Jimmy Lydon
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2021) |
Jimmy Lydon | |
|---|---|
 Lydon in 2013 | |
| Born | May 30, 1923 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer |
| Years active | 1937–1987 |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Pernetti (m. 1945; div. 19??) Betty Lou Nedell (m. 1952) |
| Children | 2 |
James J. Lydon (born May 30, 1923) is an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.[1]
Early life
Lydon was born in Harrington Park in northeastern New Jersey, the fifth of nine children. His family was of Irish heritage. He was raised in Bergenfield.[2]
Career
In 1932, Lydon's father, who was an alcoholic, decided to retire from working. This decision forced all of the other family members to seek employment in the depths of the Great Depression.[3] In 1937, Jimmy Lydon, not knowing what he wanted to do, tried his hand at acting. His first role was Danny in the Broadway play Western Waters. He had been allowed to audition for the part after fabricating a list of roles he had previously portrayed. In the next couple of years, he learned the acting craft while performing in plays such as Sunup to Sundown, Prologue to Glory, Sing Out the News, and The Happiest Days. In 1939, he moved with his family to Hollywood to seek film roles.
One of his first starring roles was the title character in the 1940 movie Tom Brown's School Days, also starring Cedric Hardwicke and Freddie Bartholomew. The film was well received by critics, with Variety praising it in a January 1940 review as "sympathetically and skillfully made, with many touching moments and an excellent cast". Lydon was called "believable and moving in the early portions, but too young for the final moments".[4]
Between 1941 and 1944, under contract to Paramount Pictures, Lydon starred as the screechy-voiced, adolescent Henry Aldrich in the movie series of that title.[3] After completing the Aldrich series, the 21-year-old Lydon signed a contract in 1944 with Republic Pictures.[5]
He appeared with William Powell, Irene Dunne, and Elizabeth Taylor in the acclaimed 1947 film Life with Father, in the role of college-bound Clarence. Variety called Jimmy Lydon's portrayal "effective as the potential Yale man".[6]
He then appeared opposite James Cagney in the 1948 movie The Time of Your Life. From 1949 to 1950, he and Janet Waldo voiced the leading characters in the radio comedy Young Love.
Lydon easily gained roles in the new medium of television. He portrayed Chris Thayer on The First Hundred Years. The show was CBS' first daytime soap opera. It was performed live for three seasons of three hundred episodes.
In 1953, he was cast as Murray in the aviation adventure film Island in the Sky, starring John Wayne. He also played Biffen Cardoza on the last six episodes of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger in 1954 and made appearances in Lux Video Theatre and The Christophers. In 1955, he appeared on Sergeant Preston of the Yukon as Johnny Lane, plagued by cabin fever, in the episode titled "The Williwaw".
In 1958, Lydon played the role of Richard in Anne Jeffreys' and Robert Sterling's short-lived sitcom, Love That Jill. Lydon appeared in guest roles on Crossroads, Casey Jones, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Wagon Train, Hennesey, The Twilight Zone, and Tales of the Texas Rangers, as Lt. Jared Evans in the 1958 episode "Warpath". A year later, he guest starred on the ABC/Warner Brothers western television series Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston. Lydon played the role of Willy in the episode "Return to El Paso", with Paul Picerni cast as Jose.[citation needed]
After working increasingly in television in the 1950s, he turned to production and helped to create the detective series 77 Sunset Strip, as well as the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. He also produced the television adaptation of the film Mister Roberts in 1966 and Roll Out in 1973–1974. Lydon played Captain Henry Aldrich (a reference to his Aldrich movie series) on the latter show.[citation needed]
In 1963, Lydon was working for Warner Brothers to place on the NBC fall schedule a new western series, Temple Houston, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Temple Lea Houston, an historical figure, a clever lawyer, and the youngest son of Sam Houston. On orders from studio boss Jack Webb, episodes were put together in two or three days each, something previously thought impossible in television production. Work began on August 7, 1963, with the initial airing set for September 19. Lydon recalls that Webb told the staff: "Fellas, I just sold Temple Houston. We gotta be on the air in four weeks, we can't use the pilot, we have no scripts, no nothing - do it!"[7] Lydon recalls the team having worked around the clock to get Temple Houston on the air. Co-producer William Conrad directed six episodes, two scripts simultaneously on two different soundstages at Warner Brothers: "We bicycled Jeff (Jeffrey Hunter) and Elam (secondary character Jack Elam) between the two companies, and Bill shot 'em both in four-and-a-half days. Two complete one-hour shows!".[7] Though the production challenge was met with much difficulty, Temple Houston never gained popularity in the ratings and ended after twenty-six weeks.[7] At the same time script and cast changes that Webb had imposed on 77 Sunset Strip, with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., left as the sole character, caused the cancellation of that series before it could finish its sixth season.
During the 1980s, Lydon continued to act in television, with roles on episodes of Lou Grant, Simon & Simon, and St. Elsewhere.
Personal life
Lyndon was briefly married to Patricia Pernetti, in the late 1940s.[8] He has been married to Betty Lou Nedell since 1952, and retired to Bonita in San Diego County, California. They have two daughters and two granddaughters.
Filmography
- Film
Short Subjects:
- Home Early (1939) as Junior Doakes (uncredited)
- A Letter from Bataan (1942) as Chuck Lewis
- The Aldrich Family Gets in the Scrap (1943) as Henry Aldrich
- Caribbean Romance (1943) as Peter Conway
- The Shining Future (1944) as Danny Ames
- Road to Victory (1944) as Danny Ames
- Time to Kill (1945) as Lou
See also
References
- ^ Erickson, Hal. "Jimmy Lydon biography". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Feldberg, Robert. "HOW WE HAD FUN", The Record (Bergen County), May 7, 1995. Accessed October 25, 2009. "And Bergenfield-bred Jimmy Lydon, who played the eternal teenager Henry Aldrich on radio and in B movies, had married his high-school sweetheart."
- ^ a b "Jimmy Lydon; stage, film, television and behind the camera". The Milwaukee Journal. January 20, 1983. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
- ^ "Tom Brown's School Days; Adventures at Rugby". Variety. January 1, 1940. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "SCREEN NEWS; Jimmy Lydon Gets Term Contract With Republic" (PDF). The New York Times. December 23, 1944. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Life with Father". Variety. January 1, 1947. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 106-109
- ^ "Actor Jimmy Lydon To Be Wed Tomorrow". Tucson Daily Citizen. April 13, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
External links
- Jimmy Lydon at IMDb
- Jimmy Lydon at the Internet Broadway Database
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1923 births
- Living people
- American male stage actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male radio actors
- Television producers from California
- Paramount Pictures contract players
- American people of Irish descent
- People from Bergenfield, New Jersey
- People from Harrington Park, New Jersey
- Male actors from New Jersey
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- People from Bonita, California