Ben Lyon
From Wikipedia Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American actor and a studio executive at 20th Century Fox. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film Flaming Youth (1923), and steadily developed into a leading man. He was most successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet. He had success as an actor in the 1930 film Hell's Angels. The film was a major success and brought Jean Harlow to prominence, but Lyon's performance as an heroic World War I aviator was also highly regarded. For the next decade he was constantly in demand, but his popularity began to wane by the early 1940s. By the mid-1940s he was working for 20th Century Fox. On July 17, 1946 he met a young aspiring actress named Norma Jeane Dougherty.[2] After his first meeting with her he stated that she was "Jean Harlow all over again!". He organized a color screen test for the actress, renamed her, and finally signed her as Marilyn Monroe to her first studio contract. During World War II, Lyons and his wife, actress Bebe Daniels, settled in London. The couple, along with the comedian Vic Oliver, starred in the radio series Hi, Gang!, which ran from 1940 to 1949. Hi Gang was succeeded in 1950 by Life with the Lyons, which also featured their real life son Richard and daughter Barbara, and had a run on BBC and independent television from 1954 until 1960. Lyon married actress Bebe Daniels in June 1930. They had two children: daughter Barbara in 1932 and a son Richard whom they adopted. Daniels suffered a severe stroke in 1963 and withdrew from public life. She suffered a second stroke in late 1970. She died at the couple's London home in March 1971. In 1974, Lyon married the actress Marian Nixon whom he had known since the 1920s. On March 22, 1979, Lyon and his second wife Marian Nixon were vacationing together on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship near Honolulu, Hawaii, when Lyon suffered a fatal heart attack. He is interred in the Chapel Columbarium at Hollywood Forever Cemetery next to his first wife, Bebe. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ben Lyon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street.
Hell's Angels
as Monte RutledgeWhen World War I breaks out, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, each attending Oxford university,...
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Night Nurse
as MortieLora Hart manages to land a job in a hospital as a trainee nurse. Upon completion of her...
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The Stolen Jools
as Ben LyonFamous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended...
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Stardust
as Roy HarleyCarla de Hulvea is a rumba dancer who makes news by posing as a South-American heiress. She is...
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By Whose Hand?
as Jimmy HawleyOn the night express train from Los Angeles to San Francisco everyone’s a suspect when a jewelry...
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Indiscreet
as Tony BlakeA young woman jeopardizes the relationship with the man she loves when a no-account from her...
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The Hot Heiress
as Hap HarriganClasses clash when a poor riveter and wealthy society woman fall in love with each other, much...
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Dancing Feet
as Peyton WellsPeyton Wells (Ben Lyon) rescues Judy Jones (Joan Marsh) from a very dull young man, at a sedate...
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Aloha
as Jimmy BradfordIn the South Seas, a half-caste island girl refuses to follow tradition and marry a fellow...
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Girl Missing
as Henry GibsonKay and June, two showgirls, are hurt when they seek financial help from Daisy. On Daisy's...
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The Dark Tower
as Phil DantonWhile working at a circus, a man hypnotizes a trapezist to kill her partner.
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Lady with a Past
as Guy BrysonA wealthy girl hires a male escort to make one of her male friends jealous. She spreads rumours...
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I Cover the Waterfront
as H. Joseph 'Joe' MillerAn investigative reporter romances a suspected smuggler's daughter.
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Navy Wife
as Dr. Peter MilfordA Hawaiian naval nurse weds a widowed officer partly because he has a crippled daughter.
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The Women in His Life
as Roger McKaneAn immensely successful criminal lawyer is blindsided when he learns that his new case involves...
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Misbehaving Ladies
as Phil HunterEllen, a young American girl who married a European prince and moved to his country, is...
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So Big
as Dirk DeJongAfter graduating from a fashionable finishing school and touring Europe with her father, Selina...
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Wages of Virtue
as MarvinA carnival strongman and his girlfriend flee to Algiers to escape a murder charge but there they...
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My Past
as Robert 'Bob' ByrneA stage star finds herself torn between a wealthy older man and a handsome younger one.
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The Crooked Circle
as Brand OsborneA group of amateur detectives sets out to expose The Crooked Circle, a secretive group of hooded...
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Crimson Romance
as Bob WilsonAfter Fred von Bergen, a German immigrant in America, is forced from his job by anti-German...
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The Big Timer
as Cooky BradfordLoud-mouth hamburger flipper, Cooky, thinks he can box. His big chance comes when everyone else...
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The Savage
as Danny TerryRivalry between two behavioral scientists gets out of hand...
