Arline Judge(1912-1974)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
This pert and pretty number was probably better known for her
not-so-private off-camera escapades than for her commendable "B" work
as a light comedienne in 30s and 40s films. Nevertheless, actress Arline Judge enlivened a number of them with her blue-eyed, brunette beauty and
colorful characterizations. Her numerous marriages and divorces (8)
equaled that of the more notable Hollywood husband-hunter Lana Turner. She topped Ms. Turner only if you consider that Arline married 8 different men; Lana's eight marriages included one remarriage (to actor Stephen Crane). The two ladies even shared an ex-husband!
Connecticut-born Arline arrived on February 21, 1912. Her father, a
newspaperman, moved his family to New York City while Arline was still
young. She was eventually enrolled at the Ursuline Academy in the Bronx
where, among other things, she studied dance. Briefly working in
vaudeville, nightclubs and other New York musical shows, the
petite-framed, eye-catching chorine was noticed for films in 1930 by an RKO
talent agent who spotted her in the Broadway revue "The Second Little
Show," and signed.
Arline made her film debut with a flashy bit part in Bachelor Apartment (1931). After
appearing fairly non-descriptively in An American Tragedy (1931) and Three Who Loved (1931), among
others, she finally had people taking notice of her as a tawdry
good-time girl in Are These Our Children (1931). 1931 also marked the year of marriage #1 to Wesley Ruggles, nearly 24 years her senior (she was 19; he was 42), who directed her in the afore-mentioned movie. She subsequently gave birth to their son Wesley, Jr. Nicknamed "One-Take Sally", Arline proved adaptable at both snappy comedy and teary drama, easily alternating her services between
a wacky Wheeler and Woolsey farce such as Girl Crazy (1932) or Helen Twelvetrees weepie such as
Young Bride (1932). Her characters were often more trouble than they were worth as
her scheming waitress in Is My Face Red? (1932) and adulterous wife in Flying Devils (1933) can
attest.
After losing her RKO contract in 1933, Arline freelanced with lesser
studios as various suspiciously-motivated ladies and was often cast for
amusement. She enjoyed her many couplings with comic actor Jack Oakie in
Looking for Trouble (1934), Shoot the Works (1934) and King of Burlesque (1936), and also worked time and again with her
husband in the films Roar of the Dragon (1932), Shoot the Works (1934)Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936).
Arline could always be counted on to sparkle up lightweight comedy
material such as College Scandal (1935), Here Comes Trouble (1936) and, the Sonja Henie capade One in a Million (1936) with
her trademark effervescence.
Divorced from Ruggles by 1937, she immediately got caught up in a
tabloid triangle that resulted in marriage #2 (only hours after her
divorce was finalized) with one of her battling beaus, Daniel Reid
Topping, owner of football's Brooklyn Dodgers. This marriage to Topping, who in 1945 (after their 1940 divorce) co-purchased the New York Yankees, lasted about two years and produced another son, Daniel, Jr. Marriage #3 less than a month and came in the form of hotel executive James Bryant.
The trials and tribulations of Arline's hectic private life took up a
lot of time and severely hampered the momentum of her film career. Five
years after her last movie, she finally resurfaced again in the
uneventful comedy Harvard, Here I Come! (1941), which led to a few war-era "B" and "C" rankers including The Lady Is Willing (1942), Song of Texas (1943), G.I. Honeymoon (1945) and From This Day Forward (1946). A bit part as
a manicurist in the Harold Lloyd comedy The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) (aka _Mad Wednesday) ended
her 1940s movie run. In between there an eight-day marriage #4 to
Royal Air Force Captain James Adams in 1942; a slightly longer marriage #5 to
ad exec Vincent Morgan Ryan in 1945); and marriage #6 to wealthy sportsman Henry (Bob) Topping, brother of second husband Daniel. After her second Topping family divorce, Henry went on to marry Lana Turner. Marriage #7 was to insurance man George Ross III (1949-1950), and marriage #8 in 1955 to Beverly Hills inventor Edward Cooper Heard, her final union ending a lengthy (for her) 5 years.
Interspersed with all this marriage mayhem were some isolated TV guest
roles in the 50s and early 60s in such series as "Perry Mason" and a final leap back in films as
the mom of William Wellman Jr. in the poorly acted drama A Swingin' Summer (1965), which included
surf music (!), and a role as one of the strangling victims of The Crawling Hand (1963), a
low-grade horror opus.
