Ford was a well-known character actor who came to specialize in authority figures whose ineptitude and pompous demeanors were played for comic effect. Ford became an "overnight" success at age 54 when he had a role opposite Phil Silvers on Silvers' "Sgt. Bilko" TV show. His signature role may well be the part of Mayor George Shinn, a befuddled politico in the film adaptation of the Broadway show The Music Man. Ford played the role straight, and received glowing reviews. Ford had an active career in both films and television until his retirement in the early 1970s.