Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore) was an American film and television actor. He served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps during World War I. After the war, he went to the oilfields of Texas and Oklahoma and found work as a tool boy. He was thereafter a messenger and sporting editor of a newspaper before going to Los Angeles to act in films, but no producer wanted him. He was a delivery boy for a film laboratory when the motorcycle which he was riding landed him a broken leg outside the Paramount Pictures lot. A sympathetic film director gave him his start as an extra. He appeared at first in silent films before making the transition to talkies. His first important film role was in Vengeance of the Deep. He took time out from his Hollywood career to teach as a United States Army Air Forces flight instructor in World War II. Arlen is best known for his role as a pilot in the Academy Award-winning Wings with Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Gary Cooper, El Brendel, and his second wife, Jobyna Ralston, whom he married in 1927. He was among the more famous residents of the celebrity enclave, Toluca Lake, California. He married New York socialite, Margaret Kinsella, in 1946. In 1939, Universal teamed him with Andy Devine for a series of 14 B-pictures, mostly action-comedies with heavy reliance on stock footage from larger-scale films. They are informally known as the "Aces of Action" series, which is how the stars were billed in the trailers. When Arlen left the studio in 1941, the series continued with Devine teamed with a variety of other actors. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Arlen was active in television, having guest starred in several anthology series, including Playhouse 90, The Loretta Young Show, The 20th Century Fox Hour, and in three episodes of the series about clergymen, Crossroads. In 1960, Arlen was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 6755 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the film industry. In 1968, he appeared on Petticoat Junction playing himself. The episode was called "Wings" and it was in direct reference to the 1927 silent movie Wings. Arlen appeared in westerns, such as Lawman, Branded, Bat Masterson, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, and Yancy Derringer, and in such drama/adventure programs as Ripcord, Whirlybirds, Perry Mason, The New Breed, Coronado 9, and Michael Shayne.
Known For
Credits
- 1979 · The Horror Show as (archive footage)
- 1976 · A Whale of a Tale as Mr. Monahan
- 1976 · Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Silent Film Star 2
- 1975 · The Sky's the Limit as Grimes
- 1968 · Buckskin as Townsman
- 1968 · Rogue's Gallery as Man in Club
- 1967 · Fort Utah as Sam Tyler
- 1967 · Hostile Guns as Sheriff Travis
- 1967 · Red Tomahawk as Deadwood Telegrapher
- 1966 · Waco as Billy Kelly
- 1966 · To the Shores of Hell as Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
- 1966 · Johnny Reno as Ned Duggan
- 1965 · Apache Uprising as Captain Gannon
- 1965 · The Bounty Killer as Matthew Ridgeway
- 1965 · Town Tamer as Doctor Kent
- 1965 · Black Spurs as Pete
- 1965 · The Human Duplicators as National Intelligence
- 1965 · Branded as
- 1964 · Young Fury as Sheriff Jenkins
- 1964 · Sex and the College Girl as Charles Devon
- 1964 · Law of the Lawless as Ben the Bartender
- 1964 · The Best Man as Sen. Oscar Anderson
- 1963 · Petticoat Junction as Self
- 1963 · The Crawling Hand as Lee Barrenger
- 1963 · The Young and the Brave as Col. Ralph Holbein
- 1962 · The Lucy Show as Richard
- 1961 · Hollywood: The Selznick Years as 'Four Feathers' (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1961 · The New Breed as Willits
- 1961 · The Last Time I Saw Archie as Col. Edwin Martin
- 1960 · Coronado 9 as
- 1960 · Raymie as Chris Garber
- 1959 · Lock-Up as
- 1959 · Warlock as Bacon
- 1958 · Bat Masterson as John Minor
- 1958 · Bat Masterson as Sheriff Dan Rainey
- 1958 · Yancy Derringer as General Hugh Morgan
- 1958 · Wanted: Dead or Alive as Damon Ring, Sr.
- 1958 · The Day of the Trumpet as Sgt. Jim Heisler
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Dr. Harrison
- 1956 · The Mountain as C. W. Rivial
- 1956 · Hidden Guns as Sheriff Ward Young
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · The 20th Century Fox Hour as
- 1955 · Blonde Blackmailer as Tony Pelassier
- 1954 · Devil's Point as John 'Captain' Martin
- 1954 · Climax! as Nevers
- 1954 · The Whistler as
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Christopher Waring
- 1953 · Sabre Jet as Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
- 1952 · The Blazing Forest as Joe Morgan
- 1952 · Hurricane Smith as Brundage
- 1952 · This Is Your Life as Self
- 1952 · Flaming Feather as Showdown Calhoun
- 1951 · Silver City as Charles Storrs
- 1950 · Kansas Raiders as Union Captain
