About

Known credits:
68
Birthday:
1901-02-06
Place of birth:
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Website:
N/A

Ben Lyon

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
1955 The Lyons in Paris Actor Ben 58
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1954 Life with the Lyons Actor Ben Lyon 59
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1943 The Dark Tower Actor Phil Danton 59
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1942 This Was Paris Actor Butch, Sydney Chronicle Reporter 59
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1941 Hi Gang! Actor Her Other Half 59
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1939 Confidential Lady Actor Jim Brent 58
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1939 I Killed the Count Actor Bernard Froy N/A
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1938 Stardust Actor Roy Harley 58
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1936 Down to the Sea Actor Steve Londos 58
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1936 Dancing Feet Actor Peyton Wells 58
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1935 Frisco Waterfront Actor Glenn Burton N/A
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1935 Navy Wife Actor Dr. Peter Milford 59
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1935 Together We Live Actor Max N/A
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1934 Lightning Strikes Twice Actor Steve Brewster 58
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1934 Crimson Romance Actor Bob Wilson 59
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1934 I Spy Actor Wally Sawyer N/A
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1933 The Women in His Life Actor Roger McKane 58
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1933 I Cover the Waterfront Actor H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller 58
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1933 Girl Missing Actor Henry Gibson 58
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1932 Hollywood on Parade No. A-3 Actor Self N/A
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1932 Hat Check Girl Actor Buster Collins 59
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1932 The Crooked Circle Actor Brand Osborne 58
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1932 Hollywood on Parade No. A-1 Actor Self 58
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1932 By Whose Hand? Actor Jimmy Hawley 59
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1932 Week Ends Only Actor Jack Williams N/A
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1932 The Big Timer Actor Cooky Bradford 58
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1932 Lady with a Past Actor Guy Bryson 59
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1931 Her Majesty, Love Actor Fred von Wellingen 59
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1931 Compromised Actor Sidney Brock 58
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1931 Bought! Actor Nick Amory 59
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1931 Night Nurse Actor Mortie 60
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1931 My Past Actor Robert 'Bob' Byrne 58
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1931 Aloha Actor Jimmy Bradford N/A
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1931 Indiscreet Actor Tony Blake 59
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1931 Misbehaving Ladies Actor Phil Hunter N/A
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1931 The Stolen Jools Actor Ben Lyon 58
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1931 The Hot Heiress Actor Hap Harrigan 59
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1930 Hell's Angels Actor Monte Rutledge 59
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1930 A Soldier's Plaything Actor Georgie 58
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1930 What Men Want Actor Kendall James 58
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1930 Alias French Gertie Actor Jimmy Hartigan 59
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1930 Lummox Actor Rollo Farley N/A
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1929 The Flying Marine Actor Steve Moran N/A
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1929 The Quitter Actor Neal Abbott N/A
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1929 All Faces West Actor Matthew N/A
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1927 Das tanzende Wien Actor Jonny Conzaga N/A
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1927 Life in Hollywood No. 2 Actor Himself N/A
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1927 For the Love of Mike Actor Mike 59
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1927 The Tender Hour Actor Wally McKenzie N/A
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1926 The Prince of Tempters Actor Francis N/A
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1926 The Great Deception Actor Cyril Mansfield N/A
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1926 The Savage Actor Danny Terry N/A
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1926 The Reckless Lady Actor Ralph Hilliwe N/A
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1926 Bluebeard's Seven Wives Actor John Hart / Don Juan Hartez N/A
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1925 The New Commandment Actor Billy Morrow N/A
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1925 The Pace That Thrills Actor Danny Wade N/A
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1925 Winds of Chance Actor Pierce Phillips 59
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1925 The Necessary Evil Actor Frank Jerome N/A
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1924 So Big Actor Dirk DeJong N/A
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1924 Wages of Virtue Actor Marvin N/A
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1924 Wine of Youth Actor Lynn Talbot 59
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1924 Lily of the Dust Actor Lt. Prell N/A
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1924 The White Moth Actor Douglas Vantine 58
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1924 Painted People Actor Don Lane N/A
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1923 Potash and Perlmutter Actor Boris Andrieff N/A
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1923 The Custard Cup Actor Dick Chase N/A
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1921 The Heart of Maryland Actor Bob Telfair N/A
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1919 Open Your Eyes Actor Harold Connors 59
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