Richard Dix (born Ernst Carlton Brimmer;[1] July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American motion pictureactor 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
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.
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.
Redskin in 1929 was Dix's last silent filmDix was deep into B films by 1943; the budget for The Ghost Ship was a mere $150,000.
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.
The Kansan in 1943 was another B picture, and Dix's last Western
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.
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.
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 is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[10]
Legacy
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]
Dix is mentioned in the film Blazing Saddles, when Olson Johnson tries to rouse the townspeople: "Our fathers came across the prairies, fought Indians, fought drought, fought locusts, fought Dix... Remember when Richard Dix came in here and tried to take over this town?"
^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.
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