Richard Arlen

Richard Arlen

actor, soundtrack

Richard Arlen was born on Sep 01, 1899 in USA. Richard Arlen's big-screen debut came with The Green Temptation directed by William Desmond Taylor in 1922, strarring . Richard Arlen is known for The Sky's the Limit directed by Tom Leetch, Pat O'Brien stars as Abner Therman and Lloyd Nolan as Cornwall. The most recent award Richard Arlen achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie Richard Arlen plays is Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood which will be released on May 26, 1976.

During World War I, Richard Arlen served in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps as a pilot, but he never saw combat. After the war he drifted round and eventually wound up in Los Angeles, where he got a job as a motorcycle messenger at a film laboratory. When he crashed into the gates of Paramount Pictures and suffered a broken leg, the studio provided prompt medical attention. Impressed by his good looks, executives also gave him a contract after he had recovered. Starting as an extra in 1925, Arlen soon rose to credited roles, but the quality of his work left much to be desired. However, this was the silent era, which was more about looks than substance, and he continued on. His big break came when William A. Wellman cast him as a pilot in the silent film Les ailes (1927) with Charles 'Buddy' Rogers and Clara Bow. The story of fighter aces would win the Oscar for Best Picture and Arlen would continue to play the tough, cynical hero throughout his career. Arlen appeared in three more pictures directed by Wellman, Les mendiants de la vie (1928), Tu ne tueras pas! (1928) and L'homme que j'aime (1929). In "Wings" he had a scene with a young actor named Gary Cooper. In 1929, he again worked with Cooper in the western Le virginien (1929), only this time Cooper was the star and Arlen was the supporting actor. While Arlen moved easily into sound, his career just bumped along. By 1935 he was working in such "B" pictures as Les Trois Revenants (1936). It was in 1935 that he became a freelance actor and his freelance career soon waned. In 1939, he signed with Universal and began working in its action films. In 1941 he moved to the Pine-Thomas unit at Paramount, where he appeared in adventure films. With the war on, most of his earlier films included war scenarios. By the end of the 1940s Arlen was becoming deaf and this seemed to signal the end of his career. However, he had an operation in 1949 that restored his hearing and he went on making a handful of adventures and westerns through the 1950s and working more in the 1960s. He made 15 westerns for producer A.C. Lyles, who worked with the old western stars. Besides movies, Arlen also appeared on television and in commercials. After leaving the business in the late 1960s, he was coaxed back to the screen for three small roles in films that were released the same year that he died.

  • Birthday

    Sep 01, 1899
  • Place of Birth

    St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Known For

Awards

1 wins & 0 nominations

Walk of Fame
1960
Motion Picture
Winner - Star on the Walk of Fame

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies