Jeffrey Lynn

Jeffrey Lynn (February 16, 1909 – November 24, 1995) was an American actor.

Life and career

Born Ragnar Godfrey Lind in Auburn, Massachusetts, Lynn was a school teacher before he began his acting career. He came to Hollywood and made his film debut in Out Where the Stars Begin (1938). He achieved a notable success in 1938 appearing with the Lane Sisters in Four Daughters, and the popularity of the movie was so great that it was followed by three sequels, Daughters Courageous (1939), Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941) with Lynn reprising his role in each of them.

After the success of Four Daughters, Lynn was screen tested for the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939). He was considered to be the front runner for the role, partly due to his physical resemblance to the character as written. Lynn was used extensively during the "Search for Scarlett" playing Ashley in the screen tests for many of the actresses who tried out for the part. David O. Selznick eventually cast the more experienced and popular Leslie Howard.