1901-02-06 Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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.
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The Lyons in Paris | Ben | 1955-02-11 |
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Life with the Lyons | Ben Lyon | 1954-05-25 |
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The Dark Tower | Phil Danton | 1943-10-18 |
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This Was Paris | Butch, Sydney Chronicle Reporter | 1942-03-21 |
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Hi Gang! | Her Other Half | 1941-12-27 |
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I Killed the Count | Bernard Froy | 1939-05-06 |
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Confidential Lady | Jim Brent | 1939-12-01 |
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Stardust | Roy Harley | 1938-03-25 |
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Dancing Feet | Peyton Wells | 1936-01-20 |
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Down to the Sea | Steve Londos | 1936-05-30 |
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Frisco Waterfront | Glenn Burton | 1935-12-03 |
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Together We Live | Max | 1935-08-16 |
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Navy Wife | Dr. Peter Milford | 1935-09-17 |
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Lightning Strikes Twice | Steve Brewster | 1934-12-07 |
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I Spy | Wally Sawyer | 1934-08-26 |
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Crimson Romance | Bob Wilson | 1934-10-12 |
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Girl Missing | Henry Gibson | 1933-03-04 |
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I Cover the Waterfront | H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller | 1933-05-19 |
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The Women in His Life | Roger McKane | 1933-12-08 |
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Hollywood on Parade No. A-3 | Self | 1932-10-20 |
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Hat Check Girl | Buster Collins | 1932-10-08 |
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Week Ends Only | Jack Williams | 1932-06-19 |
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The Big Timer | Cooky Bradford | 1932-03-10 |
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The Crooked Circle | Brand Osborne | 1932-09-25 |
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By Whose Hand? | Jimmy Hawley | 1932-07-06 |
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Hollywood on Parade No. A-1 | Self | 1932-08-25 |
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Lady with a Past | Guy Bryson | 1932-02-19 |
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Compromised | Sidney Brock | 1931-11-19 |
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Her Majesty, Love | Fred von Wellingen | 1931-12-15 |
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The Hot Heiress | Hap Harrigan | 1931-03-28 |
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Bought! | Nick Amory | 1931-08-22 |
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The Stolen Jools | Ben Lyon | 1931-04-04 |
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My Past | Robert 'Bob' Byrne | 1931-05-03 |
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Misbehaving Ladies | Phil Hunter | 1931-04-16 |
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Aloha | Jimmy Bradford | 1931-04-26 |
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Indiscreet | Tony Blake | 1931-04-25 |
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Night Nurse | Mortie | 1931-07-16 |
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Lummox | Rollo Farley | 1930-01-13 |
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Hell's Angels | Monte Rutledge | 1930-11-15 |
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Alias French Gertie | Jimmy Hartigan | 1930-04-20 |
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What Men Want | Kendall James | 1930-07-12 |
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A Soldier's Plaything | Georgie | 1930-10-30 |
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The Flying Marine | Steve Moran | 1929-06-05 |
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All Faces West | Matthew | 1929-03-02 |
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The Quitter | Neal Abbott | 1929-04-01 |
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Life in Hollywood No. 2 | Himself | 1927-08-25 |
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Das tanzende Wien | Jonny Conzaga | 1927-10-01 |
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The Tender Hour | Wally McKenzie | 1927-05-01 |
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For the Love of Mike | Mike | 1927-07-31 |
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The Reckless Lady | Ralph Hilliwe | 1926-01-24 |
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The Prince of Tempters | Francis | 1926-10-17 |
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The Great Deception | Cyril Mansfield | 1926-07-26 |
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Bluebeard's Seven Wives | John Hart / Don Juan Hartez | 1926-01-13 |
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The Savage | Danny Terry | 1926-07-18 |
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Winds of Chance | Pierce Phillips | 1925-08-15 |
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The Pace That Thrills | Danny Wade | 1925-10-18 |
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The New Commandment | Billy Morrow | 1925-11-01 |
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The Necessary Evil | Frank Jerome | 1925-05-17 |
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Wages of Virtue | Marvin | 1924-11-10 |
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The White Moth | Douglas Vantine | 1924-05-11 |
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Lily of the Dust | Lt. Prell | 1924-08-24 |
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Wine of Youth | Lynn Talbot | 1924-09-15 |
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Painted People | Don Lane | 1924-01-28 |
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So Big | Dirk DeJong | 1924-12-28 |
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The Custard Cup | Dick Chase | 1923-01-01 |
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Potash and Perlmutter | Boris Andrieff | 1923-09-10 |
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The Heart of Maryland | Bob Telfair | 1921-05-01 |
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Open Your Eyes | Harold Connors | 1919-05-24 |
