Richard Arlen
Born
August 30, 1899
Died
March 28, 1976 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
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.
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
1979
A Whale of a Tale
Mr. Monahan
1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Silent Film Star 2
1976
The Sky's the Limit
Grimes
1975
Buckskin
Townsman
1968
Rogue's Gallery
Man in Club
1968
Fort Utah
Sam Tyler
1967
Hostile Guns
Sheriff Travis
1967
Red Tomahawk
Deadwood Telegrapher
1967
Waco
Billy Kelly
1966
To the Shores of Hell
Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
1966
Johnny Reno
Ned Duggan
1966
Apache Uprising
Captain Gannon
1965
The Bounty Killer
Matthew Ridgeway
1965
Town Tamer
Doctor Kent
1965
Black Spurs
Pete
1965
The Human Duplicators
National Intelligence
1965
Branded
(1 episode)
1965
Young Fury
Sheriff Jenkins
1964
Sex and the College Girl
Charles Devon
1964
Law of the Lawless
Ben the Bartender
1964
The Best Man
Sen. Oscar Anderson
1964
Petticoat Junction
Self · (1 episode)
1963
The Crawling Hand
Lee Barrenger
1963
The Young and the Brave
Col. Ralph Holbein
1963
The Lucy Show
Richard · (1 episode)
1962
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
'Four Feathers' (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
The New Breed
Willits · (1 episode)
1961
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Col. Edwin Martin
1961
Coronado 9
(1 episode)
1960
Raymie
Chris Garber
1960
Lock-Up
(1 episode)
1959
Warlock
Bacon
1959
Bat Masterson
John Minor · (1 episode)
1958
Bat Masterson
Sheriff Dan Rainey · (1 episode)
1958
Yancy Derringer
General Hugh Morgan · (1 episode)
1958
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Damon Ring, Sr. · (1 episode)
1958
The Day of the Trumpet
Sgt. Jim Heisler
1958
Perry Mason
Dr. Harrison · (1 episode)
1957
The Mountain
C. W. Rivial
1956
Hidden Guns
Sheriff Ward Young
1956
Matinee Theater
(1 episode)
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
(1 episode)
1955
Blonde Blackmailer
Tony Pelassier
1955
Devil's Point
John 'Captain' Martin
1954
Climax!
Nevers · (1 episode)
1954
The Whistler
(1 episode)
1954
Letter to Loretta
Christopher Waring · (1 episode)
1953
Sabre Jet
Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
1953
The Blazing Forest
Joe Morgan
1952
Hurricane Smith
Brundage
1952
This Is Your Life
Self · (1 episode)
1952
Flaming Feather
Showdown Calhoun
1952
Silver City
Charles Storrs
1951
Kansas Raiders
Union Captain
1950
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · (1 episode)
1950
Your Show of Shows
(1 episode)
1950
Grand Canyon
Mike Adams
1949
When My Baby Smiles at Me
Harvey Howell
1948
The Return of Wildfire
Dobe Williams
1948
Speed to Spare
Cliff Jordan
1948
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
Buffalo Bill
1947
Accomplice
Simon Lash
1946
The French Key
Himself (uncredited)
1946
The Phantom Speaks
Matt Fraser
1945
Identity Unknown
Johnny March
1945
The Big Bonanza
Capt. Jed Kilton
1944
Storm Over Lisbon
John Craig
1944
That's My Baby!
