FOOTBALL landed Richard Dix on the stage for the first time, and after
that nothing could keep him off. It happened in Minnesota, his native state,
for he was born in Minneapolis, July 18, 1894.
He was attending the University of Minnesota at the time, after graduating
from a St. Paul high school. Also, he had been attending dramatic school,
secretly, at night.
While James Neill and Edythe Chapman were playing "The College Widow"
in St. Paul, they sent out word that they needed a football player. As this
was one of the best things young Dix did in his collegiate course, he hustled
forth and secured the job. All his college mates attended the opening performance,
and the tempestuous applause which ensued at every appearance of young Dix
far outdinned that accorded the leading man.
Parental objections prevented the youth from accepting a part with E.
H. Southern, but he did go into stock in St. Paul, his first part being
that of the "villain" in "The Man of the Hour."
When he had saved enough money to reach that actor's Mecca, New York,
he set forth in haste to fame and fortune. But neither was lingering just
around the corner when he arrived. In fact, no one even hesitatingly offered
him a role. After vicissitudes, he finally secured work in Pittsburgh at
the salary of $35 a week, in return for which he played butlers, off-stage
noises and other humble bits for a year.
Next he played as leading man in a Texas stock company during a season
when the mercury registered around the 100-mark. Immediately after this
torrid engagement, in which he toiled through "The Ghost Breaker"
and other productions, he lost no time in seeking a colder clime, winding
up at Montreal, where he played stock also.
Then came his first New York engagement. He played in Gorky's "Night's
Lodging," and with Faversham in Hawk" and 'The Song of Songs.
Oliver Morosco then engaged him for a long season at the Morosco stock company
in Los Angeles.
Dix's cinema debut was in "Not Guilty." Among his successful
screen appearances are his roles in "The Dangerous Curve Ahead,"
"The Glorious Fool," "The Poverty of Riches," "The
Christian," and Rupert Hughes' film version of his novel of motion-picture
life, "Souls for Sale." Mr. Dix played the role of "Claymore,"
motion-picture director, in this production.
His most noted dramatic interpretation was in the role of "John
Storm" in Sir Hall Caine's "The Christian," under the direction
of Maurice Tourneur. In that role he was declared by critics to be one of
the finest dramatic actors on the screen.
The star is six feet tall and weighs 175 pounds. He has dark brown hair
and hazel brown eyes. |