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.
101 movies
The Thirteenth Hour
1947·6.0
The Secret of the Whistler
1946·6.1
Mysterious Intruder
1946·5.9
Voice of the Whistler
1945·5.8
The Power of the Whistler
1945·5.9
The Mark of the Whistler
1944·6.2
The Whistler
1944·6.0
The Ghost Ship
1943·6.3
Top Man
1943·9.0
The Kansan
1943·6.0
Buckskin Frontier
1943·7.0
American Empire
1942·5.0
Eyes of the Underworld
1942·5.6
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
1942·6.1
Badlands of Dakota
1941·6.0
The Roundup
1941·9.0
Cherokee Strip
1940·5.5
Men Against the Sky
1940·4.6
The Marines Fly High
1940·5.3
Reno
1939·6.7
Here I Am a Stranger
1939·7.3
Man of Conquest
1939·5.6
Twelve Crowded Hours
1939·5.7
Sky Giant
1938·5.3
Blind Alibi
1938·6.2
It Happened in Hollywood
1937·6.3
The Devil Is Driving
1937·6.5
Devil's Playground
1937·6.6
Special Investigator
1936·5.4
Devil's Squadron
1936·7.0
Yellow Dust
1936·4.5
The Tunnel
1935·5.5
The Arizonian
1935·8.0
West of the Pecos
1934·7.0
His Greatest Gamble
1934·5.8
Stingaree
1934·6.1
Day of Reckoning
1933·5.1
Ace of Aces
1933·5.9
No Marriage Ties
1933·4.9
The Great Jasper
1933·8.0
The Conquerors
1932·5.6
Hell's Highway
1932·6.1
Roar of the Dragon
1932·6.5
The Lost Squadron
1932·6.5
Secret Service
1931·6.7
The Public Defender
1931·6.4
Young Donovan's Kid
1931·10.0
The Stolen Jools
1931·5.6
Cimarron
1931·5.6
Shooting Straight
1930·6.3
Lovin' the Ladies
1930·5.5
Seven Keys to Baldpate
1929·6.5
Redskin
1929·6.2
The Wheel of Life
1929·9.0
A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic
1929·4.8
Nothing but the Truth
1929·5.3
The Love Doctor
1929·10.0
Moran of the Marines
1928·7.0
Warming Up
1928·9.0
Easy Come, Easy Go
1928·7.0
Sporting Goods
1928·8.0
The Gay Defender
1927·9.0
Shanghai Bound
1927·10.0
Man Power
1927·8.0
Knockout Reilly
1927·8.0
Paradise for Two
1927·9.0
The Quarterback
1926·6.5
Say It Again
1926·9.0
Fascinating Youth
1926·9.0
Let's Get Married
1926·8.0
Womanhandled
1925·7.0
The Vanishing American
1925·6.9
The Lucky Devil
1925·7.2
Men and Women
1925·8.0
The Shock Punch
1925·6.5
A Man Must Live
1925·8.0
Too Many Kisses
1925·5.9
Manhattan
1924·6.5
Sinners in Heaven
1924·8.0
Unguarded Women
1924·7.0
Icebound
1924·9.0
The Stranger
1924·9.0
The Call of the Canyon
1923·7.0
The Ten Commandments
1923·6.5
To the Last Man
1923·9.0
Racing Hearts
1923·8.0
The Woman with Four Faces
1923·8.0
Souls for Sale
1923·6.3
Quicksands
1923·7.0
The Christian
1923·10.0
The Sin Flood
1922·10.0
The Bonded Woman
1922·4.8
Fools First
1922·8.0
Yellow Men and Gold
1922·10.0
The Wall Flower
1922·0.0
The Glorious Fool
1922·10.0
The Poverty of Riches
1921·7.0
Dangerous Curve Ahead
1921·9.0
All's Fair in Love
1921·9.0
Not Guilty
1921·7.0
One of Many
1917·0.0