Richard Arlen

Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899^[2] – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.

Richard Arlen
Arlen in 1932
Born	Sylvanus Richard Mattimore (1899-09-01)September 1, 1899 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 28, 1976(1976-03-28) (aged 76) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1921–1976
Spouses	Ruth Austin ​ ​ (m. 1920; div. 1923)​ Jobyna Ralston ​ ​ (m. 1927; div. 1946)​ Margaret Kinsella ​ ​ (m. 1946)​
Children	2[1]
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom  United States
Service / branch	British Army United States Army Air Forces
Unit	Royal Flying Corps
Battles / wars	World War I World War II

Early days

Arlen served in Canada as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I.^[3]

He later taught as a United States Army Air Forces flight instructor in World War II.^[4]

Following his World War I service, he attended the University of Pennsylvania, then worked a variety of odd jobs before an accident as a film laboratory delivery boy landed him a role as an extra in a silent Hollywood film.^[4]

Career

Arlen is best known for his role as a pilot in the Academy Award-winning Wings (1927) with Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Gary Cooper, El Brendel, and his second wife, Jobyna Ralston, whom he married in 1927. Arlen later appeared in the science fiction horror Island of Lost Souls (1932) with Charles Laughton, adapted from the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau. He was among the more famous residents of the celebrity enclave, Toluca Lake, California.^[5]

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.

He appeared on the November 9, 1968 episode of Petticoat Junction playing himself. The episode was called "Wings" and it was in direct reference to the 1927 silent movie Wings.^[6]

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.

Personal life

Arlen supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.^[7]

Arlen married actress Jobyna Ralston in January 1927, and they had one son. She divorced him in 1945 claiming in court that he had "packed up" and left her.^[8] He got married again in 1946 to New York socialite Margaret Kinsella.^[9]

Death

On March 28, 1976, Arlen died of pulmonary emphysema in North Hollywood, California.^[3]

Legacy

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.^[10]

