Jimmy Lydon

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Jimmy Lydon (November 2013)

Jimmy Lydon (born May 30, 1923 in Harrington Park , New Jersey as James J. Lydon ) is a retired actor and television producer . He became known in the 1940s for his leading role in ten Henry Aldrich films . His work includes around 150 film and television productions. As a producer, he was involved in a number of feature films in the 1960s.

life and career

Jimmy Lydon was born the fifth of nine children to a family of Irish descent in New Jersey. His father was an alcoholic and had no job, so the rest of the family was forced to find makeshift work during the Great Depression . In 1937, the inexperienced acting Lydon surprisingly won a part in the Broadway play Western Waters after listing a series of alleged acting appearances to the producers to get them to audition. He was quickly successful and played in several plays on Broadway until 1939 before the family moved with him to Hollywood in 1939. The 16-year-old Lydon had his first role in the crime film Back Door to Heaven , where he played the leading actor Wallace Ford as a youth in a supporting role . 1940 Lydon got the title role in the literary film adaptation of Tom Brown's School Days based on the novel by Thomas Hughes . His appearance as Tom Brown alongside Cedric Hardwicke and Freddie Bartholomew made him well known.

In 1941 Lydon took on the lead role of the pubescent youth Henry Aldrich, previously played by Jackie Cooper , in a film series. It was based on the extremely successful radio play series about the Aldrich family. By 1943, Lydon played the leading role of Henry Aldrich at Paramount Pictures in a total of ten films that earned him the reputation of a youth star. This was followed by other important roles, for example as the main actor in the film noir Voice from the Beyond (1945) by Edgar G. Ulmer . In 1947 he was allowed to give Elizabeth Taylor her first film kiss in Cynthia . In the same year he played again at the side of Taylor, namely in a leading role as the eldest son of an eccentric family in Michael Curtiz 'comedy Our Life with Father . In 1948 he played the younger brother of Ingrid Bergman in Johanna von Orleans . As Lydon grew out of his teenage roles, his success waned from the 1950s onwards. He now mainly played guest roles in television series, apart from a few films such as The Last Signal (1953) with John Wayne .

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lyndon operated also in addition to his acting work as a producer for television shows like 77 Sunset Strip , Mister Roberts and M * A * S * H . Lydon also directed a 1977 episode of The Six Million Dollar Man . He has also co-produced several second-hand films such as Murder . As an actor he continued to appear again and again in television series, most recently in 1987 in chief physician Dr. West phall . Lydon now lives with his second wife, Betty Lou Nedell, whom he married in 1952, in Bonita , California . They have two daughters.

Filmography (selection)

As an actor

Behind the camera

As a producer

  • 1963–1964: 77 Sunset Strip (TV series, 20 episodes)
  • 1965–1966: Mister Roberts (TV series, 30 episodes)
  • 1966: Second Hand Murder (An American Dream)
  • 1967: Countdown - Start to the Moon (Countdown)
  • 1969: Hass (The Leaning Tree)
  • 1973: Roll Out (TV series, 13 episodes)

As a director

As a screenwriter

Web links

Commons : Jimmy Lydon  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Lydon, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lydon, James J. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and producer
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Harrington Park , New Jersey , USA