- Born
- Died
- Ken Swor grew up the only child of Ewing Farish Swor and Velda in Ventura, California after moving from Arkansas at the age of one month. He played basketball at Ventura high school and was always "one of the small town Ventura boys" at heart. Ken's mother died of cancer when he was 22, which devastated him. Many, many friends of even his grade school days were still his friends till the day he died. He married his high school sweetheart at Ventura high school, who encouraged him in the movie industry. He then joined the army after high school and attended Jr .college at Ventura then went on to Fresno state where he played basketball for the "bulldogs" for the two years he attended till he graduated with a teaching degree.
He became a high school teacher and coach until he took the director's guild test at 32 years of age and scored in the upper 10% which enabled him to begin training as an assistant director. He took his girls on movie sets during summers, and one of his best friends was a fellow worker - Jack Rowe.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous - Ken Swor coached basketball and taught school for many years in the simi valley area. Basketball and baseball thrilled him all his life. He had 4 children, Shelli Swor in 1958 while playing basketball at Fresno State, Stephanie in 1959-60 at Fresno, Stacy in 1962 in Ventura while teaching, (his 3 girls), and then got his only son Michael Farish in 1980 in Studio City. He was a hands on father and grandfather to his children and grandchildren - Katie Faye, Cameron, Rosanna, Blair, Mckenzi, Danielle and twins Luke and Travis. He treated all his family equally and was the rock in the family. Even in the end at the hospital, he didn't want anyone to worry and said he would "Let Go and Let God". At his memorial, all his childhood, high school, and college friends got up and told stories of his wry sense of humor, his humble old fashioned ways, and his mischievous ball playing days. He affected everyone who ever met him, though he would say he wasn't perfect, he was honest hardworking and kind.
- IMDb mini biography by: his daughter
- SpousesKathy Thomas(December 24, 1978 - November 10, 2004) (his death, 1 child)Betty June Vaughan(April 1957 - 1970) (divorced, 3 children)
- He and his first wife Betty Vaughan were good friends with Bing and Lou Russel, Kurt Russel's parents, and his 3 daughters many times were left with the Russels while the adults went out.
- He worked with Richard Harris on "A man called horse" and when Richard recorded his album McArthurs' Park, they both stayed up singing it until the wee hours of the morning.
- He was filming in the front of a speed boat ducking to not be seen on camera and peeking out a hole when he saw a stuntman fall in the boat ahead and the blades of the motor slicing him. He immediately jumped into the freezing bay and screaming for the man to hold on swam like crazy to save him. He forgot he had a parka on and when asked how he did it he shyly said "I didn't think at all, just jumped! That darn parka almost drowned me! The stuntman nearly lost his life, losing his spleen and was critically wounded.
- People in this business work hard like any other job out there, they just are a little better paid, some are too impressed with themselves, but they have problems just like anyone. I was a teacher one day, and the next in movie making, but see I was still the same guy.
- It's not what you take with you in this life, but what you leave behind, when you go that matters.
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