Eric Linden

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American actor (1909–1994)

title: "Eric Linden" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1909-births", "1994-deaths", "american-male-film-actors", "american-people-of-swedish-descent", "columbia-university-alumni", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "dewitt-clinton-high-school-alumni", "rko-pictures-contract-players", "warner-bros.-contract-players", "metro-goldwyn-mayer-contract-players"] description: "American actor (1909–1994)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Linden" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor (1909–1994) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameEric Linden
imageEric Linden in Born to Gamble.JPG
captionLinden in Born to Gamble (1935)
birth_date
birth_placeNew York City, U.S.
death_date
death_placeLaguna Beach, California, U.S.
yearsactive1928–1941
spouse
children3
::

| name = Eric Linden | image = Eric Linden in Born to Gamble.JPG | caption = Linden in Born to Gamble (1935) | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Laguna Beach, California, U.S. | yearsactive = 1928–1941 | spouse = | 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, both of Swedish descent. His father was a professional pianist and an actor on stage with the Royal Dramatic Theatre when he lived in Stockholm, Sweden. When Eric was six, Phillip Linden deserted his family in New York City.

To help support his mother, sister and two brothers, he began washing dishes at a cafe after school when he was 7 years old. He also sold newspapers

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.

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. Other stage credits included The Silver Cord, The Age of Consent, Life Begins, Sweepings, and Big City Blues.

Film career

Linden made his film debut during the Great Depression in RKO Radio Pictures' 1931 crime film, Are These Our Children?, 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.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Eric_Linden-Jean_Arthur_in_The_Past_of_Mary_Holmes.jpg" caption="Eric Linden and [[Jean Arthur]] in ''[[The Past of Mary Holmes]]'' (1933)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Eric_Linden-Joyce_Compton_in_Let_'Em_Have_It.jpg" caption="Eric Linden with [[Joyce Compton]] in ''[[Let 'Em Have It]]'' (1935)"] ::

Linden frequently portrayed "sensitive, intellectual, slightly weak-willed juveniles", sometimes with tragic destinies. 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. 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.

Filmography

References

References

  1. (October 16, 1937). "Eric Linden Once Usher in Movie House". Ames Daily Tribune.
  2. (November 19, 1932). "Screen Life in Hollywood". The Sandusky Register.
  3. (August 22, 1937). "Eric Linden Started Work as Bank Runner". The Times Recorder.
  4. "("Eric Linden" search results)".
  5. (February 9, 1932). "Eric Linden Actor, But He Wants A Literary Career". The Decatur Daily Review.
  6. (November 13, 2020). "Allmovie Biography".
  7. "Eric Linden".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1909-births1994-deathsamerican-male-film-actorsamerican-people-of-swedish-descentcolumbia-university-alumni20th-century-american-male-actorsdewitt-clinton-high-school-alumnirko-pictures-contract-playerswarner-bros.-contract-playersmetro-goldwyn-mayer-contract-players