He Didn't Quite Make the 3:10 to Yuma

The most successful celebrity look-alike performers are those blessed with spitting-image looks of superstars. Elvis, Marilyn, John Wayne and Charlie Chaplin impersonators are in constant demand.

John Ferguson was not quite so blessed.

"It's Glenn Ford," said George Lindquist, 67, seeing Ferguson dressed in western gear and riding in a convertible in a Canoga Park parade last month.

"No, Glenn Ford is dead," Lindquist's buddy, Bob Humphrey, 74, incorrectly insisted.

But Lindquist was certain it was Ford, an actor who appeared in nearly 100 westerns, dramas and other films beginning in 1939. So when the convertible came to a halt before entering the main parade route, Lindquist approached his target.

"Are you Glenn Ford?" Lindquist asked.

Ferguson, 70, looked at him and smiled.

"You betcha," he said.

It's a game that the jovial Ferguson--a semi-retired graphic artist and sign painter for Los Angeles County--has been playing for more than 30 years for fun, and a little profit. It has landed him a TV commercial and a few paid personal appearances. And he readily admits he is not above allowing people to believe he is the real Glenn Ford in certain situations, resulting in preferred treatment in restaurants, a few drinks on the house and warm greetings from fans, including one unsuspecting former U.S. president.

"I tell you it's something I never expected in life," Ferguson said. "It's gotten me into places and the chance to meet people that I never would have had in my life."

Including the world of look-alike performers.

Before the Memorial Day parade in Canoga Park last month, Ferguson made the rounds in the "VIP Room," a bank branch closed for the holiday. His outfit--Stetson, six-shooter, leather vest and sheriff's badge--resembled what Ford wore on his 1971 television series, "Cade's County."

He wasn't the only masquerader at the pre-parade party. Elvis and Marilyn were there, as were ringers for Gene Autry, Clark Gable, Kenny Rogers and others.

Of all the look-alikes in the room, Ferguson most closely resembled the real McCoy--so much so that it seemed likely that Ferguson has been mistaken for Ford at times.

Ferguson said most people chuckle at being fooled, but "a couple of times" the reaction has been anger.

'One guy looked like he was really ticked off," he said. "Then he took my hand and said, 'Well, I guess this is probably as close as I'll ever get to meeting a movie star.' "