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 Shock Punch (1925)

Womanhandled (1925)

The Vanishing American (1926)

Let's Get Married (1926)

Redskin (1929)

Return to the Silent Movie Stars photos page