Eric Linden

Eric Linden
Eric Linden
	Linden in Born to Gamble (1935)
Born	September 15, 1909; New York City, U.S.
Died	July 14, 1994 (aged 84); Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Years active	1928–1941
Spouse	Joanna Brown; (m. 1955; div. 1977)
Children	3

Eric Linden (September 15, 1909 – July 14, 1994) was an American actor, primarily active during the 1930s.

Early years

Eric Linden was born in New York City to Phillip and Elvira (née Lundborg) Linden,^[1] both of Swedish descent. His father was a professional pianist and an actor on stage with the Theater Royal when he lived in Stockholm, Sweden. When Eric was six, Phillip Linden deserted his family in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

To help support his mother, sister and two brothers, he began washing dishes at a cafe after school when he was 7 years old.^[2] He also sold newspapers^[3] on Tenth Avenue. Linden attended and participated in school plays at DeWitt Clinton High School. After graduation, he worked his way through Columbia University. His first job after graduating from Columbia was being a runner for a bank.^[4]

Writing

Linden had ambitions of becoming a writer rather than an actor. By the time he was 22 years old, he had written three plays and 40 short stories, but none had been published. He had hoped to have saved enough money by age 30 to retire from acting and spend his time writing.^[3]

Stage

Linden trained with the Theatre Guild for two years and went on to appear on Broadway in addition to acting in stock theater in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and acting in Paris, France, with the Paris-American Company.^[1] He appeared in an adaption of Faust on Broadway in 1928.^[5] Other stage credits included The Silver Cord, The Age of Consent, Life Begins, Sweepings, and Big City Blues.^[1]

Film career

Linden made his film debut during the Great Depression in RKO Radio Pictures' 1931 crime film, Are These Our Children?,^[3] in which he played a young murderer who gets executed. He afterwards appeared in 33 films until 1941, mostly playing boyish second leads with occasional leading roles in smaller pictures.

Linden frequently portrayed "sensitive, intellectual, slightly weak-willed juveniles", sometimes with tragic destinies.^[6] His notable films include Big City Blues (1932) with Joan Blondell, Old Hutch (1936) opposite Wallace Beery, Ah, Wilderness! (1935) and A Family Affair (1937), both with Lionel Barrymore and Mickey Rooney, and The Good Old Soak (1937), again with Wallace Beery.

In 1939, Linden had a small but memorable role in the hospital in Gone with the Wind (1939) as the desperate soldier whose leg has to be amputated without chloroform; Linden's role was originally planned to be more extensive, but his screen time was reduced to less than a minute in post-production.^[6] His career petered out and he left Hollywood after his final role, a leading part in the low-budget-picture Criminals Within (1941).

After Hollywood, Linden returned to stage acting, going on to appear in such plays as The Philadelphia Story, My Sister Eileen, and Brighton Rock.

Recognition

Linden has a star at 7098 Hollywood Boulevard in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.^[7]

Filmography

Are These Our Children? (1931) - Edward 'Eddie' Brand
Young Bride (1932) - Charlie Riggs
The Crowd Roars (1932) - Edward 'Eddie' Greer
The Roadhouse Murder (1932) - Chick Brian
The Age of Consent (1932) - Duke Galloway
Life Begins (1932) - Jed Sutton
Big City Blues (1932) - Bud Reeves
Afraid to Talk (1932) - Eddie Martin
No Other Woman (1933) - Joe Zarcovia
The Past of Mary Holmes (1933) - Geoffrey Holmes
Sweepings (1933) - Freddie Pardway
The Silver Cord (1933) - Robert Phelps
Flying Devils (1933) - Bud Murray
I Give My Love (1934) - Paul Vadja Jr. - at Age 21
Let 'Em Have It (1935) - Buddy Spencer
Ladies Crave Excitement (1935) - Bob Starke
Born to Gamble (1935) - Earl Mathews
Ah, Wilderness! (1935) - Richard Miller
The Voice of Bugle Ann (1936) - Benjy Davis
Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936) - Johnnie 'Jack' Warren
In His Steps (1936) - Tom Carver
Old Hutch (1936) - David 'Dave' Jolly
Career Woman (1936) - Everett Clark
A Family Affair (1937) - Wayne Trent III
Girl Loves Boy (1937) - Robert Conrad
The Good Old Soak (1937) - Clemmie Hawley
Sweetheart of the Navy (1937) - Eddie Harris
Here's Flash Casey (1938) - Flash Casey
Midnight Intruder (1938) - John Clark Reitter Jr., posing as Jay Rogers
Romance of the Limberlost (1938) - Wayne
Everything's on Ice (1939) - Leopold Eddington
Gone with the Wind (1939) - Amputation Case
Criminals Within (1941) - Cpl. Greg Carroll (final film role)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Eric Linden Once Usher in Movie House". Ames Daily Tribune. Iowa, Ames. October 16, 1937. p. 4. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Keavy, Hubbard (November 19, 1932). "Screen Life in Hollywood". The Sandusky Register. Ohio, Sandusky. p. 9. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c Coons, Robbin (February 9, 1932). "Eric Linden Actor, But He Wants A Literary Career". The Decatur Daily Review. Illinois, Decatur. p. 11. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Eric Linden Started Work as Bank Runner". The Times Recorder. Ohio, Zanesville. August 22, 1937. p. 10. Retrieved February 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "("Eric Linden" search results)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Allmovie Biography". November 13, 2020 – via NYTimes.com.
^ "Eric Linden". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved February 11, 2017.