American actor (1893?1949)
Richard Dix
|
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Dix in 1923
|
Born
| Ernst Carlton Brimmer
(
1893-07-18
)
July 18, 1893
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Died
| September 20, 1949
(1949-09-20)
(aged 56)
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Resting place
| Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
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Occupation
| Actor
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Years active
| 1914?1947
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Spouses
|
Winifred Coe
(
m.
1931;
div.
1933)
Virginia Webster
(
m.
1934)
|
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Children
| 4
|
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Awards
| Hollywood Walk of Fame
|
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Richard Dix
(born
Ernst Carlton Brimmer
;
[1]
July 18, 1893 ? September 20, 1949) was an American
motion picture
actor
who achieved popularity in both
silent
and
sound film
.
[2]
His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero. He was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor
for his lead role in the
Best Picture
-winning epic
Cimarron
(1931).
[3]
Dix appeared in 101 film roles, credited from his first appearance. Plagued by alcoholism, he died at 56, just two years after his film career had ended.
Early life
[
edit
]
Dix was born Ernst Carlton Brimmer on July 18, 1893, in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
.
[4]
He received his schooling there, intending to become a surgeon to please his father. Standing 6 feet and weighing 180 pounds, Dix excelled in sports, especially football and baseball. His obvious acting talent in his school dramatic club also led him to leading roles in most of the school plays. 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.
[5]
His success there earned him a contract with
Paramount Pictures
.
Career
[
edit
]
Upon arrival at
Paramount
studios Brimmer changed his name to Richard Dix. He began his
Hollywood
film career in dramas and romantic comedies. His first
Western
was in 1923,
To the Last Man
, his seventeenth picture, immediately followed by his best-remembered early role in
Cecil B. Demille
's silent version of
The Ten Commandments
.
Able to successfully bridge the transition from silent films to talkies and remain a
leading man
, he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor
in 1931 for his performance as Yancey Cravat in
RKO
's
Cimarron
. Based on the popular novel by
Edna Ferber
, it took the
Best Picture
award. Another memorable starring role for Dix was in a followup RKO blockbuster, the adventure
The Lost Squadron
.
Plagued by alcoholism, Dix was unable to maintain his
A-list
leading man status, and spiraled into
B pictures
. He starred in the 1935 British futuristic film
The Tunnel
, as well as
The Great Jasper
and
Blind Alibi
in the late 1930s. Dix also starred as the homicidal Captain Stone in the
Val Lewton
production of
The Ghost Ship
.
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
.
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
[6]
and continued to have heart trouble until his death within the year.
Personal life
[
edit
]
According to the July 1934
Movies
magazine, Dix raised thousands of chickens and turkeys each year on his ranch near Hollywood, the location of which he kept a close secret. He also had a collection of thousands of smoking pipes, and at one time had 36 Scotties and English setters. He also read at least five books a week.
Richard Dix married Winifred Coe on October 20, 1931. A daughter, Martha Mary Ellen, followed. They divorced in 1933. He married Virginia Webster, on June 29, 1934. They had twin boys, Richard Jr. and
Robert Dix
(1935?2018), and adopted a daughter, Sara Sue.
Dix supported
Thomas Dewey
in the
1944 United States presidential election
.
[7]
After years of fighting alcoholism, Dix suffered a serious
heart attack
at 56 on September 12, 1949, either on a train from New York to Los Angeles
[8]
[4]
) or while on board a ship returning from France.
[9]
He died eight days later at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital,
[9]
and was interred in
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
in
Glendale, California
.
[10]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Dix has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
in the Motion Pictures section at 1610 Vine Street. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.
[11]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Silent Films
[
edit
]
Sound films
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Stephens, E. J.; Wanamaker, Marc (2014).
Early Poverty Row Studios
. Arcadia Publishing. p. 88.
ISBN
9781439648292
. Retrieved
May 28,
2017
.
- ^
Obituary
Variety
, September 21, 1949.
- ^
"("Richard Dix" search results)"
.
Academy Awards Database
. Retrieved
May 28,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
Slide, Anthony (2010).
Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses
. University Press of Kentucky.
ISBN
978-0813127088
. Retrieved
May 28,
2017
.
- ^
Marsh, Molly (December 16, 1934).
"Richard Dix---A Gentleman of the Soil"
.
Oakland Tribune
. California, Oakland. p. 62
. Retrieved
May 26,
2017
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Motion Picture Daily
, "Richard Dix Is Ill," October 27, 1948, p. 2.
- ^
Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013).
When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
9781107650282
.
- ^
The Advertiser (Adelaide)
, "Richard Dix Ill", September 14, 1949, pg. 1.
- ^
a
b
Katchmer, George A. (2009).
A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses
. McFarland. p. 96.
ISBN
9781476609058
. Retrieved
May 28,
2017
.
- ^
Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016).
Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed
. McFarland.
ISBN
9781476625997
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Richard Dix"
.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
. Archived from
the original
on May 28, 2017
. Retrieved
May 28,
2017
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Dix, Robert.
Out of Hollywood: Two Generations of Actors
. Ernest Publishing, 2009.
ISBN
978-0-9822436-0-2
- Van Neste, Dan. "
The Whistler: Stepping Into the Shadows
". Albany, GA: BearManor Media, 2011.
ISBN
978-1-59393-402-6
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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