Richard Arlen

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

169

Gender

Male

Birthday

1899-08-30

Day of death

1976-03-28 (76 years old)

Place of Birth

Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

Richard Arlen

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

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Petticoat Junction

    Petticoat Junction

  • Wanted: Dead or Alive

    Wanted: Dead or Alive

  • The Lucy Show

    The Lucy Show

  • Matinee Theater

    Matinee Theater

  • Climax!

    Climax!

  • Bat Masterson

    Bat Masterson

  • Bat Masterson

    Bat Masterson

  • The Whistler

    The Whistler

  • This Is Your Life

    This Is Your Life

  • The Colgate Comedy Hour

    The Colgate Comedy Hour

  • Hollywood on Parade No. A-6

    Hollywood on Parade No. A-6

  • Your Show of Shows

    Your Show of Shows

  • The 20th Century Fox Hour

    The 20th Century Fox Hour

  • Branded

    Branded

  • Sabre Jet

    Sabre Jet

  • Identity Unknown

    Identity Unknown

  • Lock-Up

    Lock-Up

  • Flying Blind

    Flying Blind

  • The New Breed

    The New Breed

  • Missing Daughters

    Missing Daughters

  • Wrecking Crew

    Wrecking Crew

  • Hostile Guns

    Hostile Guns

  • Wings

    Wings

  • Hollywood

    Hollywood

  • Kansas Raiders

    Kansas Raiders

  • Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

    Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

  • Young Fury

    Young Fury

  • Tiger Shark

    Tiger Shark

  • Raymie

    Raymie

  • Lucky Devils

    Lucky Devils

  • The Mountain

    The Mountain

  • Black Diamonds

    Black Diamonds

  • Minesweeper

    Minesweeper

  • Silver City

    Silver City

  • Johnny Reno

    Johnny Reno

  • Waco

    Waco

  • Forced Landing

    Forced Landing

  • Hollywood on Parade No. A-4

    Hollywood on Parade No. A-4

  • Black Spurs

    Black Spurs

  • Flaming Feather

    Flaming Feather

  • Manhattan Cocktail

    Manhattan Cocktail

  • Yancy Derringer

    Yancy Derringer

  • Dangerous Curves

    Dangerous Curves

  • Hurricane Smith

    Hurricane Smith

  • Murder in Greenwich Village

    Murder in Greenwich Village

  • Warlock

    Warlock

  • The Virginian

    The Virginian

  • Wayward

    Wayward

  • Secret Valley

    Secret Valley

  • Tropic Fury

    Tropic Fury

  • Artists & Models

    Artists & Models

  • Submarine Alert

    Submarine Alert

  • Fort Utah

    Fort Utah

  • Coronado 9

    Coronado 9

  • Town Tamer

    Town Tamer

  • Wildcat

    Wildcat

  • Dangerous Paradise

    Dangerous Paradise

  • Soaring Stars

    Soaring Stars

  • Red Tomahawk

    Red Tomahawk

  • Island of Lost Souls

    Island of Lost Souls

  • Timber Queen

    Timber Queen

  • Letter to Loretta

    Letter to Loretta

  • Padlocked

    Padlocked

  • Torpedo Boat

    Torpedo Boat

  • Hot Steel

    Hot Steel

  • Grand Canyon

    Grand Canyon

  • Golden Harvest

    Golden Harvest

  • Thunderbolt

    Thunderbolt

  • The Santa Fe Trail

    The Santa Fe Trail

  • Sky Bride

    Sky Bride

  • The Return of Wildfire

    The Return of Wildfire

  • The Lady and the Monster

    The Lady and the Monster

  • Helldorado

    Helldorado

  • The Best Man

    The Best Man

  • The Coast of Folly

    The Coast of Folly

  • Rolled Stockings

    Rolled Stockings

  • Beggars of Life

    Beggars of Life

  • Burning Up

    Burning Up

  • Feel My Pulse

    Feel My Pulse

  • The Man from Montreal

    The Man from Montreal

  • The Devil's Pipeline

    The Devil's Pipeline

  • The Calling of Dan Matthews

    The Calling of Dan Matthews

  • Ready for Love

    Ready for Love

  • Three Cornered Moon

    Three Cornered Moon

  • The Bounty Killer

    The Bounty Killer

  • A Whale of a Tale

    A Whale of a Tale

  • Law of the Lawless

    Law of the Lawless

  • The Light of Western Stars

    The Light of Western Stars

  • Legion of Lost Flyers

    Legion of Lost Flyers

  • A Dangerous Game

    A Dangerous Game

  • The Man I Love

    The Man I Love

  • Touchdown!

