Jack Luden's story is a tale of unfulfilled potential and tragic descent into darkness. Born as Jacob Benson Luden in Reading, Pennsylvania, he was the nephew of the millionaire founder of Luden's Cough Drops and attended the finest schools on the east coast.
However, Luden was restless and possessed an impulsive rebellious streak, which led him to pursue an acting career. Against enormous odds, he won a contest to attend the Paramount Pictures' School of Acting on Long Island, New York in 1925, where he stood out among his classmates, including Thelma Todd and future all-American star Charles 'Buddy' Rogers.
Paramount ordered him to Hollywood the following year, where he acted in various films during the sound transition period. His personal heyday lasted for about three years, during which he earned enough money to indulge his passion for sailing and bought a boat.
Despite possessing good looks, a passable voice, and a degree of acting talent, Luden's studio faced hard times after 1930, and he was lost in the shuffle. More seriously, he developed a heroin habit, possibly as early as 1929, and found it impossible to keep hidden.
Released from his Paramount contract, Luden found himself adrift and was known to commit wholesale shoplifting to support his drug habit. His life between 1930 and 1936 is largely a mystery, during which he gave up any pretext of hiding his drug addiction.
Luden's father died in the mid-1930s, and his immediate family expressed dismay over his lifestyle. He was reputedly arrested several times during this period for petty theft, but details are lacking.
Somehow, Luden managed to re-enter the film business and came to the attention of veteran low-budget producer Larry Darmour, who gave him a second chance. Luden was cast as "Breezy" in four productions in 1938, but he failed to click with the targeted audience and was cut from Columbia.
He ended his film career in the early 1940s, making minor, uncredited walk-ons. Luden made a half-hearted attempt at forming a film production company in the late 1940s that went nowhere. He turned to drug dealing to support his increasingly expensive heroin habit and was arrested for possession and writing bad checks.
Luden was sent to San Quentin State Penitentiary, where he ultimately died nine months into his sentence from a heart attack at the age of 49 in 1951. His life was a tragic tale of unfulfilled potential and self-destruction.
