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.
Acted in
The Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
A Whale of a Tale
1976
as Mr. Monahan
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
as Silent Film Star 2
The Sky's the Limit
1975
as Grimes
Buckskin
1968
as Townsman
Rogue's Gallery
1968
as Man in Club
Fort Utah
1967
as Sam Tyler
Hostile Guns
1967
as Sheriff Travis
Red Tomahawk
1967
as Deadwood Telegrapher
Waco
1966
as Billy Kelly
To the Shores of Hell
1966
as Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
Johnny Reno
1966
as Ned Duggan
Apache Uprising
1965
as Captain Gannon
The Bounty Killer
1965
as Matthew Ridgeway
Town Tamer
1965
as Doctor Kent
Black Spurs
1965
as Pete
The Human Duplicators
1965
as National Intelligence
Branded
1965
Young Fury
1964
as Sheriff Jenkins
Sex and the College Girl
1964
as Charles Devon
Law of the Lawless
1964
as Ben the Bartender
The Best Man
1964
as Sen. Oscar Anderson
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Self
The Crawling Hand
1963
as Lee Barrenger
The Young and the Brave
1963
as Col. Ralph Holbein
The Lucy Show
1962
as Richard
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961
as 'Four Feathers' (archive footage) (uncredited)
The New Breed
1961
as Willits
The Last Time I Saw Archie
1961
as Col. Edwin Martin
Coronado 9
1960
Raymie
1960
as Chris Garber
Lock-Up
1959
Warlock
1959
as Bacon
Bat Masterson
1958
as John Minor
Bat Masterson
1958
as Sheriff Dan Rainey
Yancy Derringer
1958
as General Hugh Morgan
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Damon Ring, Sr.
The Day of the Trumpet
1958
as Sgt. Jim Heisler
Perry Mason
1957
as Dr. Harrison
The Mountain
1956
as C. W. Rivial
Hidden Guns
1956
as Sheriff Ward Young
Matinee Theater
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Blonde Blackmailer
1955
as Tony Pelassier
Devil's Point
1954
as John 'Captain' Martin
Climax!
1954
as Nevers
The Whistler
1954
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Christopher Waring
Sabre Jet
1953
as Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
The Blazing Forest
1952
as Joe Morgan
Hurricane Smith
1952
as Brundage
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Flaming Feather
1952
as Showdown Calhoun
Silver City
1951
as Charles Storrs
Kansas Raiders
1950
as Union Captain
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
Your Show of Shows
1950
Grand Canyon
1949
as Mike Adams
When My Baby Smiles at Me
1948
as Harvey Howell
The Return of Wildfire
1948
as Dobe Williams
Speed to Spare
1948
as Cliff Jordan
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
1947
as Buffalo Bill
Accomplice
1946
as Simon Lash
The French Key
1946
as Himself (uncredited)
The Phantom Speaks
1945
as Matt Fraser
Identity Unknown
1945
as Johnny March
The Big Bonanza
1944
as Capt. Jed Kilton
Storm Over Lisbon
1944
as John Craig
That's My Baby!
