Biography
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 162
2010s
- 2012
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess
Movie
1980s
- 1981
The Muppets Go to the Movies
David Armstrong (archive footage) (uncredited)
1970s
- 1979
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
- 1976
A Whale of a Tale
Mr. Monahan
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Silent Film Star 2
- 1975
The Sky's the Limit
Grimes
1960s
- 1968
Buckskin
Townsman
Rogue's Gallery
Man in Club
- 1967
Fort Utah
Sam Tyler
Hostile Guns
Sheriff Travis
Red Tomahawk
Deadwood Telegrapher
- 1966
Road to Nashville
Studio Boss
To the Shores of Hell
Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
Johnny Reno
Ned Duggan
- 1965
Apache Uprising
Captain Gannon
Town Tamer
Doctor Kent
Black Spurs
Pete
- 1964
Young Fury
Sheriff Jenkins
Sex and the College Girl
Charles Devon
Law of the Lawless
Ben the Bartender
The Shepherd of the Hills
Old Matt
- 1963
The Crawling Hand
Lee Barrenger
The Young and the Brave
Col. Ralph Holbein
- 1962
- 1961
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Col. Edwin Martin
- 1960
Coronado 9
TV
Raymie
Chris Garber
1950s
- 1959
- 1958
Cavalry Command
Sgt. Jim Heisler
- 1957
Child of Trouble
Louis Contino
- 1956
The Mountain
C. W. Rivial
Hidden Guns
Sheriff Ward Young
- 1955
Crossroads
Father John Fletcher Slee · 1 episode
Blonde Blackmailer
Tony Pelassier
- 1954
Devil's Point
John 'Captain' Martin
- 1953
Sabre Jet
Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
- 1952
The Blazing Forest
Joe Morgan
Hurricane Smith
Brundage
- 1951
Silver City
Charles Storrs
- 1950
1940s
- 1949
Grand Canyon
Mike Adams
- 1948
When My Baby Smiles at Me
Harvey Howell
The Return of Wildfire
Dobe Williams
Speed to Spare
Cliff Jordan
- 1947
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
Buffalo Bill
- 1946
Accomplice
Simon Lash
- 1945
The Phantom Speaks
Matt Fraser
Identity Unknown
Johnny March
- 1944
The Big Bonanza
Capt. Jed Kilton
Storm Over Lisbon
John Craig
That's My Baby!
Tim Jones
The Lady and the Monster
Dr. Patrick Cory
Timber Queen
Russell Evans
- 1943
Minesweeper
Richard Houston
Alaska Highway
Woody Ormsby
Aerial Gunner
Jon Davis
- 1942
Wrecking Crew
Matt Carney
A Letter From Bataan
Pvt. John W. Lewis
Wildcat
Johnny Maverick
Torpedo Boat
Skinner Barnes
- 1941
Flying Blind
Jim Clark
A Dangerous Game
Dick Williams
Raiders of the Desert
Dick Manning
Forced Landing
Dan Kendall
Men of the Timberland
Dick O'Hara
Mutiny in the Arctic
Dick Barclay
Lucky Devils
Dick McManus
- 1940
The Devil's Pipeline
Dick Talbot
The Leather Pushers
Dick 'Kid' Roberts
Black Diamonds
Walter Norton
Hot Steel
Frank Stewart
1930s
- 1939
The Man from Montreal
Clark Manning
Legion of Lost Flyers
Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Capt. Robert Lawrence
Missing Daughters
Wally King
- 1938
Straight, Place and Show
Denny Paine
No Time to Marry
Perry Brown
- 1937
Murder in Greenwich Village
Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Artists & Models
Alan Townsend
Secret Valley
Lee Rogers
The Great Barrier
Hickey
- 1936
The Mine with the Iron Door
Bob Harvey
Three Live Ghosts
William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
- 1935
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Dan Matthews
Let 'em Have It
Mal Stevens
Helldorado
Art Ryan
- 1934
Ready for Love
Julian Barrow
She Made Her Bed
Wild Bill Smith
Come On, Marines!
Lucky Davis
- 1933
Golden Harvest
Walt Martin
Three Cornered Moon
Dr. Alan Stevens
College Humor
Mondrake
Song of the Eagle
Bill Hoffman
- 1932
Island of Lost Souls
Edward Parker
The All-American
Gary King
Guilty as Hell
Frank C. Marsh
Sky Bride
Bert 'Speed' Condon
Wayward
David Frost
- 1931
Touchdown!
Dan Curtis
Caught
Lt. Tom Colton
The Secret Call
Tom Blake
The Lawyer's Secret
Joe Hart
Gun Smoke
Brad Farley
The Conquering Horde
Dan McMasters
- 1930
Only Saps Work
Larry Payne
The Santa Fe Trail
Stan Hollister
The Sea God
Phillip 'Pink' Barker
The Border Legion
Jim Cleve
Paramount on Parade
Hunter (Dream Girl)
The Light of Western Stars
Dick Bailey
Dangerous Paradise
Heyst
Burning Up
Lou Larrigan
1920s
- 1929
Dangerous Curves
Larry Lee
Thunderbolt
Bob Moran
The Four Feathers
Lt. Harry Faversham
The Man I Love
Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
- 1928
Manhattan Cocktail
Fred Tilden
Ladies of the Mob
Red
Feel My Pulse
Her Problem
Under the Tonto Rim
Edd Denmeade
- 1927
She's a Sheik
Capt. Colton
Figures Don't Lie
Bob Blewe
Sally in Our Alley
Jimmie Adams
The Blood Ship
John Shreve
Rolled Stockings
Ralph Treadway
- 1926
Old Ironsides
Seaman (uncredited)
You'd Be Surprised
Reporter (uncredited)
Padlocked
'Tubby' Clark
Behind the Front
Percy Brown
The Enchanted Hill
Link Halliwell
- 1925
The Coast of Folly
Bather
In the Name of Love
Dumas Dufrayne
- 1923
Hollywood
Richard Arlen
Quicksands
Movie
Appearances7
1960s
- 1963
1940s
- 1946
The French Key
Himself (uncredited)
1930s
- 1934
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
Self
- 1933
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
Self / Arlen the Great
- 1932
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Self (uncredited)