Dix Davis

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Dix Davis
Born
Dixon Davis

(1926-09-12)September 12, 1926
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 6, 2024(2024-01-06) (aged 97)
Dorset, Vermont, U.S.
Other namesPeter Dixon Davis
EducationUniversity of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley
OccupationsActor, intelligence analyst
Years active1934–1949,
mid 1950s through the late 1980s
Known forA Date With Judy, One Man's Family
SpouseJune Dunn
RelativesTim Davis (brother)[1]

Peter Dixon Davis (born Dixon Davis; September 12, 1926 – January 6, 2024) was an American child actor in radio and film, perhaps best known as Randolph, the title character's wise-cracking kid brother on the popular 1940s teen sitcom, A Date With Judy.[2][3][4][5][6] Davis later served as an intelligence analyst with the United States Information Service and, for more than three decades, with the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Current Intelligence (OCI).[7][8]

Early life and career

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Dixon Davis was born in Los Angeles, California on September 12, 1926.[9] He was the younger of two sons born to Fredrick Duane Davis and Marion Naomi Stimson.[10][1] According to an article published in 1942 by the Harrisburg Telegraph, Davis's "overnight" transition "from newsboy's assistant to actor" occurred in the summer of 1934 in front of The Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard, where, while hawking newspapers and magazines, Davis and his brother caught the fancy of a party of passersby headed by songwriter Gus Kahn. After purchasing some of their wares, Kahn and company instructed the boys to report to United Artists the next day for parts in Eddie Cantor's upcoming film, and thus Davis came to make his uncredited screen debut in the 1934 musical comedy Kid Millions.[11]

The brief film career that resulted likewise consisted primarily of inconsequential bit parts, mostly uncredited. That said, on the rare occasion that he was given anything to play, Davis's work did not go unnoticed. Case in point, the 1940 drama, The Old Swimmin' Hole. Concluding its review of the film, The Hollywood Reporter notes, "Si Jenks is fine in support and there is still another good bit by another child, Dix Davis,"[12] while the British periodical Monthly Film Bulletin observes:

Jackie Moran is not so convincing as the adolescent Chris, but Charles Brown plays the big-hearted country doctor to perfection, and a special word must be said for Dix Davis, a small boy in the hero worshipping stage who wants to join the Lions.[13]

In May 1939, Davis made his radio debut opposite Lionel Barrymore on The Rudy Vallee Show.[14] The trio would be reunited at least twice in the next few years, for the 1941 and '42 editions of Barrymore's annual Christmas day rendition of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Davis as Tiny Tim and Vallee, Bob Cratchit, to Barrymore's Scrooge.[15][16]

In April 1944, Davis co-starred with New York Yankees centerfielder Joe DiMaggio as the latter made his acting debut on the radio anthology series, Skippy Hollywood Theatre.[17][18] Later that year, Davis was teamed with Basil Rathbone on Columbia Masterworks' recording of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, as Jim Hawkins to Rathbone's Long John Silver.[19]

Approximate date(s) Program
(or LP)		 Role Notes
May 1939 The Rudy Vallee Show Radio debut opposite Lionel Barrymore[14]
1939 or 1940 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood Jack Benny Series aired Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, featuring Hoppers' "Biodramas" of Hollywood celebrities, each consisting of either three or six parts.[20] Benny's was one of the 6-parters, and in the first episode or two, Davis played the young Benny.[21]
1940 through 1949 One Man's Family Pinky [22][23][24]
1941 through 1948 A Date With Judy Randolph Foster [25][26]
1941 Jack Benny Show Belly Laugh Barton [27]
April 29, 1941 through August 16, 1941 Latitude Zero Written by Anne and Ted Sherdeman.[28]
March 3, 1941 Lux Radio Theatre
ep. "My Bill"		 Bill Colbrook With Kay Francis and Warren William.[29]
December 25, 1941,
December 25, 1942		 A Christmas Carol Tiny Tim Co-starred with Lionel Barrymore, who plays Scrooge.[15][16]
January 19, 1942 The Orson Welles Show
ep. "My Little Boy"		 [30]
1942 Hap Hazard Stanley, the bellhop [31][32]
1942 Blondie Alvin Fuddle [33]
1942 Burns and Allen Neighbor's child [27]
September 2 and 9, 1942 Those We Love Edgar ("the mean little boy") Guest star on two episodes.[34][35]
November 2, 1942 through July 30, 1943 Today at the Duncans Dinky Duncan [36][37][38][39]
Summer 1943 The Fred Brady Show Orson (Fred's kid brother) Summer replacement show for The Bob Burns Show.[40][41]
November 1943 Columbia Masterworks' A Christmas Carol Peter Cratchit With Basil Rathbone as Scrooge, Francis X. Bushman as Christmas Past, Jay Novello as Bob Cratchit, and Tommy Cook as Tiny Tim.[42][43]
April 22, 1944 Skippy Hollywood Theatre
ep. "One Hit—Two Errors"		 Lefty Collins Co-starred with Joe DiMaggio, making his acting debut as "Joe Collins."[44][17][18]
November 1944 Columbia Masterworks'
Treasure Island		 Jim Hawkins Paired with Basil Rathbone's Long John Silver; Rathbone also narrates.[19]
1944 through 1946 The Charlotte Greenwood Show Robert Barton [45]
1946 The Second Mrs. Burton Brad Burton [46]
April through July 1948 I Love Adventure [47]
August 1948 Dr. Christian Scrapper Malloy

