Richard Dix
Born
July 18, 1893
Died
September 20, 1949 (56 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
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

The Secret of the Whistler
Ralph Harrison
1946

Mysterious Intruder
Don Gale
1946

Voice of the Whistler
John Sinclair / John Carter
1945

The Power of the Whistler
William Everest
1945

The Mark of the Whistler
Lee Selfridge Nugent
1944

The Whistler
Earl C. Conrad
1944

The Ghost Ship
Capt. Will Stone
1943

Top Man
Tom Warren
1943

The Kansan
John Bonniwell
1943

Buckskin Frontier
Stephen Brent
1943

American Empire
Dan Taylor
1942

Eyes of the Underworld
Police Chief Richard Bryan
1942

Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
Wyatt Earp
1942

Badlands of Dakota
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
1941

The Roundup
Steve Payson
1941

Cherokee Strip
Marshal Dave Lovell
1940

Men Against the Sky
Phil Mercedes
1940

The Marines Fly High
Lt. Danny Darrick
1940

Reno
William Shayne
1939

Here I Am a Stranger
Duke Allen
1939

Man of Conquest
Sam Houston
1939

Twelve Crowded Hours
Nick Green
1939

Sky Giant
Capt. W.R. 'Stag' Cahill
1938

Blind Alibi
Paul Dover
1938

It Happened in Hollywood
Tim Bart
1937

The Devil Is Driving
Paul Driscoll
1937

Devil's Playground
Jack Dorgan
1937

Special Investigator
Bill Fenwick
1936

Devil's Squadron
Paul Redmond
1936

Yellow Dust
Bob Culpepper
1936

The Tunnel
Richard 'Mack' McAllan
1935

The Arizonian
Clay Tallant
1935

West of the Pecos
Pecos Smith
1934

His Greatest Gamble
Phillip
1934

Stingaree
Stingaree
1934

Day of Reckoning
John Day
1933

Ace of Aces
Rex 'Rocky' Thorne
1933

No Marriage Ties
Bruce Foster
1933

The Great Jasper
Jasper Horn
1933

The Conquerors
Roger Standish / Roger Lennox
1932

Hell's Highway
Frank 'Duke' Ellis
1932

Roar of the Dragon
Carson
1932

The Lost Squadron
Capt. 'Gibby' Gibson
1932

Secret Service
Lewis Dumont
1931

The Public Defender
Pike Winslow
1931

Young Donovan's Kid
Jim Donovan
1931

The Stolen Jools
Richard Dix
1931

Cimarron
Yancey Cravat
1931

Shooting Straight
Larry Sheldon / Ted Walters
1930

Lovin' the Ladies
Peter
1930

Seven Keys to Baldpate
William Magee
1929

Redskin
Wing Foot
1929

The Wheel of Life
Capt. Leslie Yeullet
1929

A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic
Self
1929

Nothing But the Truth
Robert Bennett
1929

The Love Doctor
Dr. Gerald Summer
1929

Moran of the Marines
Michael Moran
1928

Warming Up
Bert Tulliver
1928

Easy Come, Easy Go
Robert Parker
1928

Sporting Goods
Richard Shelby
1928

The Gay Defender
Joaquin Murrieta
1927

Shanghai Bound
Jim Bucklin
1927

Man Power
Tom Roberts
1927

Knockout Reilly
Dundee 'Knockout' Reilly
1927

Paradise for Two
Steve Porter
1927

The Quarterback
Jack Stone
1926

Say It Again
Bob Howard
1926

Fascinating Youth
Richard Dix
1926

Let's Get Married
Billy Dexter
1926

Womanhandled
Bill Dana
1925

The Vanishing American
Nophaie
1925

The Lucky Devil
Randy Farnum
1925

Men and Women
Will Prescott
1925

The Shock Punch
Randall Lee Savage
1925

A Man Must Live
Geoffrey Farnell
1925

Too Many Kisses
Richard Gaylord, Jr.
1925

Manhattan
Peter Minuit
1924

Sinners in Heaven
Alan Croft
1924

Unguarded Women
Douglas Albright
1924

Icebound
Ben Jordan
1924

The Stranger
Larry Darrant
1924

The Call of the Canyon
Glenn Kilbourne
1923

The Ten Commandments
John McTavish
1923

To the Last Man
Jean Isbel
1923

Racing Hearts
Robby Smith
1923

The Woman with Four Faces
Richard Templar
1923

Souls for Sale
Frank Claymore
1923

Quicksands
Lt. Bill
1923

The Christian
John Storm
1923

The Sin Flood
Bill Bear
1922

The Bonded Woman
Lee Marvin
1922

Fools First
Tommy Frazer
1922

Yellow Men and Gold
Parrish
1922

The Wall Flower
Walt Breen
1922

The Glorious Fool
Billy Grant
1922

The Poverty of Riches
John Colby
1921

Dangerous Curve Ahead
Harley Jones
1921

All's Fair in Love
Bobby Cameron
1921

Not Guilty
Paul / Arthur Ellison (twins)
1921

One of Many
James Lowery - Butler
1917