Acting
Richard Dix
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
Film · 1947
Mysterious Intruder
Film · 1946
The Secret of the Whistler
Film · 1946
The Power of the Whistler
Film · 1945
Voice of the Whistler
Film · 1945
The Whistler
Film · 1944
The Mark of the Whistler
Film · 1944
The Ghost Ship
Film · 1943
The Kansan
Film · 1943
Buckskin Frontier
Film · 1943
Top Man
Film · 1943
American Empire
Film · 1942
Eyes of the Underworld
Film · 1942
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
Film · 1942
Badlands of Dakota
Film · 1941
The Roundup
Film · 1941
Men Against the Sky
Film · 1940
The Marines Fly High
Film · 1940
Cherokee Strip
Film · 1940
Twelve Crowded Hours
Film · 1939
Man of Conquest
Film · 1939
Reno
Film · 1939
Here I Am a Stranger
Film · 1939
Blind Alibi
Film · 1938
Sky Giant
Film · 1938
It Happened in Hollywood
Film · 1937
The Devil Is Driving
Film · 1937
Devil's Playground
Film · 1937
Special Investigator
Film · 1936
Yellow Dust
Film · 1936
Devil's Squadron
Film · 1936
The Tunnel
Film · 1935
The Arizonian
Film · 1935
Stingaree
Film · 1934
His Greatest Gamble
Film · 1934
West of the Pecos
Film · 1934
Ace of Aces
Film · 1933
Day of Reckoning
Film · 1933
The Great Jasper
Film · 1933
No Marriage Ties
Film · 1933
Hell's Highway
Film · 1932
The Lost Squadron
Film · 1932
The Conquerors
Film · 1932
Roar of the Dragon
Film · 1932
Cimarron
Film · 1931
The Public Defender
Film · 1931
Secret Service
Film · 1931
The Stolen Jools
Film · 1931
Young Donovan's Kid
Film · 1931
Lovin' the Ladies
Film · 1930
Shooting Straight
Film · 1930
The Love Doctor
Film · 1929
Seven Keys to Baldpate
Film · 1929
Redskin
Film · 1929
Nothing but the Truth
Film · 1929
A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic
Film · 1929
The Wheel of Life
Film · 1929
Sporting Goods
Film · 1928
Easy Come, Easy Go
Film · 1928
Warming Up
Film · 1928
Moran of the Marines
Film · 1928
Paradise for Two
Film · 1927
Man Power
Film · 1927
Shanghai Bound
Film · 1927
The Gay Defender
Film · 1927
Knockout Reilly
Film · 1927
Say It Again
Film · 1926
The Quarterback
Film · 1926
Fascinating Youth
Film · 1926
Let's Get Married
Film · 1926
The Vanishing American
Film · 1925
Womanhandled
Film · 1925
Men and Women
Film · 1925
Too Many Kisses
Film · 1925
The Lucky Devil
Film · 1925
The Shock Punch
Film · 1925
A Man Must Live
Film · 1925
Icebound
Film · 1924
The Stranger
Film · 1924
Unguarded Women
Film · 1924
Sinners in Heaven
Film · 1924
Manhattan
Film · 1924
The Ten Commandments
Film · 1923
Quicksands
Film · 1923
Racing Hearts
Film · 1923
The Woman with Four Faces
Film · 1923
The Christian
Film · 1923
Souls for Sale
Film · 1923
The Call of the Canyon
Film · 1923
To the Last Man
Film · 1923
Yellow Men and Gold
Film · 1922
Fools First
Film · 1922
The Sin Flood
Film · 1922
The Glorious Fool
Film · 1922
The Bonded Woman
Film · 1922
The Wall Flower
Film · 1922
The Poverty of Riches
Film · 1921
Not Guilty
Film · 1921
All's Fair in Love
Film · 1921
Dangerous Curve Ahead
Film · 1921
One of Many
Film · 1917