    Touchdown!

  • Devil's Point

    Devil's Point

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • Sally in Our Alley

    Sally in Our Alley

  • The Secret Call

    The Secret Call

  • The Four Feathers

    The Four Feathers

  • Paramount on Parade

    Paramount on Parade

  • Speed to Spare

    Speed to Spare

  • Under the Tonto Rim

    Under the Tonto Rim

  • Mutiny in the Arctic

    Mutiny in the Arctic

  • Storm Over Lisbon

    Storm Over Lisbon

  • The Leather Pushers

    The Leather Pushers

  • Child of Trouble

    Child of Trouble

  • The Crawling Hand

    The Crawling Hand

  • The Blazing Forest

    The Blazing Forest

  • The Blood Ship

    The Blood Ship

  • The Sky's the Limit

    The Sky's the Limit

  • Three Live Ghosts

    Three Live Ghosts

  • She's a Sheik

    She's a Sheik

  • College Humor

    College Humor

  • That's My Baby!

    That's My Baby!

  • Hollywood Hobbies

    Hollywood Hobbies

  • The Last Time I Saw Archie

    The Last Time I Saw Archie

  • The Human Duplicators

    The Human Duplicators

  • The French Key

    The French Key

  • The Horror Show

    The Horror Show

  • Come On, Marines!

    Come On, Marines!

  • Buckskin

    Buckskin

  • Swing with Bing

    Swing with Bing

  • A Letter From Bataan

    A Letter From Bataan

  • The Mine with the Iron Door

    The Mine with the Iron Door

  • You'd Be Surprised

    You'd Be Surprised

  • The Lawyer's Secret

    The Lawyer's Secret

  • Straight, Place and Show

    Straight, Place and Show

  • When My Baby Smiles at Me

    When My Baby Smiles at Me

  • The All-American

    The All-American

  • She Made Her Bed

    She Made Her Bed

  • The Great Barrier

    The Great Barrier

  • Danger On Wheels

    Danger On Wheels

  • Apache Uprising

    Apache Uprising

  • Ladies of the Mob

    Ladies of the Mob

  • The Phantom Speaks

    The Phantom Speaks

  • The Sea God

    The Sea God

  • The Big Bonanza

    The Big Bonanza

  • No Time to Marry

    No Time to Marry

  • Song of the Eagle

    Song of the Eagle

  • Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess

    Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess

  • Aerial Gunner

    Aerial Gunner

  • Old Ironsides

    Old Ironsides

  • In the Name of Love

    In the Name of Love

  • Sex and the College Girl

    Sex and the College Girl

  • Buffalo Bill Rides Again

    Buffalo Bill Rides Again

  • The Young and the Brave

    The Young and the Brave

  • Call of The Yukon

    Call of The Yukon

  • Behind the Front

    Behind the Front

  • Only Saps Work

    Only Saps Work

  • Let 'em Have It

    Let 'em Have It

  • Rogue's Gallery

    Rogue's Gallery

  • Figures Don't Lie

    Figures Don't Lie

  • Gun Smoke

    Gun Smoke

  • Men of the Timberland

    Men of the Timberland

  • The Enchanted Hill

    The Enchanted Hill

  • Alaska Highway

    Alaska Highway

  • Caught

    Caught

  • Blonde Blackmailer

    Blonde Blackmailer

  • Guilty as Hell

    Guilty as Hell

  • To the Shores of Hell

    To the Shores of Hell

  • Power Dive

    Power Dive

  • Accomplice

    Accomplice

  • Mutiny on the Blackhawk

    Mutiny on the Blackhawk

  • Hidden Guns

    Hidden Guns

  • How to Break 90 #4: Downswing

    How to Break 90 #4: Downswing

  • The Conquering Horde

    The Conquering Horde

  • Hell and High Water

    Hell and High Water

  • The Day of the Trumpet

    The Day of the Trumpet

  • The Border Legion

    The Border Legion

  • Raiders of the Desert

    Raiders of the Desert