Editing Jack Lord (section)

== Early years ==
Born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York, Lord was the son of Irish-American parents. His father, William Lawrence Ryan, was a steamship company executive.<ref name="Stranger in Paradise" /> He grew up in [[Richmond Hill, Queens]],<ref name="About Jack Lord, Actor and Artist">{{cite web | title=About Jack Lord, Actor and Artist | publisher=The Richmond Hill Historical Society | url=http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/JackLord.html | access-date=22 May 2010 | archive-date=22 December 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222192244/http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/JackLord.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> New York.

As a child, Lord developed equestrian skills on his mother's fruit farm<ref name="Book 'em Danno-Jack Lord Dies">{{cite news|title=Book 'em Danno-Jack Lord Dies|newspaper=Star-News|date=23 January 1998}}</ref> in the Hudson River Valley. He started spending summers at sea, and from the decks of cargo ships<ref name="Jack Lord, 77, Helped Direct And Starred In 'Hawaii Five-O">{{cite news|last=Mifflin|first=Lawrie|title=Jack Lord, 77, Helped Direct And Starred In 'Hawaii Five-O|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 January 1998}}</ref> painted and sketched the landscapes he encountered—Africa, the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and China. He was educated at [[Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Church (Queens)|St. Benedict Joseph Labre School]],<ref name="About Jack Lord, Actor and Artist" /> [[John Adams High School (Queens)|John Adams High School]], in [[Ozone Park, Queens]], and the [[United States Merchant Marine Academy]],<ref name="Jack Lord Remained in Hawaii to Paint">{{cite news|last=Peterson|first=B|title=Jack Lord Remained in Hawaii to Paint|newspaper=The Buffalo News|date=12 January 1992}}</ref> then located at [[Fort Trumbull]] in [[New London, Connecticut]], graduating as an [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]]<ref name="Jack Lord Finds Heaven in Hawaii">{{cite news|last=Laurent|first=Lawrence|title=Jack Lord Finds Heaven in Hawaii|newspaper=The Toledo Blade|date=1 July 1973}}</ref> with a [[Third Mate]]’s License. He attended [[New York University]] (NYU) on a football scholarship<ref name="Stranger in Paradise" /><ref name="Jack Lord, 77, Helped Direct And Starred In 'Hawaii Five-O" /> and earned a degree in Fine Arts.

Lord spent the first year of the United States' involvement in [[World War II]] with the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], building bridges in [[Iran|Persia]].<ref name="About Jack Lord, Actor and Artist" /> He returned to the Merchant Marine as an [[Able Seaman (occupation)|able seaman]] before enrolling in the deck officer course at Fort Trumbull.<ref name="The Last American Sailors: A Wild Ride in the Modern Merchant Marine">{{cite book|last=Rawlins|first=Michael R|title=The Last American Sailors: A Wild Ride in the Modern Merchant Marine|year=2003|publisher=IUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-30117-1|page=47}}</ref> While making maritime training films, Lord took to the idea of acting.