One to Watch:

Deborah Smith Ford

by Melissa Fales

Like all the books in author and entertainer Deborah Smith Ford’s popular Allie’s Adventures series, the latest, Allie’s Movie Adventure, is based on Ford’s real-life experiences. For Allie’s Movie Adventure, Ford called upon her acting background to pen the story about making a movie told from the perspective of 10-year-old Allie. The action takes place on the set of Love Song & Power, an actual film due out later this year in which Ford appears portraying a celebrity author. “The book is about a child whose adventures involve observing and later working behind and in front of the stage and silver screen,” says Ford. “Allie learns how much hard work, and fun, is involved in the world of entertainment.”

In 2009, Ford released her debut children’s book, The Little Apple, introducing the character of Allie, and Ford has been writing about her ever since. “If readers haven’t figured it out by now, my books tend to mimic my life,” she says. “The series’ main character Allie first lives on an apple farm. She later travels to third-world countries with her parents as a shuttle missionary helping others. All this, and more, will hopefully inspire the series’ readers.”

Ford’s other books in the Allie’s Adventures series include The Little Apple, On the Little Apple, The Little Goat in Africa, A Little Goat in Africa, and Growing Up Behind the Scenes. Along the way, readers meet Allie’s friends and family. “A goat and a standard poodle are two of her best friends, named Splat and Phoebe.” says Ford. “My next book includes Allie’s new friends, and its working title is Allie Walks the Red Carpet.”

Ford’s work as an actress includes several commercials plus over 80 film credits. Despite her experience in the entertainment industry, Ford was not prepared for just how much the release of the 1999 feature film, The Matrix, would change the trajectory of her life. The movie, starring Keanu Reeves, is about a futuristic world in which humans obliviously exist in a simulated reality. One of the main characters in The Matrix is Trinity, a master computer hacker played by actress Carrie-Anne Moss, to whom Ford bears more than a passing likeness. 

Ford learned about her resemblance to Moss in 2003 when she noticed that there were many people gathered behind her in a store. “It wasn’t the kind of ‘line’ one would expect in such a small shop,” Ford says, adding that her outfit consisting of a blouse, sandals, jeans, and prescription glasses, was a far cry from the leather-clad warrior garb favored by the character of Trinity. 

“Turns out the line formation was for me. Apparently, they thought I was (Moss). The Citracal TV commercial was on television and radio that year, and in it I portrayed myself. It aired daily on TV for a full year, so at first, I honestly thought they recognized me, as me.” Ford said the crowd was so excited that they even asked her to sign autographs. Never having seen The Matrix, she heard the name “Trinity” being tossed around but had no idea what people were talking about. It set her on a mission. “I was determined to find out more about this Trinity person,” Ford says.  

Once she learned who Trinity was, Ford recognized the resemblance and embraced the opportunity to try something new; being a celebrity tribute. She won a prize in the first celebrity tribute contest she participated in as Trinity, at an international event held in Canada. “I just thought it was going to be a one-time thing,” she explains. Dressed in all black, Ford wowed the judges with her moves, utilizing her skills as a Jujitsu green belt. Later, one of the judges admitted to Ford that no one on the judging panel had seen any of The Matrix films, but they gave her a prize because they were so impressed by her formidable stage presence.

Soon, Ford was attending sci-fi conventions and special events as Trinity, posing for pictures with fans. “A couple of the events I have attended for almost 20 years are The Reel Awards and The Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Tribute Artists,” she says. While some might describe Ford as an impersonator or a lookalike, she prefers the term “character tribute.” “It’s paying tribute that’s important,” she says.

With most events and conventions canceled during the pandemic, Ford enjoyed the luxury of extra free time to work on the Allie’s Adventures series. “Back in the early Covid days I wasn’t very interested in working outside my home,” she says. “I felt safer inside spending more time writing.” It was just at that time when work began on the fourth film in The Matrix series, and production shifted to Germany. As much as Ford would have enjoyed the opportunity to work as a stand-in for Moss in the new movie, it simply wasn’t possible. “IF I was even considered to be part of the fourth Matrix film I wasn’t flying abroad, and no vaccinations were yet available,” she says. “Besides, I was already involved in shooting another feature film in the states, Love Song and Power.”

Ford continues to work on The Matrix-related projects, including two new opportunities that presented themselves earlier this year. “I won’t go into detail other than to say one project involved me as Trinity in a series of videos for a national company, and the other allowed me to work with a wonderfully talented team, that of Wallace Entertainment led by Keith Wallace,” says Ford. “Keith and I paid, and continue to pay, tribute to two of the main Matrix characters.”

Ford not only pays tribute to Trinity, but to other film and television celebrities as well. Some of them are Audrey Hepburn, The Queen of Narnia, Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher, Mother Goose, Carol Burnett’s Eunice Higgins, and more recently she’s paid tribute to Miss Peregrine, the fantasy character from the books and film set in 1940, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Miss Peregrine can transform into a bird and manipulate time. She creates a magical “time loop,” which repeats every day on Sept. 3, 1940. This intriguing and mysterious character is a maternal figure to her young charges as well as a fearsome opponent to those who threaten them. “Miss Peregrine is another of my favorites,” says Ford. “I love her crossbow!”

When Ford is not writing, acting, or working as a tribute, she is involved with UFTA (United Film and Television Artists), a non-profit trade organization she helped found that supports and instructs those in the many areas of show biz. For years she served as president and secretary of the group. “Now I enjoy my ‘retirement’ listening to everyone’s ideas,” says Ford. “Sometimes they even ask me for advice.”

You might have seen Ford in the June 2022 issue of Pho-Mo Magazine. She’s also one of the celebrity tributes featured in the second edition of Daily Doubles: Celebrity Impersonators, written by Jack Bullard and C.J. Morgan, which was released in July.

As much as she enjoys being a Trinity celebrity tribute and actress, Ford has grown increasingly more fond of being a writer with each book in the Allie’s Adventures series. She takes the job seriously, attending writing workshops to keep her skills sharp. She’s already decided on the themes for her seventh and eighth Allie’s Adventures books. “Tentative plans for book eight involve the marketing side of things, especially when it comes to the worlds of literature and entertainment,” says Ford. “After all, what good are books and films that only sit on the shelf?”

For more information on Deborah Smith Ford, her celebrity tributes, and Allie’s Adventures series, visit alliesadventures.com.