Richard Dix
Richard Dix was born Ernst Carlton Brimmer on July
18, 1893, in St. Paul, Minnesota. According to his father's wishes,
he studied to be a surgeon but found his talents more suited to
the school's dramatic club. He also excelled in sports. After
a year at the University of Minnesota, he worked in a bank, then
for a local stock company, eventually getting acting work in New
York. He went to Los Angeles and served as a leading man in the
Morosco Stock Company which eventually led to a movie contract.
Dix started making movies in 1917 and continued successfully into
the sound era without as few major silent film stars were able
to do. He was a well-known and popular western star. As matter
of fact, one of his best known films was 1931's "Cimarron,"
a standout western that earned the Best Picture Academy Award
and garnered Dix a nomination for best actor. After making over
50 silent films, he went on to make another 50-plus sound films
- unfortunately, dying prematurely of a heart attack at age 56
in 1949, only two years after his retirement from films.
Selected films of this star available for viewing:
Souls
for Sale (1923)
Lucky
Devil (1925)
The Vanishing American (1925)
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