By the mid-60s Arline had given up on pursuing both career (save a few commercials) and husbands. She lived out her final years in her West Hollywood digs and was found dead of natural causes ("aspiration of gastric contents") on February 7, 1974, just shy of her 62nd birthday . She was survived by her two sons and buried in her home state of Connecticut.
not-so-private off-camera escapades than for her commendable "B" work
as a light comedienne in 30s and 40s films. Nevertheless, actress Arline Judge enlivened a number of them with her blue-eyed, brunette beauty and
colorful characterizations. Her numerous marriages and divorces (8)
equaled that of the more notable Hollywood husband-hunter Lana Turner. She topped Ms. Turner only if you consider that Arline married 8 different men; Lana's eight marriages included one remarriage (to actor Stephen Crane). The two ladies even shared an ex-husband!
Connecticut-born Arline arrived on February 21, 1912. Her father, a
newspaperman, moved his family to New York City while Arline was still
young. She was eventually enrolled at the Ursuline Academy in the Bronx
where, among other things, she studied dance. Briefly working in
vaudeville, nightclubs and other New York musical shows, the
petite-framed, eye-catching chorine was noticed for films in 1930 by an RKO
talent agent who spotted her in the Broadway revue "The Second Little
Show," and signed.
Arline made her film debut with a flashy bit part in Bachelor Apartment (1931). After
appearing fairly non-descriptively in An American Tragedy (1931) and Three Who Loved (1931), among
others, she finally had people taking notice of her as a tawdry
good-time girl in Are These Our Children (1931). 1931 also marked the year of marriage #1 to Wesley Ruggles, nearly 24 years her senior (she was 19; he was 42), who directed her in the afore-mentioned movie. She subsequently gave birth to their son Wesley, Jr. Nicknamed "One-Take Sally", Arline proved adaptable at both snappy comedy and teary drama, easily alternating her services between
a wacky Wheeler and Woolsey farce such as Girl Crazy (1932) or Helen Twelvetrees weepie such as
Young Bride (1932). Her characters were often more trouble than they were worth as
her scheming waitress in Is My Face Red? (1932) and adulterous wife in Flying Devils (1933) can
attest.
After losing her RKO contract in 1933, Arline freelanced with lesser
studios as various suspiciously-motivated ladies and was often cast for
amusement. She enjoyed her many couplings with comic actor Jack Oakie in
Looking for Trouble (1934), Shoot the Works (1934) and King of Burlesque (1936), and also worked time and again with her
husband in the films Roar of the Dragon (1932), Shoot the Works (1934)Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936).
Arline could always be counted on to sparkle up lightweight comedy
material such as College Scandal (1935), Here Comes Trouble (1936) and, the Sonja Henie capade One in a Million (1936) with
her trademark effervescence.
Divorced from Ruggles by 1937, she immediately got caught up in a
tabloid triangle that resulted in marriage #2 (only hours after her
divorce was finalized) with one of her battling beaus, Daniel Reid
Topping, owner of football's Brooklyn Dodgers. This marriage to Topping, who in 1945 (after their 1940 divorce) co-purchased the New York Yankees, lasted about two years and produced another son, Daniel, Jr. Marriage #3 less than a month and came in the form of hotel executive James Bryant.
The trials and tribulations of Arline's hectic private life took up a
lot of time and severely hampered the momentum of her film career. Five
years after her last movie, she finally resurfaced again in the
uneventful comedy Harvard, Here I Come! (1941), which led to a few war-era "B" and "C" rankers including The Lady Is Willing (1942), Song of Texas (1943), G.I. Honeymoon (1945) and From This Day Forward (1946). A bit part as
a manicurist in the Harold Lloyd comedy The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) (aka _Mad Wednesday) ended
her 1940s movie run. In between there an eight-day marriage #4 to
Royal Air Force Captain James Adams in 1942; a slightly longer marriage #5 to
ad exec Vincent Morgan Ryan in 1945); and marriage #6 to wealthy sportsman Henry (Bob) Topping, brother of second husband Daniel. After her second Topping family divorce, Henry went on to marry Lana Turner. Marriage #7 was to insurance man George Ross III (1949-1950), and marriage #8 in 1955 to Beverly Hills inventor Edward Cooper Heard, her final union ending a lengthy (for her) 5 years.
Interspersed with all this marriage mayhem were some isolated TV guest
roles in the 50s and early 60s in such series as "Perry Mason" and a final leap back in films as
the mom of William Wellman Jr. in the poorly acted drama A Swingin' Summer (1965), which included
surf music (!), and a role as one of the strangling victims of The Crawling Hand (1963), a
low-grade horror opus.
By the mid-60s Arline had given up on pursuing both career (save a few commercials) and husbands. She lived out her final years in her West Hollywood digs and was found dead of natural causes ("aspiration of gastric contents") on February 7, 1974, just shy of her 62nd birthday . She was survived by her two sons and buried in her home state of Connecticut.