[48][49]

c. 1950 Mail Call
Program no. 367		 A soap opera satire and a quiz show satire called, "Take It Or I'll Give You A Shot In The Head."
Also feat. Del Sharbutt, Lina Romay, Toni Harper, Dick Powell, Martha Stewart, Herb Jeffries, André Previn, Michel Perrier, Armed Forces Radio Service Orchestra.[50]
June 8, 1953 through February 5, 1954 Family Skeleton
 [51]

Later career

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As early as 1943, Davis let it be known that his long-range goals did not include acting, nor anything else remotely show-business-related.

Dix is dark-haired, brown-eyed, has regular features which are thickly speckled with freckles, and is "14 going on 15."[a] Most of the time he seems a bit too preoccupied to pay much attention to girls; possibly because his thoughts are concerned with the far-away places of the globe. His ambition, it appears, is to be a trained geographer-explorer, and his hobby is map making.[14]

In 1946 and '47, an approximately one-year-long hitch with the United States Army saw Davis reach the rank of Sergeant, but also delayed by one year his graduation from the University of Southern California.[53][54][55] In 1948, the then-21-year-old USC senior initially hinted at, then definitively announced his intention to pursue a diplomatic career.[56][57] In November of that year, however, a recent addition to A Date With Judy's cast helped Davis—albeit only temporarily—make a somewhat less radical career detour:

Dix Davis, who plays Randolph, Judy's brother, And Dick Crenna, Oogie Pringle, the teen-ager's boy friend, have now entered a new profession—song writing. They've just written a tune, "Tomorrow," which they hope to publish soon. Davis did the lyrics, Crenna the music.[58]

Following a six-month, 15,000-mile road trip through Europe in 1949, Davis was employed by the State Department, serving as Assistant Press Officer in Pakistan. He later earned an advanced degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, prior to commencing his 33-year career with the CIA's Office of Current Intelligence, delivering periodic briefings to every U.S. President from Eisenhower through Reagan.[8][59]

Personal life and death

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Davis met his future wife June Dunn in Washington, D.C., during his second career with the CIA's Office of Current Intelligence. He died on January 6, 2024, at the age of 97. He was predeceased by his wife and his brother, and survived by his late wife's two sons, their spouses, and several grandchildren.[8]