Tim Jones
1944
The Lady and the Monster
Dr. Patrick Cory
1944
Timber Queen
Russell Evans
1944
Minesweeper
Richard Houston
1943
Submarine Alert
Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
1943
Alaska Highway
Woody Ormsby
1943
Aerial Gunner
Jon Davis
1943
Wrecking Crew
Matt Carney
1942
A Letter From Bataan
Pvt. John W. Lewis
1942
Wildcat
Johnny Maverick
1942
Soaring Stars
Himself
1942
Torpedo Boat
Skinner Barnes
1942
Flying Blind
Jim Clark
1941
A Dangerous Game
Dick Williams
1941
Raiders of the Desert
Dick Manning
1941
Forced Landing
Dan Kendall
1941
Power Dive
Brad Farrell
1941
Men of the Timberland
Dick O'Hara
1941
Mutiny in the Arctic
Dick Barclay
1941
Lucky Devils
Dick McManus
1941
The Devil's Pipeline
Dick Talbot
1940
The Leather Pushers
Dick 'Kid' Roberts
1940
Black Diamonds
Walter Norton
1940
Swing with Bing
Himself
1940
Hot Steel
Frank Stewart
1940
Danger On Wheels
"Lucky" Larry Taylor
1940
The Man from Montreal
Clark Manning
1939
Legion of Lost Flyers
Gene 'Loop' Gillan
1939
Tropic Fury
Dan Burton
1939
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Capt. Robert Lawrence
1939
Missing Daughters
Wally King
1939
Straight, Place and Show
Denny Paine
1938
Call of The Yukon
Gaston Rogers
1938
No Time to Marry
Perry Brown
1938
Murder in Greenwich Village
Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
1937
Artists & Models
Alan Townsend
1937
Secret Valley
Lee Rogers
1937
The Great Barrier
Hickey
1937
The Mine with the Iron Door
Bob Harvey
1936
Three Live Ghosts
William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
1936
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Dan Matthews
1935
Hollywood Hobbies
Himself
1935
Let 'em Have It
Mal Stevens
1935
Helldorado
Art Ryan
1935
Ready for Love
Julian Barrow
1934
She Made Her Bed
Wild Bill Smith
1934
Come On, Marines!
Lucky Davis
1934
Alice in Wonderland
Cheshire Cat
1933
Hell and High Water
Capt J.J. Jericho
1933
Golden Harvest
Walt Martin
1933
Three Cornered Moon
Dr. Alan Stevens
1933
How to Break 90 #4: Downswing
1933
College Humor
Mondrake
1933
Song of the Eagle
Bill Hoffman
1933
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
Self
1933
Island of Lost Souls
Edward Parker
1932
The All-American
Gary King
1932
Tiger Shark
Pipes Boley
1932
Guilty as Hell
Frank C. Marsh
1932
Sky Bride
Bert 'Speed' Condon
1932
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Self (uncredited)
1932
Wayward
David Frost
1932
Touchdown!
Dan Curtis
1931
Caught
Lt. Tom Colton
1931
The Secret Call
Tom Blake
1931
The Lawyer's Secret
Joe Hart
1931
Gun Smoke
Brad Farley
1931
The Conquering Horde
Dan McMasters
1931
Only Saps Work
Larry Payne
1930
The Santa Fe Trail
Stan Hollister
1930
The Sea God
Phillip 'Pink' Barker
1930
The Border Legion
Jim Cleve
1930
Paramount on Parade
Hunter (Dream Girl)
1930
The Light of Western Stars
Dick Bailey
1930
Dangerous Paradise
Heyst
1930
Burning Up
Lou Larrigan
1930
The Virginian
Steven 'Steve'
1929
Dangerous Curves
Larry Lee
1929
Thunderbolt
Bob Moran
1929
The Four Feathers
Lt. Harry Faversham
1929
The Man I Love
Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
1929
Manhattan Cocktail
Fred Tilden
1928
Beggars of Life
The Boy (Jim)
1928
Ladies of the Mob
Red
1928
Feel My Pulse
Her Problem
1928
Under the Tonto Rim
Edd Denmeade
1928
She's a Sheik
Capt. Colton
1927
Figures Don't Lie
Bob Blewe
1927
Sally in Our Alley
Jimmie Adams
1927
Wings
David Armstrong
1927
The Blood Ship
John Shreve
1927
Rolled Stockings
Ralph Treadway
1927
Old Ironsides
Seaman (uncredited)
1926
You'd Be Surprised
Reporter (uncredited)
1926
Padlocked
'Tubby' Clark
1926
Behind the Front
Percy Brown
1926
The Enchanted Hill
Link Halliwell
1926
The Coast of Folly
Bather
1925
In the Name of Love
Dumas Dufrayne
1925
Hollywood
Richard Arlen
1923