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.
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Movies (155)
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess
2012
The Muppets Go to the Movies
1981 · David Armstrong (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Horror Show
1979 · (archive footage)
A Whale of a Tale
1976 · Mr. Monahan
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976 · Silent Film Star 2
The Sky's the Limit
1975 · Grimes
Buckskin
1968 · Townsman
Rogue's Gallery
1968 · Man in Club
Fort Utah
1967 · Sam Tyler
Hostile Guns
1967 · Sheriff Travis
Red Tomahawk
1967 · Deadwood Telegrapher
Road to Nashville
1966 · Studio Boss
Waco
1966 · Billy Kelly
To the Shores of Hell
1966 · Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
Johnny Reno
1966 · Ned Duggan
Apache Uprising
1965 · Captain Gannon
The Bounty Killer
1965 · Matthew Ridgeway
Town Tamer
1965 · Doctor Kent
Black Spurs
1965 · Pete
The Human Duplicators
1965 · National Intelligence
Young Fury
1964 · Sheriff Jenkins
Sex and the College Girl
1964 · Charles Devon
Law of the Lawless
1964 · Ben the Bartender
The Shepherd of the Hills
1964 · Old Matt
The Best Man
1964 · Sen. Oscar Anderson
The Crawling Hand
1963 · Lee Barrenger
The Young and the Brave
1963 · Col. Ralph Holbein
The Last Time I Saw Archie
1961 · Col. Edwin Martin
Raymie
1960 · Chris Garber
Warlock
1959 · Bacon
Cavalry Command
1958 · Sgt. Jim Heisler
Child of Trouble
1957 · Louis Contino
The Mountain
1956 · C. W. Rivial
Hidden Guns
1956 · Sheriff Ward Young
Blonde Blackmailer
1955 · Tony Pelassier
Devil's Point
1954 · John 'Captain' Martin
Sabre Jet
1953 · Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
The Blazing Forest
1952 · Joe Morgan
Hurricane Smith
1952 · Brundage
Flaming Feather
1952 · Showdown Calhoun
Silver City
1951 · Charles Storrs
Kansas Raiders
1950 · Union Captain
Grand Canyon
1949 · Mike Adams
When My Baby Smiles at Me
1948 · Harvey Howell
The Return of Wildfire
1948 · Dobe Williams
Speed to Spare
1948 · Cliff Jordan
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
1947 · Buffalo Bill
Accomplice
1946 · Simon Lash
The French Key
1946 · Himself (uncredited)
The Phantom Speaks
1945 · Matt Fraser
Identity Unknown
1945 · Johnny March
The Big Bonanza
1944 · Capt. Jed Kilton
Storm Over Lisbon
1944 · John Craig
That's My Baby!
1944 · Tim Jones
The Lady and the Monster
1944 · Dr. Patrick Cory
Timber Queen
1944 · Russell Evans
Minesweeper
1943 · Richard Houston
Submarine Alert
1943 · Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Alaska Highway
1943 · Woody Ormsby
Aerial Gunner
1943 · Jon Davis
Wrecking Crew
1942 · Matt Carney
A Letter From Bataan
1942 · Pvt. John W. Lewis
Wildcat
1942 · Johnny Maverick
Soaring Stars
1942 · Himself
Torpedo Boat
1942 · Skinner Barnes
Flying Blind
1941 · Jim Clark
A Dangerous Game
1941 · Dick Williams
Raiders of the Desert
1941 · Dick Manning
Forced Landing
1941 · Dan Kendall
Power Dive
1941 · Brad Farrell
Men of the Timberland
1941 · Dick O'Hara
Mutiny in the Arctic
1941 · Dick Barclay
Lucky Devils
1941 · Dick McManus
The Devil's Pipeline
1940 · Dick Talbot
The Leather Pushers
1940 · Dick 'Kid' Roberts
Black Diamonds
1940 · Walter Norton
Swing with Bing
1940 · Himself
Hot Steel
1940 · Frank Stewart
Danger On Wheels
1940 · "Lucky" Larry Taylor
The Man from Montreal
1939 · Clark Manning
Legion of Lost Flyers
1939 · Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Tropic Fury
1939 · Dan Burton
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
1939 · Capt. Robert Lawrence
Missing Daughters
1939 · Wally King
Straight, Place and Show
1938 · Denny Paine
Call of The Yukon
1938 · Gaston Rogers
No Time to Marry
1938 · Perry Brown
Murder in Greenwich Village
1937 · Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Artists & Models
1937 · Alan Townsend
Secret Valley
1937 · Lee Rogers
The Great Barrier
1937 · Hickey
The Mine with the Iron Door
1936 · Bob Harvey
Three Live Ghosts
1936 · William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
The Calling of Dan Matthews
1935 · Dan Matthews
Hollywood Hobbies
1935 · Himself
Let 'em Have It
1935 · Mal Stevens
Helldorado
1935 · Art Ryan
Ready for Love
1934 · Julian Barrow
She Made Her Bed
1934 · Wild Bill Smith
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
1934 · Self
Come On, Marines!
