Richard Dix
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 18, 1893
- Died
- September 20, 1949
- Birthplace
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Richard Dix was a major leading man at RKO Radio Pictures from 1929 through 1943. He was born Ernest Carlton Brimmer July 18, 1893, in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he was educated, and at the desires of his father, studied to be a surgeon. His obvious acting talent in his school dramatic club led him to leading roles in most of the school plays. At 6' 0" and 180 pounds, Dix excelled in sports, especially football and baseball. These skills would serve him well in the vigorous film roles he would go on to play. After a year at the University of Minnesota he took a position at a bank, spending his evenings training for the stage. His professional start was with a local stock company, and this led to similar work in New York. The death of his father left him with a mother and sister to support. He went to Los Angeles, became leading man for the Morosco Stock Company and his success there got him a contract with Paramount Pictures. His rugged good looks and dark features made him a popular player in westerns. His athletic ability led to his starring role in Paramount's Warming Up (1928), a baseball story and also the studio's first feature with synchronized score and sound effects. His deep voice and commanding presence were perfectly suited for the talkies, and he was signed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1929, scoring an early triumph in the all-talking mystery drama, Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929). In 1931 he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his masterful performance in Cimarron (1931), winner of the Best Picture Oscar that year. Throughout the 1930s Dix would be a big box-office draw at RKO, appearing in mystery thrillers, potboilers, westerns and programmers. He appeared in the "Whistler" series of mystery films at Columbia in the mid-40s. He retired from films in 1947. He first married Winifred Coe on October 20, 1931, had a daughter, Martha Mary Ellen, then divorced in 1933. He then married Virginia Webster on June 29, 1934. They had twin boys, Richard Jr. and Robert Dix and an adopted daughter, Sara Sue. Richard Dix the actor, died at age 56 on September 20, 1949.
Filmography
The Thirteenth Hour 1947
as Steve Reynolds
The Secret of the Whistler 1946
as Ralph Harrison
Mysterious Intruder 1946
as Don Gale
Voice of the Whistler 1945
as John Sinclair / John Carter
The Power of the Whistler 1945
as William Everest
The Mark of the Whistler 1944
as Lee Selfridge Nugent
The Whistler 1944
as Earl C. Conrad
The Ghost Ship 1943
as Capt. Will Stone
Top Man 1943
as Tom Warren
The Kansan 1943
as John Bonniwell
Buckskin Frontier 1943
as Stephen Brent
American Empire 1942
as Dan Taylor
Eyes of the Underworld 1942
as Police Chief Richard Bryan
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die 1942
as Wyatt Earp
Badlands of Dakota 1941
as James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
The Roundup 1941
as Steve Payson
Cherokee Strip 1940
as Marshal Dave Lovell
Men Against the Sky 1940
as Phil Mercedes
The Marines Fly High 1940
as Lt. Danny Darrick
Reno 1939
as William Shayne
Here I Am a Stranger 1939
as Duke Allen
Man of Conquest 1939
as Sam Houston
Twelve Crowded Hours 1939
as Nick Green
Sky Giant 1938
as Capt. W.R. 'Stag' Cahill
Blind Alibi 1938
as Paul Dover
It Happened in Hollywood 1937
as Tim Bart
The Devil Is Driving 1937
as Paul Driscoll
Devil's Playground 1937
as Jack Dorgan
Special Investigator 1936
as Bill Fenwick
Devil's Squadron 1936
as Paul Redmond
Yellow Dust 1936
as Bob Culpepper
The Tunnel 1935
as Richard 'Mack' McAllan
The Arizonian 1935
as Clay Tallant
West of the Pecos 1934
as Pecos Smith
His Greatest Gamble 1934
as Phillip
Stingaree 1934
as Stingaree
Day of Reckoning 1933
as John Day
Ace of Aces 1933
as Rex 'Rocky' Thorne
No Marriage Ties 1933
as Bruce Foster
The Great Jasper 1933
as Jasper Horn
The Conquerors 1932
as Roger Standish / Roger Lennox
Hell's Highway 1932
as Frank 'Duke' Ellis
Roar of the Dragon 1932
as Carson
The Lost Squadron 1932
as Capt. 'Gibby' Gibson
Secret Service 1931
as Lewis Dumont
The Public Defender 1931
as Pike Winslow
Young Donovan's Kid 1931
as Jim Donovan
The Stolen Jools 1931
as Richard Dix
Cimarron 1931
as Yancey Cravat
Shooting Straight 1930
as Larry Sheldon / Ted Walters
Lovin' the Ladies 1930
as Peter
Seven Keys to Baldpate 1929
as William Magee
Redskin 1929
as Wing Foot
The Wheel of Life 1929
as Capt. Leslie Yeullet
A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic 1929
as Self
Nothing but the Truth 1929
as Robert Bennett
The Love Doctor 1929
as Dr. Gerald Summer
Moran of the Marines 1928
as Michael Moran
Warming Up 1928
as Bert Tulliver
Easy Come, Easy Go 1928
as Robert Parker
Sporting Goods 1928
as Richard Shelby
The Gay Defender 1927
as Joaquin Murrieta
Shanghai Bound 1927
as Jim Bucklin
Man Power 1927
as Tom Roberts
Knockout Reilly 1927
as Dundee 'Knockout' Reilly
Paradise for Two 1927
as Steve Porter
The Quarterback 1926
as Jack Stone
Say It Again 1926
as Bob Howard
Fascinating Youth 1926
as Richard Dix
Let's Get Married 1926
as Billy Dexter
Womanhandled 1925
as Bill Dana
The Vanishing American 1925
as Nophaie
The Lucky Devil 1925
as Randy Farnum
Men and Women 1925
as Will Prescott
The Shock Punch 1925
as Randall Lee Savage
A Man Must Live 1925
as Geoffrey Farnell
Too Many Kisses 1925
as Richard Gaylord, Jr.
Manhattan 1924
as Peter Minuit
Sinners in Heaven 1924
as Alan Croft
Unguarded Women 1924
as Douglas Albright
Icebound 1924
as Ben Jordan
The Stranger 1924
as Larry Darrant
The Call of the Canyon 1923
as Glenn Kilbourne
The Ten Commandments 1923
as John McTavish
To the Last Man 1923
as Jean Isbel
Racing Hearts 1923
as Robby Smith
The Woman with Four Faces 1923
as Richard Templar
Souls for Sale 1923
as Frank Claymore
Quicksands 1923
as Lt. Bill
The Christian 1923
as John Storm
The Sin Flood 1922
as Bill Bear
The Bonded Woman 1922
as Lee Marvin
Fools First 1922
as Tommy Frazer
Yellow Men and Gold 1922
as Parrish
The Wall Flower 1922
as Walt Breen
The Glorious Fool 1922
as Billy Grant
The Poverty of Riches 1921
as John Colby
Dangerous Curve Ahead 1921
as Harley Jones
All's Fair in Love 1921
as Bobby Cameron
Not Guilty 1921
as Paul / Arthur Ellison (twins), Producer
One of Many 1917
as James Lowery - Butler
Credits from TMDB.