Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television.
Biography
Arlen served in Canada as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I.
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 (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. 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.
Political views
Arlen supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
Death
On March 28, 1976, Arlen died of pulmonary emphysema in North Hollywood, California.
Filmography
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"