
Ben Lyon
Born
February 6, 1901
Died
March 22, 1979 (78 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
From Wikipedia
Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American actor and a studio executive at 20th Century Fox.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film Flaming Youth (1923), and steadily developed into a leading man. He was most successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet.
He had success as an actor in the 1930 film Hell's Angels. The film was a major success and brought Jean Harlow to prominence, but Lyon's performance as an heroic World War I aviator was also highly regarded. For the next decade he was constantly in demand, but his popularity began to wane by the early 1940s. By the mid-1940s he was working for 20th Century Fox. On July 17, 1946 he met a young aspiring actress named Norma Jeane Dougherty.[2] After his first meeting with her he stated that she was "Jean Harlow all over again!". He organized a color screen test for the actress, renamed her, and finally signed her as Marilyn Monroe to her first studio contract.
During World War II, Lyons and his wife, actress Bebe Daniels, settled in London. The couple, along with the comedian Vic Oliver, starred in the radio series Hi, Gang!, which ran from 1940 to 1949. Hi Gang was succeeded in 1950 by Life with the Lyons, which also featured their real life son Richard and daughter Barbara, and had a run on BBC and independent television from 1954 until 1960.
Lyon married actress Bebe Daniels in June 1930. They had two children: daughter Barbara in 1932 and a son Richard whom they adopted. Daniels suffered a severe stroke in 1963 and withdrew from public life. She suffered a second stroke in late 1970. She died at the couple's London home in March 1971.
In 1974, Lyon married the actress Marian Nixon whom he had known since the 1920s.
On March 22, 1979, Lyon and his second wife Marian Nixon were vacationing together on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship near Honolulu, Hawaii, when Lyon suffered a fatal heart attack. He is interred in the Chapel Columbarium at Hollywood Forever Cemetery next to his first wife, Bebe.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ben Lyon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street.
Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (1 episode)
1962

The Lyons in Paris
Ben
1955

Life with the Lyons
Ben Lyon
1954

The Dark Tower
Phil Danton
1943

This Was Paris
Butch, Sydney Chronicle Reporter
1942

Hi Gang!
Her Other Half
1941
Confidential Lady
Jim Brent
1939
I Killed the Count
Bernard Froy
1939

Stardust
Roy Harley
1938
Down to the Sea
Steve Londos
1936

Dancing Feet
Peyton Wells
1936

Frisco Waterfront
Glenn Burton
1935

Navy Wife
Dr. Peter Milford
1935

Together We Live
Max
1935
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
1935

Lightning Strikes Twice
Steve Brewster
1934

Crimson Romance
Bob Wilson
1934

I Spy
Wally Sawyer
1934

The Women in His Life
Roger McKane
1933

I Cover the Waterfront
H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller
1933

Girl Missing
Henry Gibson
1933

Hollywood on Parade No. A-3
Self
1932

Hat Check Girl
Buster Collins
1932

The Crooked Circle
Brand Osborne
1932

Hollywood on Parade No. A-1
Self
1932

By Whose Hand?
Jimmy Hawley
1932

Week Ends Only
Jack Williams
1932

The Big Timer
Cooky Bradford
1932

Lady with a Past
Guy Bryson
1932

Her Majesty, Love
Fred von Wellingen
1931

Compromised
Sidney Brock
1931

Bought!
Nick Amory
1931

Night Nurse
Mortie
1931

My Past
Robert 'Bob' Byrne
1931

Aloha
Jimmy Bradford
1931

Indiscreet
Tony Blake
1931

Misbehaving Ladies
Phil Hunter
1931

The Stolen Jools
Ben Lyon
1931

The Hot Heiress
Hap Harrigan
1931

Hell's Angels
Monte Rutledge
1930

A Soldier's Plaything
Georgie
1930

What Men Want
Kendall James
1930

Alias French Gertie
Jimmy Hartigan
1930

Lummox
Rollo Farley
1930

The Flying Marine
Steve Moran
1929

The Quitter
Neal Abbott
1929

All Faces West
Matthew
1929

Das tanzende Wien
Jonny Conzaga
1927

Life in Hollywood No. 2
Himself
1927

For the Love of Mike
Mike
1927
The Tender Hour
Wally McKenzie
1927

The Prince of Tempters
Francis
1926

The Great Deception
Cyril Mansfield
1926

The Savage
Danny Terry
1926

The Reckless Lady
Ralph Hilliwe
1926

Bluebeard's Seven Wives
John Hart / Don Juan Hartez
1926

The New Commandment
Billy Morrow
1925

The Pace That Thrills
Danny Wade
1925

Winds of Chance
Pierce Phillips
1925

The Necessary Evil
Frank Jerome
1925

So Big
Dirk DeJong
1924

Wages of Virtue
Marvin
1924

Wine of Youth
Lynn Talbot
1924

Lily of the Dust
Lt. Prell
1924

The White Moth
Douglas Vantine
1924

Painted People
Don Lane
1924

Potash and Perlmutter
Boris Andrieff
1923
The Custard Cup
Dick Chase
1923

The Heart of Maryland
Bob Telfair
1921

Open Your Eyes
Harold Connors
1919