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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Confidential Lady | Jim Brent | 1939-12-01 |
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I Killed the Count | Bernard Froy | 1939-05-06 |
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Stardust | Roy Harley | 1938-03-25 |
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Down to the Sea | Steve Londos | 1936-05-30 |
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Dancing Feet | Peyton Wells | 1936-01-20 |
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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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Frisco Waterfront | Glenn Burton | 1935-12-03 |
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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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The Women in His Life | Roger McKane | 1933-12-08 |
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I Cover the Waterfront | H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller | 1933-05-19 |
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Girl Missing | Henry Gibson | 1933-03-04 |
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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-3 | Self | 1932-10-20 |
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Week Ends Only | Jack Williams | 1932-06-19 |
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Lady with a Past | Guy Bryson | 1932-02-19 |
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Hollywood on Parade No. A-1 | Self | 1932-08-25 |
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The Big Timer | Cooky Bradford | 1932-03-10 |
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Hat Check Girl | Buster Collins | 1932-10-08 |
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The Hot Heiress | Hap Harrigan | 1931-03-28 |
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Aloha | Jimmy Bradford | 1931-04-26 |
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My Past | Robert 'Bob' Byrne | 1931-05-03 |
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Indiscreet | Tony Blake | 1931-04-25 |
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Her Majesty, Love | Fred von Wellingen | 1931-12-15 |
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Bought! | Nick Amory | 1931-08-22 |
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Night Nurse | Mortie | 1931-07-16 |
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The Stolen Jools | Ben Lyon | 1931-04-04 |
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Misbehaving Ladies | Phil Hunter | 1931-04-16 |
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Compromised | Sidney Brock | 1931-11-19 |
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Lummox | Rollo Farley | 1930-01-13 |
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What Men Want | Kendall James | 1930-07-12 |
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Hell's Angels | Monte Rutledge | 1930-11-15 |
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A Soldier's Plaything | Georgie | 1930-10-30 |
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Alias French Gertie | Jimmy Hartigan | 1930-04-20 |
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The Quitter | Neal Abbott | 1929-04-01 |
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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 Tender Hour | Wally McKenzie | 1927-05-01 |
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For the Love of Mike | Mike | 1927-07-31 |
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Das tanzende Wien | Jonny Conzaga | 1927-10-01 |
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Life in Hollywood No. 2 | Himself | 1927-08-25 |
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The Prince of Tempters | Francis | 1926-10-17 |
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Bluebeard's Seven Wives | John Hart / Don Juan Hartez | 1926-01-13 |
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The Reckless Lady | Ralph Hilliwe | 1926-01-24 |
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The Great Deception | Cyril Mansfield | 1926-07-26 |
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The Savage | Danny Terry | 1926-07-18 |
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The Pace That Thrills | Danny Wade | 1925-10-18 |
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Winds of Chance | Pierce Phillips | 1925-08-15 |
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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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So Big | Dirk DeJong | 1924-12-28 |
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Wine of Youth | Lynn Talbot | 1924-09-15 |
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Lily of the Dust | Lt. Prell | 1924-08-24 |
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Painted People | Don Lane | 1924-01-28 |
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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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Potash and Perlmutter | Boris Andrieff | 1923-09-10 |
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The Custard Cup | Dick Chase | 1923-01-01 |
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Open Your Eyes | Harold Connors | 1919-05-24 |
