Leon Beaumon, also known as Leon Beauman, Beaumont, and Leon Duval, was a minor stage and film actor who made his mark during the 1920s and 1930s.
Born Herman Bauman in 1898 on a farm near Youngstown, Ohio, to German immigrant parents, Leon's early life was marked by a series of unconventional choices. He worked in steel mills as a youth, and studied with his two brothers near Chicago to become a Catholic priest. However, an argument with a superior in the seminary led him to abandon his plans and set out for California to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Leon's journey to California was marked by a series of adventures, including working in a still and running hooch in Denver during Prohibition. Once in Hollywood, he and his brother Marty changed their last name to Beaumon and Herman became Leon. The two brothers lived in a boarding house in Hollywood alongside Clark Gable and John Wayne, who were all struggling to make it big in the film industry.
Despite his early struggles, Leon managed to carve out a modest career in Hollywood, with credited roles in films such as A Fight to the Finish (1925),Clancy of the Mounted (1933),Pioneer Trail (1938),and The Law Comes to Texas (1939). He also had uncredited roles in a number of other films, including Cleopatra (1934),Folies Bergère de Paris (1935),and The Wizard of Oz (1939).
In addition to his acting career, Leon was a prolific inventor, creating one of the first wireless radios, the record changer on record players, and numerous other gadgets. During World War II, Leon joined the Army Air Corps and remained stateside, before going on to become a real estate broker and industrial landlord.
Leon remained single until 1961, when he married Theresa (Hermine Gruber) and had three children, Florence, Anthony, and Monique. He never retired, even putting a roof on a building when he was in his 70s. Leon's beloved wife passed away in 1978, and he followed her in death just three years later, at the age of 83.
Despite his modest fame, Leon's legacy lives on through his family, who generously took care of him in his illness and finished rearing his minor children.
