Richard Dix

Richard Dix
Richard Dix as featured on the poster for Redskin (1929), his final silent film.
Born	Ernst Carlton Brimmer July 18, 1893(1893-07-18) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	September 20, 1949 (aged 56) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	actor
Years active	Stage 1914 — 1921 Film 1921 — 1947
Spouse(s)	Winifred Coe (1931-1933) Virginia Webster (1934-1949)

Richard Dix (July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero.

Early life

Born Ernest Carlton Brimmer on 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 City. 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.

Career

After his move to Hollywood, where he began a career in Western movies. One of the few actors to successfully bridge the transition from silent films to talkies, Dix's best-remembered early role was in Cecil B. Demille's silent version of The Ten Commandments (1923). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1931 for his performance as Yancey Cravat in Cimarron, in which he shared top-billing with Irene Dunne. Cimarron, based on the popular novel by Edna Ferber, took the Best Picture award. Dix starred in another RKO adventure, The Lost Squadron.

A memorable role for Dix was in the 1935 British futuristic film The Tunnel. An original poster for this film was catalogued with an estimated value of between $2000 - $3000 by Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas in the Summer of 2006.

Dix starred in The Great Jasper and Blind Alibi in the late 1930s. His popular RKO Radio Pictures co-star in Blind Alibi was Ace the Wonder Dog. Dix's human co-stars were Whitney Bourne, Eduardo Ciannelli; the film was directed by Lew Landers.

In the 1940s he starred in The Whistler, the first of a series of eight "Whistler" films for Columbia Pictures. Dix retired from acting after making the seventh in the series, The Thirteenth Hour.

Death

Richard Dix 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.

After suffering a serious heart attack on 12 September 1949 while on a train from New York to Los Angeles^[1] Dix died of at age 56, on September 20, 1949. He was survived by four children from his two marriages, but sadly in 1953 his son, Richard Dix Jr., was killed in an accident at a logging camp near Ponderosa, California. Richard Dix Sr. was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Richard Dix has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1610 Vine Street.

Filmography

Silent films

Sound films

References

• Richard Dix at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Dix at the Internet Broadway Database
• Richard Dix tribute site
• Photographs of Richard Dix