Filmography

Features

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1921	Ladies Must Live	Minor Role	Uncredited Lost film
1922	The Green Temptation		Uncredited Lost film
	The Ghost Breaker	One of the 'Ghosts'	Uncredited
1923	Quicksands		Uncredited Lost film
	Vengeance of the Deep	Jean	Lost film
	Hollywood	Himself	Lost film
1924	The Fighting Coward	Minor Role	Uncredited
1925	Sally	Minor Role	Uncredited Lost film
	In the Name of Love	Dumas Dufrayne	Lost film
	The Coast of Folly	Bather	Scenes deleted Lost film
1926	The Enchanted Hill	Link Halliwell	Lost film
	Behind the Front	Percy Brown
	Padlocked	'Tubby' Clark
	You'd Be Surprised	Photographer	Uncredited
	Old Ironsides	Seaman	Uncredited
1927	Wings	David Armstrong
	Rolled Stockings	Ralph Treadway	Lost film
	The Blood Ship	John Shreve
	Sally in Our Alley	Jimmie Adams	Lost film
	Figures Don't Lie	Bob Blewe	Lost film
	She's a Sheik	Capt. Colton
1928	Under the Tonto Rim	Edd Denmeade	Lost film
	Feel My Pulse	Her Problem
	Ladies of the Mob	Red	Lost film
	Beggars of Life	The Boy (Jim)
	Manhattan Cocktail	Fred Tilden	Lost film
1929	The Man I Love	Dum-Dum Brooks
	The Four Feathers	Lt. Harry Faversham
	Thunderbolt	Bob Moran
	Dangerous Curves	Larry Lee
	The Virginian	Steve
1930	Burning Up	Lou Larrigan
	The Border Legion	Heyst
	Dangerous Paradise	Dick Bailey
	The Light of Western Stars	Jim Cleve
	Paramount on Parade	Hunter	Episode: 'Dream Girl'
	The Sea God	Phillip 'Pink' Barker
	The Santa Fe Trail	Stan Hollister
	Only Saps Work	Lawrence Payne
1931	The Conquering Horde	Dan McMasters
	Gun Smoke	Brad Farley
	The Lawyer's Secret	Joe Hart
	The Secret Call	Tom Blake
	Caught	Lt. Tom Colton
	Touchdown	Dan Curtis
1932	Wayward	David Frost
	Sky Bride	Bert 'Speed' Condon
	Guilty as Hell	Frank C. Marsh
	Tiger Shark	Pipes Boley
	The All American	Gary King
	Island of Lost Souls	Edward Parker
1933	Song of the Eagle	Bill Hoffman
	College Humor	Mondrake
	Three-Cornered Moon	Dr. Alan Stevens
	Golden Harvest	Walt Martin
	Hell and High Water	Capt. J.J. Jericho
	Alice in Wonderland	Cheshire Cat
1934	Come On Marines!	Lucky Davis
	She Made Her Bed	Wild Bill Smith
	Ready for Love	Julian Barrow
	Helldorado	Art Ryan
1935	Let 'Em Have It	Mal Stevens
	The Calling of Dan Matthews	Dan Matthews
1936	Three Live Ghosts	William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
	The Mine with the Iron Door	Bob Harvey
1937	Secret Valley	Lee Rogers
	The Great Barrier	Hickey
	Artists and Models	Alan Townsend
	Murder in Greenwich Village	Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
1938	No Time to Marry
	Call of the Yukon	Gaston Rogers
	Straight, Place and Show	Denny Paine
1939	Missing Daughters	Wally King
	Mutiny on the Blackhawk	Capt. Robert Lawrence
	Tropic Fury	Dan Burton
	Legion of Lost Flyers	Gene 'Loop' Gillan
	Man from Montreal	Clark Manning
1940	Danger on Wheels	Larry Taylor
	Hot Steel	Frank Stewart
	The Leather Pushers	Dick 'Kid' Roberts
	The Devil's Pipeline	Dick Talbot
	Black Diamonds	Walter Norton
1941	Lucky Devils	Dick McManus
	Mutiny in the Arctic	Dick Barclay
	Men of the Timberland	Dick O'Hara
	Power Dive	Brad Farrell
	Forced Landing	Dan Kendall
	Raiders of the Desert	Dick Manning
	A Dangerous Game	Dick Williams
	Flying Blind	Jim Clark
1942	Torpedo Boat	Skinner Barnes
	Wildcat	Johnny Maverick
	Wrecking Crew	Matt Carney
1943	Submarine Alert	Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
	Aerial Gunner	Sgt / Lt. Jonathan 'Jon' Davis
	Alaska Highway	Woody Ormsby
	Minesweeper	Richard Houston – posing as Jim 'Tennessee' Smith
1944	Timber Queen	Russell Evans
	The Lady and the Monster	Dr. Patrick Cory
	That's My Baby!	Tim Jones
	Storm Over Lisbon	John Craig
	The Big Bonanza	Captain Jed Kilton
1945	Identity Unknown	Johnny March
	The Phantom Speaks	Matt Fraser
1946	Accomplice	Simon Lash
1947	Buffalo Bill Rides Again	Buffalo Bill
1948	Speed to Spare	Cliff Jordan
	The Return of Wildfire	Dobe Williams
	When My Baby Smiles at Me	Harvey Howell
1949	Grand Canyon	Mike Adams
1950	Kansas Raiders	Union Captain
1951	Silver City	Charles Storrs
1952	Flaming Feather	Showdown Calhoun
	Hurricane Smith	Brundage
	The Blazing Forest	Joe Morgan
1953	Sabre Jet	Gen. Robert E. 'Bob' Hale
1954	Devil's Harbor	John 'Captain' Martin
1955	Stolen Time	Tony Pelassier
1956	Hidden Guns	Sheriff Ward Young
	The Mountain	C.W. Rivial
1958	Cavalry Command	Sgt. Jim Heisler
1959	Warlock	Bacon
1960	Raymie	Garber
1961	The Last Time I Saw Archie	Col. Edwin Martin
1963	The Young and The Brave	Col. Ralph Holbein
	The Crawling Hand	Lee Barrenger
	Law of the Lawless	Ben the Bartender
1964	The Best Man	Sen. Oscar Anderson
	The Shepherd of the Hills	Old Matt
	Young Fury	Sheriff Jenkins
	Sex and the College Girl	Charles Devon
1965	The Human Duplicators	Lt. Shaw – National Intelligence
	Black Spurs	Pete Muchin
	Town Tamer	Doctor Kent
	The Bounty Killer	Matthew Ridgeway
	Apache Uprising	Captain Gannon
1966	Johnny Reno	Ned Duggan
	To the Shores of Hell	Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
	Waco	Sheriff Billy Kelly
1967	Red Tomahawk	Deadwood Telegrapher
	Hostile Guns	Sheriff Travis
	Fort Utah	Sam Tyler
	The Road to Nashville	Studio Boss
1968	Buckskin	Townsman
	Anzio	Capt. Gannon	Uncredited
	Rogues' Gallery	Man in Club
1975	The Sky's the Limit	Grimes
1976	Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood	Silent Film Star 2
1977	A Whale of a Tale	Mr. Monahan	Final film role