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Potash and Perlmutter
as Boris AndrieffThe film is based on an ethnic Jewish comedy with characters created by Montague Glass and...
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Hollywood on Parade No. A-1
as SelfIn the first entry of this series, the show open with a troupe of dancing chorus girls getting a...
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The Lyons in Paris
as BenThe second in the series of films about the Lyon family, based on the BBC radio series Life With...
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Together We Live
as MaxA ham-handed cautionary fable against communism, the film concerns a group of Civil War veterans...
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The Pace That Thrills
as Danny WadePaula, a chorus girl, marries into an aristocratic family. Unfortunately, her husband is a...
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The Quitter
as Neal AbbottNeal Abbott (Ben Lyon), a disgraced surgeon, regains his self-respect after operating on and...
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Week Ends Only
as Jack WilliamsA recently impoverished but formerly wealthy young woman ends up working as a nightclub hostess....
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Bought!
as Nick AmoryWorking-class girl dreams of living a better life and forsakes her friends when she has a chance...
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This Was Paris
as Butch, Sydney Chronicle ReporterBritish agents operate in Paris during the Second World War.
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Compromised
as Sidney BrockPoor working-class girl Stella marries wealthy Sidney Brock, recently jilted by his fiancée and...
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Lightning Strikes Twice
as Steve BrewsterAn actress goes up to a dude ranch for relaxation, when she falls in love with a ranch owner...
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What Men Want
as Kendall JamesA playboy's mistress falls in love with another man. Her younger sister arrives in town....
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Alias French Gertie
as Jimmy HartiganA safecracker poses as a French maid in order to gain access to wealthy homes. In the midst of a...
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Hi Gang!
as Her Other HalfHi Gang! is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bebe Daniels, Ben...
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Winds of Chance
as Pierce PhillipsA love triangle set against the turn-of-the-century gold rush.
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Lily of the Dust
as Lt. PrellLily, a poor and friendless orphan, is married to a sensual and elderly Colonel in the German...
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Frisco Waterfront
as Glenn BurtonAs California gubernatorial candidate Burton is about to cast his vote a truck crashes into the...
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I Spy
as Wally SawyerTwo Americans in England--a wealthy playboy and an actress--join forces to stop international spies.
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The Great Deception
as Cyril MansfieldCyril Mansfield, a handsome young Englishman, is associated with the German Secret Service as a...
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Her Majesty, Love
as Fred von WellingenThe wealthy von Wellingens are shocked when the father of their son Fred's fiancée Lia juggles...
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Das tanzende Wien
as Jonny ConzagaA cabaret singer in Germany is in love with a young American boy, and must convince his...
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The New Commandment
as Billy MorrowBilly Morrow (Ben Lyon), who comes from a wealthy family, is sailing to Europe with his father...
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For the Love of Mike
as MikeThree men join forces to raise an adopted son.
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Bluebeard's Seven Wives
as John Hart / Don Juan HartezBank clerk John Hart is about to marry Mary Kelly, but she insists that before that happens he...
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Painted People
as Don LaneA 1924 film directed by Clarence G. Badger.
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A Soldier's Plaything
as GeorgieA pair of hapless half-wits get into continuous mischief during the occupation of Germany after...
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Lummox
as Rollo FarleyLummox is a 1930 American Pre-Code sound film directed by Herbert Brenon, released through...
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The Flying Marine
as Steve MoranReleased in both a silent and a sound version: Mitch Moran, a veteran WWI pilot and now a...
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Life in Hollywood No. 2
as HimselfPart of a 7-part series exploring all aspects of Hollywood.
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Wine of Youth
as Lynn TalbotBased on a play be Rachel Crothers, WINE OF YOUTH is a solid drama about "the modern young...
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All Faces West
as MatthewOutlaw trio joins wagon train, planning to rob it.
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Hat Check Girl
as Buster CollinsGerry Marsh is a hat-check girl in a nightclub surrounded by bootleggers, blackmailers and...
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Open Your Eyes
as Harold ConnorsA propagandistic melodrama recounting the dangers and horrors of venereal disease.
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Hollywood on Parade No. A-3
as SelfEddie Kane wanders round the studio back-lot, opening various doors to see which stars pop out.
Movie pageThe White Moth
as Douglas VantineWhen a girl tries to drown herself in the Seine, she is rescued by dancer Gonzalo Montrez. She...
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The Necessary Evil
as Frank JeromeBen Lyon and Viola Dana co-star in this heavy society drama
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as SelfThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...
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