Ben Lyon
| Ben Lyon | |
|---|---|
Lyon in I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
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| Born |
February 6, 1901 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | March 22, 1979 (aged 78) Near Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
| Years active | 1918-1955 |
| Spouse(s) |
Bebe Daniels (m. 1930; d. 1971) (2 children) Marian Nixon (m. 1971–79) (his death) |
| Children |
Barbara Lyon Richard Lyon |
| Awards | Hollywood Walk of Fame |
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. In 1925, a writer for Photoplay wrote of him, "Girls, Ben Lyon looks harmless but we have reliable information that he’s irresistible, so watch your step. Besides he’s a mighty fine actor and if the ladies must fall in love with him he can’t help it."
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. 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.
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