1893-07-18 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.
 |
The Thirteenth Hour | Steve Reynolds | 1947-02-06 |
 |
The Secret of the Whistler | Ralph Harrison | 1946-11-07 |
 |
Mysterious Intruder | Don Gale | 1946-04-11 |
 |
Voice of the Whistler | John Sinclair / John Carter | 1945-10-30 |
 |
The Power of the Whistler | William Everest | 1945-04-19 |
 |
The Mark of the Whistler | Lee Selfridge Nugent | 1944-10-09 |
 |
The Whistler | Earl C. Conrad | 1944-03-30 |
 |
Buckskin Frontier | Stephen Brent | 1943-05-14 |
 |
The Kansan | John Bonniwell | 1943-09-10 |
 |
Top Man | Tom Warren | 1943-09-17 |
 |
The Ghost Ship | Capt. Will Stone | 1943-12-16 |
 |
Eyes of the Underworld | Police Chief Richard Bryan | 1942-10-02 |
 |
American Empire | Dan Taylor | 1942-12-11 |
 |
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die | Wyatt Earp | 1942-06-13 |
 |
Badlands of Dakota | James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok | 1941-09-15 |
 |
The Roundup | Steve Payson | 1941-04-03 |
 |
Men Against the Sky | Phil Mercedes | 1940-09-06 |
 |
The Marines Fly High | Lt. Danny Darrick | 1940-03-04 |
 |
Cherokee Strip | Marshal Dave Lovell | 1940-10-10 |
 |
Here I Am a Stranger | Duke Allen | 1939-09-29 |
 |
Reno | William Shayne | 1939-12-01 |
 |
Twelve Crowded Hours | Nick Green | 1939-02-23 |
 |
Man of Conquest | Sam Houston | 1939-05-15 |
 |
Blind Alibi | Paul Dover | 1938-05-20 |
 |
Sky Giant | Capt. W.R. 'Stag' Cahill | 1938-07-22 |
 |
Devil's Playground | Jack Dorgan | 1937-01-24 |
 |
It Happened in Hollywood | Tim Bart | 1937-09-07 |
 |
The Devil Is Driving | Paul Driscoll | 1937-06-25 |
 |
Special Investigator | Bill Fenwick | 1936-05-08 |
 |
Devil's Squadron | Paul Redmond | 1936-04-30 |
 |
Yellow Dust | Bob Culpepper | 1936-03-12 |
 |
The Arizonian | Clay Tallant | 1935-06-27 |
 |
The Tunnel | Richard 'Mack' McAllan | 1935-10-27 |
 |
His Greatest Gamble | Phillip | 1934-08-10 |
 |
Stingaree | Stingaree | 1934-05-24 |
 |
West of the Pecos | Pecos Smith | 1934-12-27 |
 |
Day of Reckoning | John Day | 1933-10-26 |
 |
The Great Jasper | Jasper Horn | 1933-03-03 |
 |
Ace of Aces | Rex 'Rocky' Thorne | 1933-10-20 |
 |
No Marriage Ties | Bruce Foster | 1933-08-11 |
 |
The Conquerors | Roger Standish / Roger Lennox | 1932-11-18 |
 |
The Lost Squadron | Capt. 'Gibby' Gibson | 1932-03-12 |
 |
Hell's Highway | Frank 'Duke' Ellis | 1932-09-23 |
 |
Roar of the Dragon | Carson | 1932-07-08 |
 |
The Stolen Jools | Richard Dix | 1931-04-04 |
 |
Young Donovan's Kid | Jim Donovan | 1931-06-06 |
 |
Secret Service | Lewis Dumont | 1931-11-14 |
 |
Cimarron | Yancey Cravat | 1931-01-26 |
 |
The Public Defender | Pike Winslow | 1931-08-01 |
 |
Shooting Straight | Larry Sheldon / Ted Walters | 1930-07-20 |
 |
Lovin' the Ladies | Peter | 1930-04-06 |
 |
The Love Doctor | Dr. Gerald Summer | 1929-01-06 |
 |
The Wheel of Life | Capt. Leslie Yeullet | 1929-06-15 |
 |
Seven Keys to Baldpate | William Magee | 1929-12-25 |
 |
Nothing But the Truth | Robert Bennett | 1929-04-20 |
 |
Redskin | Wing Foot | 1929-09-22 |
 |
A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic | Self | 1929-05-04 |
 |
Warming Up | Bert Tulliver | 1928-08-04 |
 |
Easy Come, Easy Go | Robert Parker | 1928-04-20 |
 |
Sporting Goods | Richard Shelby | 1928-02-11 |
 |
Moran of the Marines | Michael Moran | 1928-10-13 |
 |
Knockout Reilly | Dundee 'Knockout' Reilly | 1927-04-16 |
 |
Paradise for Two | Steve Porter | 1927-01-23 |
 |
Shanghai Bound | Jim Bucklin | 1927-10-15 |
 |
The Gay Defender | Joaquin Murrieta | 1927-12-10 |
 |
Man Power | Tom Roberts | 1927-07-09 |
 |
The Quarterback | Jack Stone | 1926-10-11 |
 |
Fascinating Youth | Richard Dix | 1926-03-17 |
 |
Say It Again | Bob Howard | 1926-05-31 |
 |
Let's Get Married | Billy Dexter | 1926-03-01 |
 |
The Vanishing American | Nophaie | 1925-10-15 |
 |
The Lucky Devil | Randy Farnum | 1925-07-13 |
 |
Too Many Kisses | Richard Gaylord, Jr. | 1925-01-11 |
 |
Womanhandled | Bill Dana | 1925-12-27 |
 |
Men and Women | Will Prescott | 1925-03-23 |
 |
The Shock Punch | Randall Lee Savage | 1925-02-25 |
 |
A Man Must Live | Geoffrey Farnell | 1925-01-19 |
 |
The Stranger | Larry Darrant | 1924-02-04 |
 |
Icebound | Ben Jordan | 1924-03-02 |
 |
Manhattan | Peter Minuit | 1924-10-28 |
 |
Sinners in Heaven | Alan Croft | 1924-09-09 |
 |
Unguarded Women | Douglas Albright | 1924-06-22 |
 |
The Call of the Canyon | Glenn Kilbourne | 1923-12-16 |
 |
To the Last Man | Jean Isbel | 1923-09-23 |
 |
Racing Hearts | Robby Smith | 1923-07-15 |
 |
Souls for Sale | Frank Claymore | 1923-04-22 |
 |
The Christian | John Storm | 1923-01-14 |
 |
The Woman with Four Faces | Richard Templar | 1923-06-24 |
 |
Quicksands | Lt. Bill | 1923-02-28 |
 |
The Ten Commandments | John McTavish | 1923-11-23 |
 |
The Wall Flower | Walt Breen | 1922-05-01 |
 |
Fools First | Tommy Frazer | 1922-05-27 |
 |
The Bonded Woman | Lee Marvin | 1922-08-21 |
 |
The Glorious Fool | Billy Grant | 1922-01-01 |
 |
The Sin Flood | Bill Bear | 1922-11-12 |
 |
Yellow Men and Gold | Parrish | 1922-05-20 |
 |
Dangerous Curve Ahead | Harley Jones | 1921-10-02 |
 |
All's Fair in Love | Bobby Cameron | 1921-09-01 |
 |
Not Guilty | Paul / Arthur Ellison (twins) | 1921-01-01 |
 |
The Poverty of Riches | John Colby | 1921-11-01 |
 |
One of Many | James Lowery - Butler | 1917-02-12 |
