Acting
Richard Arlen
EN, XX cinema · 155 credits
Born
30 August 1899
Died
28 March 1976 (aged 76)
Birthplace
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Also known as Van Mattimore · Dick Arlen · Sylvanus Richard Mattimore
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
Filmography
The Muppets Go to the Movies
as David Armstrong (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Horror Show
as (archive footage)
A Whale of a Tale
as Mr. Monahan
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Silent Film Star 2
The Sky's the Limit
as Grimes
Rogue's Gallery
as Man in Club
Buckskin
as Townsman
Red Tomahawk
as Deadwood Telegrapher
Hostile Guns
as Sheriff Travis
Fort Utah
as Sam Tyler
Johnny Reno
as Ned Duggan
To the Shores of Hell
as Brig. Gen. F.W. Ramsgate
Waco
as Billy Kelly
Road to Nashville
as Studio Boss
Apache Uprising
as Captain Gannon
Black Spurs
as Pete
The Human Duplicators
as National Intelligence
Town Tamer
as Doctor Kent
The Bounty Killer
as Matthew Ridgeway
Young Fury
as Sheriff Jenkins
Law of the Lawless
as Ben the Bartender
Sex and the College Girl
as Charles Devon
The Best Man
as Sen. Oscar Anderson
The Shepherd of the Hills
as Old Matt
The Crawling Hand
as Lee Barrenger
The Young and the Brave
as Col. Ralph Holbein
The Last Time I Saw Archie
as Col. Edwin Martin
Raymie
as Chris Garber
Warlock
as Bacon
Cavalry Command
as Sgt. Jim Heisler
Child of Trouble
as Louis Contino
Hidden Guns
as Sheriff Ward Young
The Mountain
as C. W. Rivial
Blonde Blackmailer
as Tony Pelassier
Devil's Point
as John 'Captain' Martin
Sabre Jet
as Gen. Robert E 'Bob' Hale
The Blazing Forest
as Joe Morgan
Hurricane Smith
as Brundage
Flaming Feather
as Showdown Calhoun
Silver City
as Charles Storrs
Kansas Raiders
as Union Captain
Grand Canyon
as Mike Adams
When My Baby Smiles at Me
as Harvey Howell
Speed to Spare
as Cliff Jordan
The Return of Wildfire
as Dobe Williams
Buffalo Bill Rides Again
as Buffalo Bill
Accomplice
as Simon Lash
The French Key
as Himself (uncredited)
Identity Unknown
as Johnny March
The Phantom Speaks
as Matt Fraser
Storm Over Lisbon
as John Craig
The Big Bonanza
as Capt. Jed Kilton
The Lady and the Monster
as Dr. Patrick Cory
That's My Baby!
as Tim Jones
Timber Queen
as Russell Evans
Submarine Alert
as Lewis J. 'Lee' Deerhold
Minesweeper
as Richard Houston
Aerial Gunner
as Jon Davis
Alaska Highway
as Woody Ormsby
Wildcat
as Johnny Maverick
A Letter From Bataan
as Pvt. John W. Lewis
Torpedo Boat
as Skinner Barnes
Wrecking Crew
as Matt Carney
A Dangerous Game
as Dick Williams
Lucky Devils
as Dick McManus
Power Dive
as Brad Farrell
Forced Landing
as Dan Kendall
Mutiny in the Arctic
as Dick Barclay
Raiders of the Desert
as Dick Manning
Flying Blind
as Jim Clark
Men of the Timberland
as Dick O'Hara
The Devil's Pipeline
as Dick Talbot
Danger On Wheels
as "Lucky" Larry Taylor
The Leather Pushers
as Dick 'Kid' Roberts
Black Diamonds
as Walter Norton
Hot Steel
as Frank Stewart
The Man from Montreal
as Clark Manning
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
as Capt. Robert Lawrence
Missing Daughters
as Wally King
Tropic Fury
as Dan Burton
Legion of Lost Flyers
as Gene 'Loop' Gillan
Call of The Yukon
as Gaston Rogers
Straight, Place and Show
as Denny Paine
No Time to Marry
as Perry Brown
Artists & Models
as Alan Townsend
Secret Valley
as Lee Rogers
The Great Barrier
as Hickey
Murder in Greenwich Village
as Steve Havens Jackson Jr.
Three Live Ghosts
as William 'Bill' Jones, an alias of William Foster
The Mine with the Iron Door
as Bob Harvey
Helldorado
as Art Ryan
Let 'em Have It
as Mal Stevens
The Calling of Dan Matthews
as Dan Matthews
Ready for Love
as Julian Barrow
She Made Her Bed
as Wild Bill Smith
Come On, Marines!
as Lucky Davis
Hollywood on Parade No. A-6
as Self / Arlen the Great
Alice in Wonderland
as Cheshire Cat
Three Cornered Moon
as Dr. Alan Stevens
College Humor
as Mondrake
Hell and High Water
1933
Hell and High Water
as Capt J.J. Jericho
Song of the Eagle
as Bill Hoffman
Golden Harvest
as Walt Martin
Island of Lost Souls
as Edward Parker
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
as Self (uncredited)
Tiger Shark
as Pipes Boley
Guilty as Hell
as Frank C. Marsh
Wayward
as David Frost
Sky Bride
as Bert 'Speed' Condon
The All-American
as Gary King
The Lawyer's Secret
as Joe Hart
Caught
as Lt. Tom Colton
The Secret Call
as Tom Blake
Gun Smoke
as Brad Farley
The Conquering Horde
as Dan McMasters
Touchdown!
as Dan Curtis
The Light of Western Stars
as Dick Bailey
Only Saps Work
as Larry Payne
Dangerous Paradise
as Heyst
Burning Up
as Lou Larrigan
The Border Legion
as Jim Cleve
The Sea God
as Phillip 'Pink' Barker
Paramount on Parade
as Hunter (Dream Girl)
The Santa Fe Trail
as Stan Hollister
Thunderbolt
as Bob Moran
The Virginian
as Steven 'Steve'
The Four Feathers
as Lt. Harry Faversham
The Man I Love
as Joe "Dum-Dum" Brooks
Dangerous Curves
as Larry Lee
Feel My Pulse
as Her Problem
Beggars of Life
as The Boy (Jim)
Manhattan Cocktail
as Fred Tilden
Under the Tonto Rim
as Edd Denmeade
Wings
as David Armstrong
Rolled Stockings
as Ralph Treadway
She's a Sheik
as Capt. Colton
Sally in Our Alley
as Jimmie Adams
The Blood Ship
as John Shreve
Figures Don't Lie
as Bob Blewe
Behind the Front
as Percy Brown
Old Ironsides
as Seaman (uncredited)
You'd Be Surprised
as Reporter (uncredited)
The Enchanted Hill
as Link Halliwell
Padlocked
as 'Tubby' Clark
The Coast of Folly
as Bather
In the Name of Love
as Dumas Dufrayne
Hollywood
as Richard Arlen
