Jimmy Lydon
James J. Lydon is an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.
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.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. 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".
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. After completing the Aldrich series, the 21-year-old Lydon signed a contract in 1944 with Republic Pictures.
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".
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.
, 1951
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.
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 on the latter show.
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!" 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 and Elam between the two companies, and Bill shot 'em both in four-and-a-half days. Two complete one-hour shows!". Though the production challenge was met with much difficulty, Temple Houston never gained popularity in the ratings and ended after twenty-six weeks. 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.
Lyndon was briefly married to Patricia Pernetti, in the late 1940s. 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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1939 | Back Door to Heaven | Frankie Rogers | |
| 1939 | The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair | Bud | |
| 1939 | Two Thoroughbreds | David Carey | |
| 1940 | Tom Brown's School Days | Tom Brown | |
| 1940 | Little Men | Dan | |
| 1940 | Bowery Boy | Sock Dolan | |
| 1941 | Navel Academy | Tommy Blake | |
| 1941 | Henry Aldrich for President | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1942 | Cadets on Parade | Joe Novak | |
| 1942 | The Mad Martindales | Bobby Bruce Turner | |
| 1942 | Henry and Dizzy | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1942 | Henry Aldrich, Editor | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1942 | Star Spangled Rhythm | Jimmy Lydon | Uncredited |
| 1943 | Aerial Gunner | Pvt. Sanford 'Sandy' Lunt | |
| 1943 | Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1943 | Henry Aldrich Swings It | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1943 | Henry Aldrich Haunts a House | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1944 | Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1944 | My Best Gal | Johnny McCloud | |
| 1944 | Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1944 | Henry Aldrich's Little Secret | Henry Aldrich | |
| 1944 | When the Lights Go On Again | Ted Benson | |
| 1944 | The Town Went Wild | Bob Harrison | |
| 1945 | Strange Illusion | Paul Cartwright | |
| 1945 | Twice Blessed | Mickey Pringle | |
| 1946 | Affairs of Geraldine | Willy Briggs | |
| 1947 | Life with Father | Clarence Day, Jr. | |
| 1947 | Cynthia | Ricky Latham | |
| 1947 | Sweet Genevieve | Bill Kennedy | |
| 1947 | Good News | Tommy's classmate | Uncredited |
| 1948 | The Time of Your Life | Dudley Raoul Bostwick | |
| 1948 | Out of the Storm | Donald Lewis | |
| 1948 | Joan of Arc | Pierre d'Arc | |
| 1949 | An Old-Fashioned Girl | Tom Shaw | |
| 1949 | Miss Mink of 1949 | Joe Forrester | |
| 1949 | Bad Boy | Ted Hendry | |
| 1949 | Tucson | Andy Bryant | |
| 1950 | When Willie Comes Marching Home | Charles Fettles | |
| 1950 | Tarnished | Junior Bunker | |
| 1950 | Destination Big House | Freddy Brooks | |
| 1950 | September Affair | Johnny Wilson | |
| 1950 | Hot Rod | David Langham | |
| 1950 | The Magnificent Yankee | Clinton | |
| 1951 | Gasoline Alley | Skeezix | |
| 1951 | Oh! Susanna | Trumpeter Benton | |
| 1951 | Corky of Gasoline Alley | Skeezix Wallet | |
| 1953 | Island in the Sky | Murray | |
| 1954 | The Desperado | Tom Cameron | |
| 1955 | Rage at Dawn | Dedrick - Fisher's Clerk | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Battle Stations | Squawk Hewitt | |
| 1957 | Chain of Evidence | Steve Nordstrom | |
| 1960 | The Hypnotic Eye | Emergency doctor | |
| 1960 | I Passed for White | Jay Morgan | |
| 1961 | The Last Time I Saw Archie | Pvt. Billy Simpson | |
| 1969 | Death of a Gunfighter | Luke Mills | |
| 1971 | Scandalous John | Grotch | |
| 1973 | Bonnie's Kids | Motel Manager | |
| 1976 | Vigilante Force | Tom Crousy |
Short Subjects:
- Home Early as Junior Doakes
- A Letter from Bataan as Chuck Lewis
- The Aldrich Family Gets in the Scrap as Henry Aldrich
- Caribbean Romance as Peter Conway
- The Shining Future as Danny Ames
- Road to Victory as Danny Ames
- Time to Kill as Lou