Richard Arlen was an American actor.
Born Cornelius Richard Van Mattimore in Charlottesville, Virginia, he served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War I. At war's end, he went to Los Angeles where he found work as an unskilled laborer. By a stroke of pure luck, he was given an opportunity to act, appearing at first in silent films before making the transition to talkies.
He took time out from his Hollywood career to teach as an Army Air Force 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, and his future first wife Jobyna Ralston.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Richard Arlen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6753 Hollywood Blvd.
On his death from emphysema in 1976, Richard Arlen was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
I believe his name and birthplace are clouded, and the US Census has him being born in Minnesota around 1899 with the name sylvanus richard mattimore. van is from sylvanus. Whichever one you'd want to believe.
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