Richard Arlen
Acting
Born: August 30, 1899 · Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Died: March 28, 1976 (aged 76)
Highest Rated
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.
Known for
Wings
1927
Island of Lost Souls
1932
Warlock
1959
Perry Mason
1957
Alice in Wonderland
1933
The Lucy Show
1962
The Mountain
1956
Beggars of Life
1928
The Best Man
1964
Petticoat Junction
1963
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
Thunderbolt
1929
Photos (2)
Movies (146)
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Silent Film Star 2
Wings
David Armstrong
Warlock
Bacon
Island of Lost Souls
Edward Parker
The Best Man
Sen. Oscar Anderson
Alice in Wonderland
Cheshire Cat
Tropic Fury
Dan Burton
College Humor
Mondrake
Dangerous Curves
Larry Lee
Kansas Raiders
Union Captain
Paramount on Parade
Hunter (Dream Girl)
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Col. Edwin Martin
The Bounty Killer
Matthew Ridgeway
The Mountain
C. W. Rivial
Law of the Lawless
Ben the Bartender
Johnny Reno
Ned Duggan
Black Spurs
Pete
Hollywood
Richard Arlen
The Lady and the Monster
Dr. Patrick Cory
Wayward
David Frost
Town Tamer
Doctor Kent
Young Fury
Sheriff Jenkins
Flaming Feather
Showdown Calhoun
Rolled Stockings
Ralph Treadway
Wildcat
Johnny Maverick
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
Grand Canyon
Mike Adams
Thunderbolt
Bob Moran
The Crawling Hand
Lee Barrenger
The All-American
Gary King
Red Tomahawk
Deadwood Telegrapher
Waco
Billy Kelly
Beggars of Life
The Boy (Jim)
Apache Uprising
Captain Gannon
Fort Utah
Sam Tyler
Hurricane Smith
Brundage
The Human Duplicators
National Intelligence
Secret Valley
Lee Rogers
Only Saps Work
Larry Payne
You'd Be Surprised
Reporter (uncredited)
Silver City
Charles Storrs
The Leather Pushers
Dick 'Kid' Roberts
Three Live Ghosts
William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
Danger On Wheels
"Lucky" Larry Taylor
Tiger Shark
Pipes Boley
Hot Steel
Frank Stewart
Alaska Highway
Woody Ormsby
She Made Her Bed
Wild Bill Smith
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
Buffalo Bill
The Big Bonanza
Capt. Jed Kilton
Caught
Lt. Tom Colton
The Muppets Go to the Movies
David Armstrong (archive footage) (uncredited)
Child of Trouble
Louis Contino
No Time to Marry
Perry Brown
The Great Barrier
Hickey
Golden Harvest
Walt Martin
Three Cornered Moon
Dr. Alan Stevens
Timber Queen
Russell Evans
The Santa Fe Trail
Stan Hollister
In the Name of Love
Dumas Dufrayne
The Four Feathers
Lt. Harry Faversham
Rogue's Gallery
Man in Club
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess
2012
The Young and the Brave
Col. Ralph Holbein
Black Diamonds
Walter Norton
The Lawyer's Secret
Joe Hart
The Man I Love
Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
When My Baby Smiles at Me
Harvey Howell
Hostile Guns
Sheriff Travis
Minesweeper
Richard Houston
A Whale of a Tale
Mr. Monahan
The Virginian
Steven 'Steve'
Sabre Jet
Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
Murder in Greenwich Village
Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Submarine Alert
Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Aerial Gunner
Jon Davis
Buckskin
Townsman
The Border Legion
Jim Cleve
A Dangerous Game
Dick Williams
Helldorado
Art Ryan
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Dan Matthews
The Return of Wildfire
Dobe Williams
Hidden Guns
Sheriff Ward Young
Raymie
Chris Garber
Road to Nashville
Studio Boss
Sex and the College Girl
Charles Devon
Come On, Marines!
Lucky Davis
Blonde Blackmailer
Tony Pelassier
Power Dive
Brad Farrell
The Man from Montreal
Clark Manning
Flying Blind
Jim Clark
The Sea God
Phillip 'Pink' Barker
To the Shores of Hell
Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
Sally in Our Alley
Jimmie Adams
Identity Unknown
Johnny March
She's a Sheik
Capt. Colton
Burning Up
Lou Larrigan
Ladies of the Mob
Red
Artists & Models
Alan Townsend
The Sky's the Limit
Grimes
Torpedo Boat
Skinner Barnes
The Light of Western Stars
Dick Bailey
Straight, Place and Show
Denny Paine
Call of The Yukon
Gaston Rogers
Touchdown!
Dan Curtis
Missing Daughters
Wally King
Dangerous Paradise
Heyst
Wrecking Crew
Matt Carney
Gun Smoke
Brad Farley
Men of the Timberland
Dick O'Hara
The Devil's Pipeline
Dick Talbot
Mutiny in the Arctic
Dick Barclay
Song of the Eagle
Bill Hoffman
Forced Landing
Dan Kendall
The Enchanted Hill
Link Halliwell
Storm Over Lisbon
John Craig
Sky Bride
Bert 'Speed' Condon
A Letter From Bataan
Pvt. John W. Lewis
Padlocked
'Tubby' Clark
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Capt. Robert Lawrence
Lucky Devils
Dick McManus
The Mine with the Iron Door
Bob Harvey
Old Ironsides
Seaman (uncredited)
The Secret Call
Tom Blake
The Shepherd of the Hills
Old Matt
The Coast of Folly
Bather
Figures Don't Lie
Bob Blewe
Accomplice
Simon Lash
The Blood Ship
John Shreve
Legion of Lost Flyers
Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Raiders of the Desert
Dick Manning
The Phantom Speaks
Matt Fraser
Let 'em Have It
Mal Stevens
Under the Tonto Rim
Edd Denmeade
The Conquering Horde
Dan McMasters
That's My Baby!
Tim Jones
Feel My Pulse
Her Problem
Guilty as Hell
Frank C. Marsh
Manhattan Cocktail
Fred Tilden
Quicksands
1923
Behind the Front
Percy Brown
Ready for Love
Julian Barrow
The Blazing Forest
Joe Morgan
Devil's Point
John 'Captain' Martin
Cavalry Command
Sgt. Jim Heisler
Speed to Spare
Cliff Jordan
TV Shows (17)
Perry Mason
Dr. Harrison · 1 eps
The Lucy Show
Richard · 1 eps
Climax!
Nevers · 1 eps
Matinee Theater
1 eps
Bat Masterson
John Minor · 1 eps
Bat Masterson
Sheriff Dan Rainey · 1 eps
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Damon Ring, Sr. · 1 eps
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1 eps
Branded
1 eps
Lock-Up
1 eps
Your Show of Shows
1 eps
The New Breed
Willits · 1 eps
Crossroads
Father John Fletcher Slee · 1 eps
Yancy Derringer
General Hugh Morgan · 1 eps
The Whistler
1 eps
Coronado 9
1 eps
Letter to Loretta
Christopher Waring · 1 eps
Self / Appearances (7)
Petticoat Junction
Self · 1 eps
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · 1 eps
This Is Your Life
Self · 1 eps
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
Self
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
Self / Arlen the Great
The French Key
Himself (uncredited)
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Self (uncredited)