- 1950 · The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- 1950 · Your Show of Shows as
- 1949 · Grand Canyon as Mike Adams
- 1948 · When My Baby Smiles at Me as Harvey Howell
- 1948 · The Return of Wildfire as Dobe Williams
- 1948 · Speed to Spare as Cliff Jordan
- 1947 · Buffalo Bill Rides Again as Buffalo Bill
- 1946 · Accomplice as Simon Lash
- 1946 · The French Key as Himself (uncredited)
- 1945 · The Phantom Speaks as Matt Fraser
- 1945 · Identity Unknown as Johnny March
- 1944 · The Big Bonanza as Capt. Jed Kilton
- 1944 · Storm Over Lisbon as John Craig
- 1944 · That's My Baby! as Tim Jones
- 1944 · The Lady and the Monster as Dr. Patrick Cory
- 1944 · Timber Queen as Russell Evans
- 1943 · Minesweeper as Richard Houston
- 1943 · Submarine Alert as Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
- 1943 · Alaska Highway as Woody Ormsby
- 1943 · Aerial Gunner as Jon Davis
- 1942 · Wrecking Crew as Matt Carney
- 1942 · A Letter From Bataan as Pvt. John W. Lewis
- 1942 · Wildcat as Johnny Maverick
- 1942 · Soaring Stars as Himself
- 1942 · Torpedo Boat as Skinner Barnes
- 1941 · Flying Blind as Jim Clark
- 1941 · A Dangerous Game as Dick Williams
- 1941 · Raiders of the Desert as Dick Manning
- 1941 · Forced Landing as Dan Kendall
- 1941 · Power Dive as Brad Farrell
- 1941 · Men of the Timberland as Dick O'Hara
- 1941 · Mutiny in the Arctic as Dick Barclay
- 1941 · Lucky Devils as Dick McManus
- 1940 · The Devil's Pipeline as Dick Talbot
- 1940 · The Leather Pushers as Dick 'Kid' Roberts
- 1940 · Black Diamonds as Walter Norton
- 1940 · Swing with Bing as Himself
- 1940 · Hot Steel as Frank Stewart
- 1940 · Danger On Wheels as "Lucky" Larry Taylor
- 1939 · The Man from Montreal as Clark Manning
- 1939 · Legion of Lost Flyers as Gene 'Loop' Gillan
- 1939 · Tropic Fury as Dan Burton
- 1939 · Mutiny on the Blackhawk as Capt. Robert Lawrence
- 1939 · Missing Daughters as Wally King
- 1938 · Straight, Place and Show as Denny Paine
- 1938 · Call of The Yukon as Gaston Rogers
- 1938 · No Time to Marry as Perry Brown
- 1937 · Murder in Greenwich Village as Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
- 1937 · Artists & Models as Alan Townsend
- 1937 · Secret Valley as Lee Rogers
- 1937 · The Great Barrier as Hickey
- 1936 · The Mine with the Iron Door as Bob Harvey
- 1936 · Three Live Ghosts as William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
- 1935 · The Calling of Dan Matthews as Dan Matthews
- 1935 · Hollywood Hobbies as Himself
- 1935 · Let 'em Have It as Mal Stevens
- 1935 · Helldorado as Art Ryan
- 1934 · Ready for Love as Julian Barrow
- 1934 · She Made Her Bed as Wild Bill Smith
- 1934 · Come On, Marines! as Lucky Davis
- 1933 · Alice in Wonderland as Cheshire Cat
- 1933 · Hell and High Water as Capt J.J. Jericho
- 1933 · Golden Harvest as Walt Martin
- 1933 · Three-Cornered Moon as Dr. Alan Stevens
- 1933 · How to Break 90 #4: Downswing as
- 1933 · College Humor as Mondrake
- 1933 · Song of the Eagle as Bill Hoffman
- 1933 · Hollywood on Parade No. A-6 as Self
- 1932 · Island of Lost Souls as Edward Parker
- 1932 · The All-American as Gary King
- 1932 · Tiger Shark as Pipes Boley
- 1932 · Guilty as Hell as Frank C. Marsh
- 1932 · Sky Bride as Bert 'Speed' Condon
- 1932 · Hollywood on Parade No. A-4 as Self (uncredited)
- 1932 · Wayward as David Frost
- 1931 · Touchdown! as Dan Curtis
- 1931 · Caught as Lt. Tom Colton
- 1931 · The Secret Call as Tom Blake
- 1931 · The Lawyer's Secret as Joe Hart
- 1931 · Gun Smoke as Brad Farley
- 1931 · The Conquering Horde as Dan McMasters
- 1930 · Only Saps Work as Lawrence Payne
- 1930 · The Santa Fe Trail as Stan Hollister
- 1930 · The Sea God as Phillip 'Pink' Barker
- 1930 · Galas de la Paramount as Self (from original version)
- 1930 · The Border Legion as Jim Cleve
- 1930 · Paramount on Parade as Hunter (Dream Girl)
- 1930 · The Light of Western Stars as Dick Bailey
- 1930 · Dangerous Paradise as Heyst
- 1930 · Burning Up as Lou Larrigan
- 1929 · The Virginian as Steven 'Steve'
- 1929 · Dangerous Curves as Larry Lee
- 1929 · Thunderbolt as Bob Moran
- 1929 · The Four Feathers as Lt. Harry Faversham
- 1929 · The Man I Love as Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
- 1928 · Manhattan Cocktail as Fred Tilden
- 1928 · Beggars of Life as The Boy (Jim)
- 1928 · Ladies of the Mob as Red
- 1928 · Feel My Pulse as Her Problem
- 1928 · Under the Tonto Rim as Edd Denmeade
- 1927 · She's a Sheik as Capt. Colton
- 1927 · Figures Don't Lie as Bob Blewe
- 1927 · Sally in Our Alley as Jimmie Adams
- 1927 · Wings as David Armstrong
- 1927 · The Blood Ship as John Shreve
- 1927 · Rolled Stockings as Ralph Treadway
- 1926 · Old Ironsides as Seaman (uncredited)
- 1926 · You'd Be Surprised as Photographer
- 1926 · Padlocked as 'Tubby' Clark
- 1926 · Behind the Front as Percy Brown
- 1926 · The Enchanted Hill as Link Halliwell
- 1925 · The Coast of Folly as Bather
- 1925 · In the Name of Love as Dumas Dufrayne
- 1923 · Hollywood as Richard Arlen