1944
as Tim Jones
The Lady and the Monster
1944
as Dr. Patrick Cory
Timber Queen
1944
as Russell Evans
Minesweeper
1943
as Richard Houston
Submarine Alert
1943
as Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Alaska Highway
1943
as Woody Ormsby
Aerial Gunner
1943
as Jon Davis
Wrecking Crew
1942
as Matt Carney
A Letter From Bataan
1942
as Pvt. John W. Lewis
Wildcat
1942
as Johnny Maverick
Soaring Stars
1942
as Himself
Torpedo Boat
1942
as Skinner Barnes
Flying Blind
1941
as Jim Clark
A Dangerous Game
1941
as Dick Williams
Raiders of the Desert
1941
as Dick Manning
Forced Landing
1941
as Dan Kendall
Power Dive
1941
as Brad Farrell
Men of the Timberland
1941
as Dick O'Hara
Mutiny in the Arctic
1941
as Dick Barclay
Lucky Devils
1941
as Dick McManus
The Devil's Pipeline
1940
as Dick Talbot
The Leather Pushers
1940
as Dick 'Kid' Roberts
Black Diamonds
1940
as Walter Norton
Swing with Bing
1940
as Himself
Hot Steel
1940
as Frank Stewart
Danger On Wheels
1940
as "Lucky" Larry Taylor
The Man from Montreal
1939
as Clark Manning
Legion of Lost Flyers
1939
as Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Tropic Fury
1939
as Dan Burton
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
1939
as Capt. Robert Lawrence
Missing Daughters
1939
as Wally King
Straight, Place and Show
1938
as Denny Paine
Call of The Yukon
1938
as Gaston Rogers
No Time to Marry
1938
as Perry Brown
Murder in Greenwich Village
1937
as Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Artists & Models
1937
as Alan Townsend
Secret Valley
1937
as Lee Rogers
The Great Barrier
1937
as Hickey
The Mine with the Iron Door
1936
as Bob Harvey
Three Live Ghosts
1936
as William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
The Calling of Dan Matthews
1935
as Dan Matthews
Hollywood Hobbies
1935
as Himself
Let 'em Have It
1935
as Mal Stevens
Helldorado
1935
as Art Ryan
Ready for Love
1934
as Julian Barrow
She Made Her Bed
1934
as Wild Bill Smith
Come On, Marines!
1934
as Lucky Davis
Alice in Wonderland
1933
as Cheshire Cat
Hell and High Water
1933
as Capt J.J. Jericho
Golden Harvest
1933
as Walt Martin
Three-Cornered Moon
1933
as Dr. Alan Stevens
How to Break 90 #4: Downswing
1933
College Humor
1933
as Mondrake
Song of the Eagle
1933
as Bill Hoffman
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
1933
as Self
Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Edward Parker
The All-American
1932
as Gary King
Tiger Shark
1932
as Pipes Boley
Guilty as Hell
1932
as Frank C. Marsh
Sky Bride
1932
as Bert 'Speed' Condon
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
1932
as Self (uncredited)
Wayward
1932
as David Frost
Touchdown!
1931
as Dan Curtis
Caught
1931
as Lt. Tom Colton
The Secret Call
1931
as Tom Blake
The Lawyer's Secret
1931
as Joe Hart
Gun Smoke
1931
as Brad Farley
The Conquering Horde
1931
as Dan McMasters
Only Saps Work
1930
as Larry Payne
The Santa Fe Trail
1930
as Stan Hollister
The Sea God
1930
as Phillip 'Pink' Barker
The Border Legion
1930
as Jim Cleve
Paramount on Parade
1930
as Hunter (Dream Girl)
The Light of Western Stars
1930
as Dick Bailey
Dangerous Paradise
1930
as Heyst
Burning Up
1930
as Lou Larrigan
The Virginian
1929
as Steven 'Steve'
Dangerous Curves
1929
as Larry Lee
Thunderbolt
1929
as Bob Moran
The Four Feathers
1929
as Lt. Harry Faversham
The Man I Love
1929
as Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
Manhattan Cocktail
1928
as Fred Tilden
Beggars of Life
1928
as The Boy (Jim)
Ladies of the Mob
1928
as Red
Feel My Pulse
1928
as Her Problem
Under the Tonto Rim
1928
as Edd Denmeade
She's a Sheik
1927
as Capt. Colton
Figures Don't Lie
1927
as Bob Blewe
Sally in Our Alley
1927
as Jimmie Adams
Wings
1927
as David Armstrong
The Blood Ship
1927
as John Shreve
Rolled Stockings
1927
as Ralph Treadway
Old Ironsides
1926
as Seaman (uncredited)
You'd Be Surprised
1926
as Reporter (uncredited)
Padlocked
1926
as 'Tubby' Clark
Behind the Front
1926
as Percy Brown
The Enchanted Hill
1926
as Link Halliwell
The Coast of Folly
1925
as Bather
In the Name of Love
1925
as Dumas Dufrayne
Hollywood
1923
as Richard Arlen