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
Edward Parker
Island of Lost Souls
Self (uncredited)
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Self
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
Cheshire Cat
Alice in Wonderland
Bob Moran
Thunderbolt
(archive footage)
The Horror Show
Richard Arlen
Hollywood
David Armstrong
Wings
Steven 'Steve'
The Virginian
Bacon
Warlock
Bather
The Coast of Folly
Dumas Dufrayne
In the Name of Love
Simon Lash
Accomplice
Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Submarine Alert
Lee Barrenger
The Crawling Hand
Her Problem
Feel My Pulse
Dr. Alan Stevens
Three Cornered Moon
Richard Houston
Minesweeper
Ralph Treadway
Rolled Stockings
The Boy (Jim)
Beggars of Life
Art Ryan
Helldorado
Johnny March
Identity Unknown
Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
Sabre Jet
Ned Duggan
Johnny Reno
Deadwood Telegrapher
Red Tomahawk
Lt. Harry Faversham
The Four Feathers
Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
The Man I Love
John Craig
Storm Over Lisbon
Pipes Boley
Tiger Shark
Capt. Jed Kilton
The Big Bonanza
Dick Bailey
The Light of Western Stars
Frank C. Marsh
Guilty as Hell
Tony Pelassier
Blonde Blackmailer
Larry Lee
Dangerous Curves
Dr. Patrick Cory
The Lady and the Monster
Alan Townsend
Artists & Models
Man in Club
Rogue's Gallery
Mal Stevens
Let 'em Have It
Harvey Howell
When My Baby Smiles at Me
Larry Payne
Only Saps Work
Sheriff Jenkins
Young Fury
Mondrake
College Humor
Townsman
Buckskin
Gaston Rogers
Call of The Yukon
Captain Gannon
Apache Uprising
William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
Three Live Ghosts
Ben the Bartender
Law of the Lawless
Pete
Black Spurs
Cliff Jordan
Speed to Spare
Tim Jones
That's My Baby!
Clark Manning
The Man from Montreal
Red
Ladies of the Mob
Lee Rogers
Secret Valley
Joe Hart
The Lawyer's Secret
Denny Paine
Straight, Place and Show
Heyst
Dangerous Paradise
Joe Morgan
The Blazing Forest
Jon Davis
Aerial Gunner
Johnny Maverick
Wildcat
Sheriff Travis
Hostile Guns
Dick Williams
A Dangerous Game
Lou Larrigan
Burning Up
Hickey
The Great Barrier
National Intelligence
The Human Duplicators
Brundage
Hurricane Smith
Russell Evans
Timber Queen
Doctor Kent
Town Tamer
Matt Fraser
The Phantom Speaks
Fred Tilden
Manhattan Cocktail
Col. Edwin Martin
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Dick McManus
Lucky Devils
Dick Talbot
The Devil's Pipeline
Percy Brown
Behind the Front
Jim Cleve
The Border Legion
Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
To the Shores of Hell
Showdown Calhoun
Flaming Feather
Sheriff Ward Young
Hidden Guns
Woody Ormsby
Alaska Highway
Brad Farrell
Power Dive
Dan Kendall
Forced Landing
Charles Storrs
Silver City
Pvt. John W. Lewis
A Letter From Bataan
Capt. Robert Lawrence
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
Seaman (uncredited)
Old Ironsides
Sgt. Jim Heisler
The Day of the Trumpet
Julian Barrow
Ready for Love
Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
Himself
Swing with Bing
Capt J.J. Jericho
Hell and High Water
Chris Garber
Raymie
Reporter (uncredited)
You'd Be Surprised
C. W. Rivial
The Mountain
Col. Ralph Holbein
The Young and the Brave
Dick Barclay
Mutiny in the Arctic
Dick Manning
Raiders of the Desert
Perry Brown
No Time to Marry
Wally King
Missing Daughters
Dan Burton
Tropic Fury
Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Legion of Lost Flyers
"Lucky" Larry Taylor
Danger On Wheels
Dick 'Kid' Roberts
The Leather Pushers
Bill Hoffman
Song of the Eagle
Wild Bill Smith
She Made Her Bed
Jim Clark
Flying Blind
Skinner Barnes
Torpedo Boat
Matthew Ridgeway
The Bounty Killer
Himself
Soaring Stars
Bob Harvey
The Mine with the Iron Door
Lt. Tom Colton
Caught
Phillip 'Pink' Barker
The Sea God
Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Murder in Greenwich Village
Dobe Williams
The Return of Wildfire
David Frost
Wayward
Charles Devon
Sex and the College Girl
Sam Tyler
Fort Utah
Walter Norton
Black Diamonds
Hunter (Dream Girl)
Paramount on Parade
Frank Stewart
Hot Steel
Dan Matthews
The Calling of Dan Matthews
Union Captain
Kansas Raiders
Walt Martin
Golden Harvest
Tom Blake
The Secret Call
Brad Farley
Gun Smoke
Capt. Colton
She's a Sheik
Bert 'Speed' Condon
Sky Bride
Billy Kelly
Waco
Lucky Davis
Come On, Marines!
Matt Carney
Wrecking Crew
John 'Captain' Martin
Devil's Point
How to Break 90 #4: Downswing
Stan Hollister
The Santa Fe Trail
Gary King
The All-American
Dan McMasters
The Conquering Horde
Jimmie Adams
Sally in Our Alley
John Shreve
The Blood Ship
Bob Blewe
Figures Don't Lie
Dick O'Hara
Men of the Timberland
Himself
Hollywood Hobbies
Link Halliwell
The Enchanted Hill
Sen. Oscar Anderson
The Best Man
Dan Curtis
Touchdown!
Edd Denmeade
Under the Tonto Rim
Mr. Monahan
A Whale of a Tale
'Tubby' Clark
Padlocked
Grimes
The Sky's the Limit
Mike Adams
Grand Canyon
Silent Film Star 2
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Himself (uncredited)
The French Key
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
149
Gender
Male
Birthday
1899-08-30
Place of Birth
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Also Known As
Van Mattimore