Richard Dix (born Ernst Carlton Brimmer; July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American
motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
actor who achieved popularity in both
silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero. He was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
for his lead role in the
Best Picture-winning epic ''
Cimarron'' (1931).
Early life
Dix was born on July 18, 1893, in
Saint Paul, Minnesota.
He was educated there and, to please 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. Standing 6 feet and weighing 180 pounds, Dix excelled in sports, especially football and baseball. After a year at the
University of Minnesota, he took a position at a bank, and trained for the stage in the evening. His professional start was with a local stock company, and this led to similar work in New York City. He then went to Los Angeles and became leading man for the Morosco Stock Company. His success there earned him a contract with Paramount Pictures.
Career

He then changed his name to Richard Dix. After his move to
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, he began a career in
Western movies. One of the few
leading men 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
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
in 1931 for his performance as Yancey Cravat in ''
Cimarron'', in which he was
billed over
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
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
''. 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 and
Eduardo Ciannelli; the film was directed by
Lew Landers
Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director.
Biography
Born as Louis Friedlander in New York City, Lew Landers began his movie career as an actor. In 1914, ...
. Dix also starred as the homicidal Captain Stone in the
Val Lewton production of ''
The Ghost Ship'', directed by
Mark Robson Mark Robson may refer to:
* Mark Robson (film director) (1913–1978), Canadian-American film director and producer
* Mark Robson (American writer), Scottish-American writer and expert in United States coins and stamps
* Mark Robson (footballer)
...
.

In 1941, Dix played
Wild Bill Hickok in ''Badlands of Dakota'' and portrayed
Wyatt Earp the following year in ''
Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die'', featuring
Edgar Buchanan as
Curly Bill Brocious
William Brocius (c. 1845 – March 24, 1882), better known as Curly Bill Brocius, was an American gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of the Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His name is like ...
.
In 1944, he starred in ''
The Whistler'', a feature film produced by
Columbia Pictures based on the popular radio program. The film adaptation was popular enough to become a series. In these offbeat, crime-related stories, Dix did ''not'' play "The Whistler" (who was an unseen narrator representing the central character's conscience). He appeared in a variety of characterizations, some sympathetic, others hard-boiled, but always victims of fate and circumstances conspiring against him. Dix retired from acting after the seventh of these films, ''The Thirteenth Hour''. He suffered a heart attack in October 1948 and continued to have heart trouble until his death within the year.
Hobbies
According to the July 1934 ''Movies'' magazine, on his ranch near Hollywood, the location of which he kept a close secret, Dix raised thousands of chickens and turkeys each year. He also had a collection of thousands of pipes, and a "collection" of 36 dogs, "Scotties and English setters". He also read at least five books a week.
Private life
Richard Dix married his first wife, Winifred Coe, on October 20, 1931. They had a daughter, Martha Mary Ellen. They divorced in 1933. He married his second wife, Virginia Webster, on June 29, 1934. They had twin boys, Richard Jr. and
Robert Dix
Robert Warren Brimmer (May 8, 1935 – August 6, 2018), known professionally as Robert Dix, was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1974.
Biographic data
Dix was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor ...
, and an adopted daughter, Sara Sue.
Dix supported
Thomas Dewey
Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...
in the
1944 United States presidential election
The 1944 United States presidential election was the 40th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1944. The election took place during World War II. Incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Re ...
.
Death
After years of fighting alcoholism, Dix suffered a serious
heart attack on September 12, 1949, while on a train from New York to Los Angeles.
[The book ''Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses'' says, "Richard Dix died suddenly as a result of a heart attack while on board a ship returning from France."][The book ''A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses'' says, "Dix ... died in Los Angeles, California, in the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital ..."] Dix died at the age of 56 on September 20, 1949. He had four children from his two marriages. One of these was the actor Robert Dix
Robert Warren Brimmer (May 8, 1935 – August 6, 2018), known professionally as Robert Dix, was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1974.
Biographic data
Dix was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor ...
(1935–2018). Richard Dix, Sr. was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
.
Recognition
Dix has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
in the Motion Pictures section at 1610 Vine Street. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.
Filmography
Silent Films
Sound films
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Dix, Robert. ''Out of Hollywood: Two Generations of Actors''. Ernest Publishing, 2009.
* Van Neste, Dan. "''The Whistler: Stepping Into the Shadows''". Albany, GA: BearManor Media, 2011.
External links
*
*
Richard Dix tribute site
Photographs of Richard Dix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dix, Richard
American male stage actors
University of Minnesota alumni
American male silent film actors
American male film actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Male actors from Saint Paul, Minnesota
1893 births
1949 deaths
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Paramount Pictures contract players
RKO Pictures contract players