Famed Director Francis Ford Coppola: Born in Michigan

One of Hollywood’s all-time greatest film directors was born here in Michigan.

His films include all three Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Finian’s Rainbow, and Dementia 13 (which some bios don’t mention), just to name a few of his long list of movies.

Francis Ford Coppola was born in Detroit in 1939 at Henry Ford Hospital. His father was an assistant orchestra director for The Ford Sunday Evening Hour radio program, sponsored by Ford Motor Company.

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His middle name was no coincidence: because of the radio sponsorship and hospital, his parents decided it was an omen of good luck and dubbed his middle name “Ford”.

Where Did Francis Ford Coppola Grow Up in Michigan?

The Coppolas lived at 17540 Kentucky Street in Detroit suburbia. Among a good number of successful showbiz relatives, Francis’ younger sister is actress Talia Shire (‘Adrian’ in the Rocky Movies) and his nephew is actor Nicolas Cage.

When Francis was two years old, his father was bumped up to principal flutist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, led by respected conductor Arturo Toscanini. With that too good to pass up, dad moved the whole family to New York – Queens, to be exact, where Francis spent the rest of his childhood.

To make a long story short, in his early 20s he enrolled in the UCLA Film School made some student films, tried to make money with nudie flicks, and was eventually hired by director Roger Corman to assist on some productions. From there, Francis directed his first major film, Dementia 13, which became a cult classic.

After a few more films through the 60s, he finally made his major mark with The Godfather in 1972. And he was off and running...

Scroll down to see a gallery which includes photos of his childhood home in Detroit...

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