1934 · Lucky Davis
Alice in Wonderland
1933 · Cheshire Cat
Hell and High Water
1933 · Capt J.J. Jericho
Golden Harvest
1933 · Walt Martin
Three Cornered Moon
1933 · Dr. Alan Stevens
How to Break 90 #4: Downswing
1933
College Humor
1933 · Mondrake
Song of the Eagle
1933 · Bill Hoffman
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
1933 · Self / Arlen the Great
Island of Lost Souls
1932 · Edward Parker
The All-American
1932 · Gary King
Tiger Shark
1932 · Pipes Boley
Guilty as Hell
1932 · Frank C. Marsh
Sky Bride
1932 · Bert 'Speed' Condon
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
1932 · Self (uncredited)
Wayward
1932 · David Frost
Touchdown!
1931 · Dan Curtis
Caught
1931 · Lt. Tom Colton
The Secret Call
1931 · Tom Blake
The Lawyer's Secret
1931 · Joe Hart
Gun Smoke
1931 · Brad Farley
The Conquering Horde
1931 · Dan McMasters
Only Saps Work
1930 · Larry Payne
The Santa Fe Trail
1930 · Stan Hollister
The Sea God
1930 · Phillip 'Pink' Barker
The Border Legion
1930 · Jim Cleve
Paramount on Parade
1930 · Hunter (Dream Girl)
The Light of Western Stars
1930 · Dick Bailey
Dangerous Paradise
1930 · Heyst
Burning Up
1930 · Lou Larrigan
The Virginian
1929 · Steven 'Steve'
Dangerous Curves
1929 · Larry Lee
Thunderbolt
1929 · Bob Moran
The Four Feathers
1929 · Lt. Harry Faversham
The Man I Love
1929 · Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
Manhattan Cocktail
1928 · Fred Tilden
Beggars of Life
1928 · The Boy (Jim)
Ladies of the Mob
1928 · Red
Feel My Pulse
1928 · Her Problem
Under the Tonto Rim
1928 · Edd Denmeade
She's a Sheik
1927 · Capt. Colton
Figures Don't Lie
1927 · Bob Blewe
Sally in Our Alley
1927 · Jimmie Adams
Wings
1927 · David Armstrong
The Blood Ship
1927 · John Shreve
Rolled Stockings
1927 · Ralph Treadway
Old Ironsides
1926 · Seaman (uncredited)
You'd Be Surprised
1926 · Reporter (uncredited)
Padlocked
1926 · 'Tubby' Clark
Behind the Front
1926 · Percy Brown
The Enchanted Hill
1926 · Link Halliwell
The Coast of Folly
1925 · Bather
In the Name of Love
1925 · Dumas Dufrayne
Hollywood
1923 · Richard Arlen
Quicksands
1923
TV shows (19)
Branded
1965
Petticoat Junction
1963 · Self
The Lucy Show
1962 · Richard
The New Breed
1961 · Willits
Coronado 9
1960
Lock-Up
1959
Bat Masterson
1958 · John Minor, Sheriff Dan Rainey
Yancy Derringer
1958 · General Hugh Morgan
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958 · Damon Ring, Sr.
Perry Mason
1957 · Dr. Harrison
Matinee Theater
1955
Crossroads
1955 · Father John Fletcher Slee
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Climax!
1954 · Nevers
The Whistler
1954
Letter to Loretta
1953 · Christopher Waring
This Is Your Life
1952 · Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self
Your Show of Shows
1950