
Richard Dix
Born July 18, 1893 · 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.
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Voice of the Whistler

It Happened in Hollywood

The Mark of the Whistler

The Power of the Whistler

Men Against the Sky

Eyes of the Underworld

West of the Pecos

Seven Keys to Baldpate

Warming Up

Here I Am a Stranger

Badlands of Dakota

The Stolen Jools

Roar of the Dragon

The Marines Fly High

Unguarded Women

The Kansan

Souls for Sale

The Call of the Canyon

To the Last Man

The Whistler

The Public Defender

The Ghost Ship

Shanghai Bound

Young Donovan's Kid

Mysterious Intruder

Moran of the Marines

The Devil Is Driving

Stingaree

Ace of Aces

Nothing but the Truth

American Empire

Yellow Men and Gold

Devil's Playground

Let's Get Married

Cherokee Strip

Easy Come, Easy Go

A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic

The Thirteenth Hour

The Wheel of Life

The Gay Defender

Man of Conquest

Top Man

The Poverty of Riches

No Marriage Ties

The Vanishing American

A Man Must Live

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Reno

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Twelve Crowded Hours

All's Fair in Love

Secret Service

Sinners in Heaven

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Fascinating Youth

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Blind Alibi

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The Woman with Four Faces

Sky Giant

Special Investigator

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Devil's Squadron

His Greatest Gamble

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Day of Reckoning

Yellow Dust

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Man Power

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Say It Again

The Quarterback

Too Many Kisses

Quicksands

Fools First

One of Many

Paradise for Two

The Christian

Redskin

Shooting Straight

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The Great Jasper

Icebound

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Manhattan

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Womanhandled

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Not Guilty




