for fame; he just fell into the business. In 1942 he married Betty Ford and had planned on a quiet, simple life. Into the marriage came Buck and Brion Ford, who thought their family was the greatest. Although the boys did not always seem to fit up to their dad's standards, they still loved him greatly. During the course of the marriage, Betty Ford became very friendly with the bottle; this gave her the courage to say the things she felt she should say without any apologies. Over the years her drinking would increase, she would abuse prescription pills and verbally lash out at anyone who stood in her way. Her behavior was never addressed in private or public. The relationship with her husband turned sour. After many suicide attempts and embarrassing behavior in public, it took its final toll. Tennessee Ernie Ford was a kind gentleman; he had a style of his own and everyone wanted a piece of the action. Little did he know that his advisors were steering him in the wrong direction. After several failed businesses and selling his property, it finally got the best of him. After his wife died, he married Beverly Wood Smith, three months and ten days after burying Betty Ford. She was not what she portrayed to be. She immediately took over all Ernie Ford's business projects and left his sons without any knowledge of what she was doing. When Tennessee Ernie Ford died, she didn't even let them know where he would be buried. "River of No Return" by Jeffrey Buckner Ford is a very interesting story if you like to know the personal background of the Ford family. It covers the ups and down's of a stars life. I personally thought it was well-written, easy-to-read and a page-turner. However, I would like to remember Tennessee Ernie Ford as the icon he was.

Ernest Jennings Ford was at heart a family man devoutly devoted to his wife and two sons. At the very peak of his Hollywood success, the man who will forever be known as "Tennessee Ernie" Ford, the radio character he created for himself, decided to walk away from all the glamour because of his concern for what the Hollywood lifestyle was doing to his family. The great irony of his life is that Ernie Ford would die in October 1991 under the care of a second wife who was determined to deny his two sons any part of his legacy, financial or otherwise, a woman who even tried to deny them access to their father's funeral. In River of No Return, Jeffrey Buckner Ford, eldest of the Ford sons, mixes his fond memories of growing up next door to Bob Hope and of the several successful television series that his father hosted with sad recollections of how alcohol and pills ended up destroying both his parents. He speaks frankly of the addictions and dissatisfaction with her life that resulted in his mother's suicide after several earlier attempts had failed, and he speaks just as honestly of how his father failed to do the things that might have saved her life. Perhaps saddest of all is his disclosure of how Ernie Ford's decision to protect his sons by moving them from Hollywood was doomed to failure because of what the boys witnessed in their own home, wherever it might be located. Betty Jean Heminger met Ernie Ford when he was stationed at Victorville Army Air Base in California, where she worked as a secretary; she was only nineteen years old when they married. Betty Jean, an avid reader and an accomplished artist, was at first content to be labeled simply an entertainer's wife but, as the years went by, she seemed to grow frustrated with her role, turning to alcohol and drugs to get through her day. Ernie and her sons sensed when she was losing control, but though they did their best to protect her from herself, they were not always successful. As the couple grew farther and farther apart, Ernie turned more often to alcohol to ease his own pain, a decision that would eventually lead to liver disease, severe memory loss, and ultimately his death. But River of No Return is not just about the bad times. Jeffrey Buckner Ford celebrates the good times as well, and his pride in and love for both his parents are evident. He remembers the times when being around his parents was sheer joy, days spent on the set of his father's television shows, his brief encounter with Bob Hope when he crawled through the hedges dividing their property in order to sneak a picture of Mrs. Hope, whom the neighborhood boys insisted swam in the nude in her backyard, and days spent basking in "celebrity" as only the child of famous parents can. Ernie Ford was a spectacularly successful entertainer, a man with the voice and talent to sing any style of music but who, almost by default due to his "Tennessee Ernie" image, became best known as a country music singer. At the peak of his

The Tennessee Ford Shows were regular viewing events around our home when I was growing up (the day time shows and the history making night time show) in smalltown Circleville, Ohio. Ernie's shows represented the tops in tasteful entertainment for the entire family...and we especially enjoyed the courage it took for him to go against network brass, record executives and sponsors to make it fashionable (and very popular) to sing sacred songs. We were especially excited when family favorite Gisele MacKenzie would make an appearance with Ern (between the daytime and nighttime shows, she appeared four times), and became the only artist other than Ernie to sing the hymn of the week, and even did Ford commercials with Ernie! We only had thoughts of what a happy homelife Mr. Ford must have. How on earth did the dark side of the Ford family remain so covered up for all these years!?? I purchased this revealing book with great caution...I was fearful that I'd be getting another 'parent dearest' type book by a disgruntled relative! The book tells the heartbreaking story of a legend and his family and what booze can do to it and how things can become so ugly and out-of-control, like when Ernie's second wife had the legend's children banned from the superstar's funeral. The image of Ernie lying on air port floors, bleeding and drunk was almost too much for me to imagine or handle, but there it is in all its horrific detail. Although I thought I knew much about Ernie's life, I never dreamed that his 'beloved' first wife, Betty, hadn't died of natural causes. Jeffrey Ford masterfully and tastefull tells the dreadfully exasperating story of a broken family living a lie in the public spotlight...I felt his sons' pain...and I experienced personal pain myself as I tried to reconcile the life of the great entertainer and hymn singer with gory reality, along with Mr. Ford's wondrous achievements that won him a place in The Country Music Hall of Fame. Nothing, not even facing the facts of the real Ernie Ford, his family and life, can take away my grand memories of coming home from school on a daily basis to find my own Mother working in the kitchen and singing along with one of Ernie's dozens of sacred albums. He brought us all so much grand entertainment, personal hope and grand memories, while suffering a living hell of his own. Bless your heart, Ernie Ford, and I wish both your sons a happy life. Thanks, Jeffrey Ford, for a most remarkable and informative book.

I purchased this book with some apprehension. Tennessee Ernie Ford's performances on TV and recordings were a staple in my home during my childhood. In 1959, when I was ten, I was asked what famous person I would most like to meet. Without hesitation I answered, "Tennessee Ernie Ford." Hearing him sing hymns of faith still moves me deeply. I was troubled to read of the realities he faced, but I truly admire the author's ability to tell the truth and still honor Ernie and Betty Ford. The Tennessee Ernie Ford of my imagination must now make room for the Ernest Ford of reality. This book has transformed my idolizing into true admiration for a man of complexity and talent.

Tennessee Ernie Ford was one of the world's most beloved performers - 16 tons of talent who could do it all! In this remarkable book, his son Jeffrey Buckner ("Buck") Ford has written a poignant love letter to his parents, telling their story with unflinching honesty and candor.Their journey together as a family wasn't at all what the world thought it was, showing yet again that life is not always what it seems. The highs, the lows, the joys, and God knows the pains are all here - told in an extremely well-written book that's impossible to put down. I guarantee you'll need some extra Kleenex as you see how the pressures of super-stardom and unbelievable success were too hard to bear and changed them all forever. I can't recommend this book highly enough - truly one of the best books I've ever read!