
Acting
Richard Dix
Born 1893-07-18 · 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.
Acting credits
5.9A woman uses a deck of cards to predict death within 24 hours for a stranger sitting at a bar, then tries to help him remember who he is based on items in his pockets.
The Power of the Whistler
1945
6.5The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
The Ten Commandments
1923
5.0Richard Dix as Dan Taylor and Preston S. Foster as Paxton Bryce are two longtime friends seeking their fortune in Texas after the war. The two men decide, not without problems, to establish a cattle empire. Paxton becoming too ambitious, distances himself from Dan and Abby, Paxton's wife. It will only be after a personal tragedy that he will come back to his senses.
American Empire
1942
5.5When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Cimarron
1931
6.1A young lady named Hilda who works as a servant for the wealthy Clarksons, sheep farmers, and dreams of being a great singer. An upcoming visit by Sir Julian, a famous composer arriving from London, drives jealous Mrs. Clarkson (an interfering biddy who fancies she can sing - but can't) to send away Hilda, so he doesn't hear Hilda has a good voice. Meanwhile, an infamous outlaw named Stingaree has just arrived in town and kidnaps Sir Julian, then poses as him at the Clarksons, where he meets Hilda a few hours before she is to leave.
Stingaree
1934
5.9A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the fight. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.
Ace of Aces
1933
9.0Playboy Teddy Ward wants to marry Jeannie King, an artist, but his father wants him to marry Loris Lane, but tells Teddy he can marry whom he pleases if he will make the Mountain Inn a profitable operation. Teddy agrees, and with the support of his friends arranges an ice-boat race with a $10,000 prize to the winner. A problem arises when his father refuses to pay such an amount. Teddy thinks one of his friends will win the race and refuse the prize, but champion racer "Duke" Slade shows up and Teddy knows he will take the money. Some movie stars show up and, while using their own names, are definitely not playing "Self" in this fictional film.
Fascinating Youth
1926
10.0Landing at a Chinese port, tough sea captain Bucklin and his passengers are threatened by a marauding war lord, who intends to kill the captain and hold the others hostage as part of his campaign of destruction against all white men.
Shanghai Bound
1927
6.1Uneven version of Wyatt Earp vs. the Clanton Gang with a little romance thrown in haphazardly.
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die
1942
5.6Famous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanatorium.)
The Stolen Jools
1931
6.3Captain Stone's newly recruited officer, Tom Merriam, idolizes his senior who treats him like a friend. But when a couple of his crew members die mysteriously, Tom starts doubting Stone's authority.
The Ghost Ship
1943
6.5In the fine tradition of And Sudden Death, Columbia's The Devil is Driving tabulates the dangers of drunken driving in an exciting, unabashedly melodramatic fashion. In his first true portrayal of a "little creep," Elisha Cook Jr. stars as Tony, the spoiled-rotten son of the wealthy and influential Mr. Stevens.
The Devil Is Driving
1937
9.0Bert, a pitcher for a baseball team in a small town, is given the opportunity to try out for a team in the big leagues. Unfortunately, he incurs the enmity of McRae, the league's leading home-run hitter. In addition, he falls for the team owner's daughter, who McRae has designs on.
Warming Up
1928
4.6A draftswoman, the sister of an aging, alcoholic pilot, secretly uses her brother's ideas to solve design problems for an experimental military plane in an attempt to save the company and salvage her brother's reputation.
Men Against the Sky
1940
9.0Ben Jordan runs away after accidentally setting fire to a barn in his small New England community. He returns when his mother dies to find that she has left everything to her ward, Jane Crosby.
Icebound
1924
9.0A woman's believed-dead cowhand beau shows up on her wedding day to cause trouble.
The Roundup
1941
6.7A divorce lawyer prospers as a gambling tycoon.
Reno
1939
6.3A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
Souls for Sale
1923
6.1A deranged artist who may have murdered his wife is investigated by the Whistler.
The Secret of the Whistler
1946
6.0A guilt-ridden man blames himself for his wife's death and secretly pays an assassin to kill him. But then he finds out that his wife isn't dead at all. And now the assassin is on his trail, with no way to call off the hit.
The Whistler
1944
6.0In the Dakotas during the days of the Great Gold Boom, brothers Jim and Bob Holliday are bumping heads over the affections of pretty Anne Grayson. While all this is going on, Wild Bill Hickok does his best to neutralize the local criminal element-and to fend off the romantic overtures of boisterous Calamity Jane.
Badlands of Dakota
1941
8.0Clay Tallant comes to Silver City, Arizona in the 1880s and encounters wide-spread lawlessness and disorder, unscrupulous politicians, outlaws galore and brow-beaten citizens. He accepts the position of town marshal and, with his brother and a reformed outlaw , Tex Randolph, who comes over to his side, sets out to bring law-and-order where none exists. He also wins the hand of the singer appearing at the Opera House.
The Arizonian
1935
6.0Wounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He soon comes into conflict with the town banker, who controls everything in town and is squeezing the townspeople for every penny he can get out of them.
The Kansan
1943
6.3A silent Western star has trouble adjusting to the coming of sound.
It Happened in Hollywood
1937
