Richard Dix(1893-1949)
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
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. He then
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.