Short subjects

• A Trip Through the Paramount Studio (1927) as Himself
• Hollywood on Parade No. A-6 (1933) as Himself / The Great Arlen (uncredited)
• Hollywood on Parade No. A-9 (1933) as Himself – Dick Arlen (uncredited)
• How to Break 90 #4: Downswing (1933) as Himself – Dick Arlen (uncredited)
• Hollywood on Parade No. B-6 (1934) as Himself
• Hollywood Hobbies (1935) as Himself
• Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 3 (1935) as Himself
• Swing with Bing (1940) as Himself – Movie Star playing Golf
• Screen Snapshots: Sports in Hollywood (1940) as Himself, Golf Player
• Soaring Stars (1942) as Himself (uncredited)
• Unusual Occupations (1942) as Himself (uncredited)
• Paramount Victory Short: A Letter from Bataan (1942) as Pvt. John W. Lewis
• Bat Masterson (1961) as Sheriff Dan Rainey – S3E16 "The Price of Paradise"

References

1. "Richard Arlen Dies; Screen Actor was 75". Schenectady Gazette. United Press International. March 29, 1976. p. 17. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
2. Although Arlen's birthplace is often listed as Charlottesville, Virginia, and his birth name as Cornelius Richard Van Mattimore, other non-Hollywood information is different. The "Van" is likely a shorten version of Sylvanus, not an additional name. The June 1, 1900 census data says Arlen's father, James Mattimore lived in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1900 with five children, the youngest of whom is Sylvanus, who was born in Minnesota (city unspecified) in September 1899 and was also listed as 8/12 years of age. Sylvanus was listed in the April 1, 1910 census as being 10 years old. On Arlen's September 12, 1918 draft card, his name given as Van Mattimore, a member of the Royal Flying Corps of the British Army, based in Toronto, his nearest relative is listed as his father James Mattimore. The 1918 draft card's date of birth is given as September 1, 1900, and it would appear that the writer started to put the year of birth as 18 and then wrote over the 8 with a 9, so it appears as 1900. The Social Security Administration notes Richard Arlen was born on September 1, 1899 and died in March 1976. The census of 1930 lists Van Mattimore, Richard age 29. It says that he and both parents were born in Minnesota. According to the 1900 and 1910 census, his father was born in Ireland.
3. Tucker, David C. (August 15, 2019). Pine-Thomas Productions: A History and Filmography. McFarland. pp. 211–213. ISBN 978-1-4766-7743-9. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
4. TODAY in Masonic History: Richard Arlen Passes Away. Masonry Today. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
5. History of Toluca Lake Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, retrieved on September 15, 2010.
6. Humphrey, Hal (October 25, 1968). "Out of the Air: Buddy Rogers–47 Years Later". East Liverpool Review. p. 15. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
7. Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107650282.
8. "Richard Arlen Divorced: He Just Packed Up and Left Me, Says His Wife, Jobyna Ralston". The New York Times. September 5, 1945. p. 19. ProQuest 107292268.
9. "Arlen to Wed Again". The Evening News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. March 23, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2020. Actor Richard Arlen and New York Socialite Margaret Kinsella will be married when his divorce from Silent Screen Actress Jobyna Ralston becomes final September 4, he said today.
10. "Hollywood Walk of Fame – Richard Arlen". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

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External links

• Richard Arlen at IMDb 
• Richard Arlen at the TCM Movie Database
• Richard Arlen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Richard Arlen discography at Discogs
• Richard Arlen at Find a Grave
• Photographs of Richard Arlen