Jeffrey Lynn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 16, 1909
- Place of birth
- Auburn, Massachusetts, USA
- Died
- November 24, 1995
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeffrey Lynn (born Ragnar Godfrey Lind; February 16, 1909 – November 24, 1995) was an American stage-screen actor and film producer who worked primarily through the Golden Age of Hollywood establishing himself as one of the premier talents of his time. Throughout his acting career, both on stage and in film, he was typecast as "the attractive, reliable love interest of the heroine," or "the tall, stalwart hero."
Born and raised in Massachusetts, he attended Bates College, before working as a teacher. He was tapped to act in his first film in 1938, which convinced him to move to Hollywood, California. His second film–Four Daughters (1938)–propelled him into national fame sparking three sequels: Daughters Courageous (1939), Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941) with Lynn reprising his role in each of them. He was at the center of the Gone with the Wind (1939) screening controversy; he was noted as the top contender to play Ashley Wilkes, however, the directer eventually chose Leslie Howard instead. Lynn was asked to join James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart in The Roaring Twenties (1939), a gangster noir that garnered him critical praise. His success continued with such films as The Fighting 69th (1940) in which he portrayed poet-soldier Joyce Kilmer opposite Cagney, It All Came True (1940), All This and Heaven Too (1940) and Million Dollar Baby (1941).
His movie career was put on hold for World War II draft, where he received a Bronze Star for his service as a in Italy and Austria as a combat intelligence captain. He returned to the screen in 1948 and was in the notably successful, A Letter to Three Wives (1949), which went on to be nominated of best picture in the 1950 prime time Academy Awards. A year later he joined that cast of Home Town Story (1951) billed alongside Marilyn Monroe. His later film career credits include: BUtterfield 8 (1960) along with Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey, and Tony Rome (1967) with Frank Sinatra.
Lynn also began to act on Broadway and was featured in such plays as Any Wednesday (1966) and Dinner at Eight (1967). Later on in his career he found mixed critical success television starring in hit shows such as Robert Montgomery Presents, Your Show of Shows, My Son Jeep (with young Martin Huston), and Lux Video Theatre.
He died in November 1995 in Burbank, California from natural causes and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. Actor Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum is named in honor of Jeffrey Lynn.
Movies with Jeffrey Lynn
- The Roaring Twenties 1939 · ★ 7.5
- A Letter to Three Wives 1949 · ★ 7.2
- BUtterfield 8 1960 · ★ 6.3
- Tony Rome 1967 · ★ 6.4
- All This, and Heaven Too 1940 · ★ 7.2
- Four Daughters 1938 · ★ 6.6
- The Fighting 69th 1940 · ★ 5.9
- It All Came True 1940 · ★ 5.8
- Home Town Story 1951 · ★ 4.9
- Strange Bargain 1949 · ★ 5.8
- Whiplash 1948 · ★ 5.0
- When Were You Born 1938 · ★ 5.3
- Four Wives 1939 · ★ 5.5
- Daughters Courageous 1939 · ★ 6.2
- Black Bart 1948 · ★ 4.9
- Espionage Agent 1939 · ★ 6.3
- Underground 1941 · ★ 6.6
- Flight from Destiny 1941 · ★ 5.8
- My Love Came Back 1940 · ★ 4.9
- For the Love of Mary 1948 · ★ 6.2
- Four Mothers 1941 · ★ 6.7
- The Body Disappears 1941 · ★ 6.1
- Million Dollar Baby 1941 · ★ 6.3
- Out Where the Stars Begin 1938 · ★ 6.8
- Lost Lagoon 1957 · ★ 6.2
- Captain China 1950 · ★ 5.5
- The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind 1988 · ★ 8.0
- Money and the Woman 1940 · ★ 4.4
- Yes, My Darling Daughter 1939 · ★ 4.5
- Law of the Tropics 1941 · ★ 7.0
- A Child is Born 1939 · ★ 7.1
- Main Street to Broadway 1953 · ★ 7.3
- Doorway to Suspicion 1954 · ★ 4.3
- The Spiral Staircase 1961 · ★ 8.0
- Cowboy from Brooklyn 1938 · ★ 7.0
- Up Front 1951 · ★ 7.0
- Breakdowns of 1942 1942 · ★ 6.0
- Miracle in the Rain 1950