Richard Dix
1893-07-18 ( 131 years old ) in 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.

Movies

The Whistler 1944-03-30
The Ghost Ship 1943-12-16
Top Man 1943-09-17
The Kansan 1943-09-10
The Roundup 1941-04-03
Cherokee Strip 1940-10-10
Reno 1939-12-01
Sky Giant 1938-07-22
Blind Alibi 1938-05-20
Yellow Dust 1936-03-12
The Tunnel 1935-10-27
The Arizonian 1935-06-27
Stingaree 1934-05-24
Ace of Aces 1933-10-20
The Conquerors 1932-11-18
Hell's Highway 1932-09-23
Secret Service 1931-11-14
Cimarron 1931-01-26
Redskin 1929-09-22
Warming Up 1928-08-04
Sporting Goods 1928-02-11
Shanghai Bound 1927-10-15
Man Power 1927-07-09
Say It Again 1926-05-31
Womanhandled 1925-12-27
Men and Women 1925-03-23
Manhattan 1924-10-28
Icebound 1924-03-02
The Stranger 1924-02-04
Racing Hearts 1923-07-15
Souls for Sale 1923-04-22
Quicksands 1923-02-28
The Christian 1923-01-14
The Sin Flood 1922-11-12
Fools First 1922-05-27
Not Guilty 1921-01-01
One of Many 1917-02-12