Eric Linden

Eric Linden (September 15, 1909 – July 14, 1994) was an American actor, primarily active during the 1930s and best-known for his portrayals of sensitive adolescents.

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

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)