Jimmy Lydon

James Joseph Lydon was 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, New Jersey on May 30, 1923, the fifth of nine children. His family was of Irish heritage. He was raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey.

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.
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.
Image:Jimmy Lydon in Twice Blessed trailer.jpg|thumb|left|alt=|Lydon in Twice Blessed
He appeared 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's first daytime soap opera. It was performed live for three seasons of 300 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 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 1956 he appeared in the episode "One Minute from Broadway" in the series Sneak Preview.
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 television series Colt.45. Lydon played the role of Willy in the episode "Return to El Paso", with Paul Picerni cast as Jose. He also appeared in the premiere episode of the anthology series New Comedy Showcase in 1960.
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 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 worked on the Western series Temple Houston on the fall schedule. 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!"
During the 1970s & 1980s, Lydon continued to act on television, with roles on episodes of Gunsmoke, Lou Grant, Simon & Simon, and St. Elsewhere.

Personal life

Lydon married Patricia Pernetti in 1945. The union was dissolved after a brief period. He was married to Betty Lou Nedell from 1952 until her death in January 2022. They had two daughters and two granddaughters.
Lydon died at the age of 98 on March 9, 2022, at his home in San Diego, California.

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	Naval 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