RD
Richard Dix
Actor
Born July 18, 1893Died September 20, 1949 (56 years)
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
| 1947 | The Thirteenth Hour · as Steve Reynolds |
| 1946 | The Secret of the Whistler · as Ralph Harrison |
| 1946 | Mysterious Intruder · as Don Gale |
| 1945 | Voice of the Whistler · as John Sinclair / John Carter |
| 1945 | The Power of the Whistler · as William Everest |
| 1944 | The Mark of the Whistler · as Lee Selfridge Nugent |
| 1944 | The Whistler · as Earl C. Conrad |
| 1943 | The Ghost Ship · as Capt. Will Stone |
| 1943 | Top Man · as Tom Warren |
| 1943 | The Kansan · as John Bonniwell |
| 1943 | Buckskin Frontier · as Stephen Brent |
| 1942 | American Empire · as Dan Taylor |
| 1942 | Eyes of the Underworld · as Police Chief Richard Bryan |
| 1942 | Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die · as Wyatt Earp |
| 1941 | Badlands of Dakota · as James Butler "wild Bill" Hickok |
| 1941 | The Round Up · as Steve Payson |
| 1940 | Cherokee Strip · as Marshal Dave Lovell |
| 1940 | Men Against the Sky · as Phil Mercedes |
| 1940 | The Marines Fly High · as Lt. Danny Darrick |
| 1939 | Reno · as William Shayne |
| 1939 | Here I Am a Stranger · as Duke Allen |
| 1939 | Land of Liberty · as Yancey Cravat (edited From 'cimarron') |
| 1939 | Man of Conquest · as Sam Houston |
| 1939 | Twelve Crowded Hours · as Nick Green |
| 1938 | Sky Giant · as Capt. W.r. 'stag' Cahill |
| 1938 | Blind Alibi · as Paul Dover |
| 1937 | It Happened in Hollywood · as Tim Bart |
| 1937 | Devil's Playground · as Jack Dorgan |
| 1936 | Special Investigator · as Bill Fenwick |
| 1936 | Yellow Dust · as Bob Culpepper |
| 1935 | Transatlantic Tunnel · as Richard 'mack' Mcallan |
| 1935 | The Arizonian · as Clay Tallant |
| 1934 | His Greatest Gamble · as Phillip |
| 1934 | Stingaree · as Stingaree |
| 1933 | Day of Reckoning · as John Day |
| 1933 | Ace of Aces · as Rex 'rocky' Thorne |
| 1933 | No Marriage Ties · as Bruce Foster |
| 1932 | The Conquerors · as Roger Standish / Roger Lennox |
| 1932 | Hell's Highway · as Frank 'duke' Ellis |
| 1932 | Roar of the Dragon · as Carson |
| 1932 | The Lost Squadron · as Capt. 'gibby' Gibson |
| 1931 | Secret Service · as Lewis Dumont |
| 1931 | The Public Defender · as Pike Winslow |
| 1931 | The House That Shadows Built · as Cast |
| 1931 | Cimarron · as Yancey Cravat |
| 1930 | Shooting Straight · as Larry Sheldon / Ted Walters |
| 1930 | Lovin' the Ladies · as Peter |
| 1929 | Seven Keys to Baldpate · as William Magee |
| 1929 | Redskin · as Wing Foot |
| 1929 | Nothing But the Truth · as Robert Bennett |
| 1927 | Man Power · as Tom Roberts |
| 1926 | Let's Get Married · as Billy Dexter |
| 1925 | Womanhandled · as Bill Dana |
| 1925 | The Vanishing American · as Nophaie |
| 1925 | The Lucky Devil · as Randy Farnum |
| 1925 | The Shock Punch · as Randall Lee Savage |
| 1925 | A Man Must Live · as Geoffrey Farnell |
| 1925 | Too Many Kisses · as Richard Gaylord, Jr. |
| 1924 | Sinners in Heaven · as Alan Croft |
| 1923 | The Call of the Canyon · as Glenn Kilbourne |
| 1923 | The Ten Commandments · as John Mctavish |
| 1923 | To the Last Man · as Jean Isbel |
| 1923 | Souls for Sale · as Frank Claymore |
| 1923 | Racing Hearts · as Robby Smith |