Partial filmography

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Notes

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  1. ^ In fact, Davis—born September 9, 1926—was sixteen going on seventeen when this was published, heightening even further the "rather small for his age" incongruity noted elsewhere in the same article.[52]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Deaths: Davis, Mary N.". Los Angeles Times. pt. II, p. 11. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ "Spotlight Features". The Lincoln Star. June 22, 1942. p. 12. "Summer replacement for Bob Hope is the brilliant comedian, Dix Davis, who will be the kid brother in the series 'Date With Judy,' beginning Tuesday."
  4. ^ "KFAM Program Hi-Lites". St. Cloud Times. June 3, 1943. p. 11.
  5. ^ "Radio Rib". The Buffalo News. September 8, 1945. p. 51.
  6. ^ Gilmore, Jim (October 13, 1949). "Radio Activity". The Evening Republican. p. 7. "Louise Erickson, who has carved out quite a career in radio for herself, will resume the role of Judy in A DATE WITH JUDY, which makes its premiere on ABC at 7:30 tonight over WISH. [...] We hope Dix Davis is back as Randolph. He had some of the best lines in the program and he handled them well."
  7. ^ "Stephanie Coghlan, Thomas S. Cleveland Married in India". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 3, 1953. p. 10G.
  8. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGL4-SS5M : Sun Oct 15 14:58:16 UTC 2023), Entry for Dixon Davis and Fredrick Duane Davis, 12 Sep 1926.
  10. ^ "United States Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC85-CLG : Wed Oct 04 04:29:06 UTC 2023), Entry for Fred D Davis and Naomi S Davis, 1930.
  11. ^ a b "Young Crestfallen Manor Bellhop Is Studio Veteran". Harrisburg Telegraph. March 14, 1942. p. 27.
  12. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ a b c "'Date With Judy' Is Air Offering". Belvidere Daily Republican. June 30, 1943. p. 5.
  15. ^ a b "Mary Martin; Studio Jottings". The Buffalo News. December 29, 1941. p. 18.
  16. ^ a b Barr, Matt (December 24, 1942). "On the Air". The Los Angeles Times. p. 10. "If there is a classic in radio, it is the Barrymore presentation of Dickens' Christmas story. Rudy Vallee's program will be devoted entirely to 'A Christmas Carol' tomorrow, and Rudy himself will be narrator. Supporting Barrymore as Scrooge will be an all-star cast, including Dix Davis, one of the best of Hollywood's child actors, as Tiny Tim, Eric Snowden as Bob Cratchit, and Hans Conreid as the ghost of Jacob Marley."
  17. ^ a b "On the Air Tonight". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. May 26, 1944. p. 7. "New futures are predicted for Joe DiMaggio, the baseball son of California dear to the hearts of the Yanks and now on duty with the Army! Come curtain time for Skippy Hollywood Theater tonight, Joe becomes a Thespian. Batting the 'clean-up' spot in the radio drama, 'One Hit, Two Errors,' Joe's first dramatic appearance is sure to endear him even further to baseball fans."
  18. ^ a b Mote, James (1989). Everything Baseball. New York: Prentice Hall Press. p. 112. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. "ONE HIT, TWO ERRORS, 1948 (Hollywood Theatre of Stars) Mutual, 30 minutes, October 12, 1948 Cast: Joe DiMaggio as Joe Collins, and Dix Davis as Lefty Collins. [...] Light-hearted story in which two major league scouts use subterfuge against each other in their efforts to sign an unassuming small-town slugger."
  19. ^ a b Dunn, Dewey (November 26, 1944). "On the Records". The Capital Times. p. 10.
  20. ^ "Hedda Hopper Continues Gary Cooper's 'Biodrama'". Portland Press Herald. November 10, 1940. Sec. C, p. 6.
  21. ^ Runyon, F. G. (January 7, 1949). "Our City". Pasadena Independent. p. 52. Retrieved February 12, 2024. "In 1939 I had the dubious distinction of writing a radio show called Hedda Hopper's Hollywood. It was sponsored by Sunkist and broadcast over the CBS network for three years. These programs involved the dramatization of the life stories of movie stars and one of the six-program series involved the life of Jack Benny. Early episodes dealt with the Wacky Waukeeganian's childhood. A kid by the name of Dix Davis played Mrs. Kubelsky's pride and joy during this phase."
  22. ^ "Ethel Clark's Radio Flashes". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. May 12, 1940. p. 14A.
  23. ^ "Questions and Answers". The Lincoln Star. March 16, 1941. p. D-8.
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ "Radio Offers Fine Summer Shows; The Pictures". The Fresno Bee. August 17, 1941. p. 27.
  26. ^ "Radio Roundup". The Patterson Morning Call. June 22, 1942. p. 10.
  27. ^ a b Steinhauser, Si (November 11, 1942). "Oboler First to Give Radio Sound Man Break". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 31.
  28. ^ "Latitude Zero". WorldCat.
  29. ^ Kear, Lynn; Rossman, John (2006). The Complete Kay Francis Career Record: All Film, Stage, Radio and Television Appearances. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 223. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. "REVIEWS: According to [Connie] Billups and [Arthur] Pierce, 'Francis gives a fine performance, as do Warren William as the man in her life and Dix Davis as her fiercely loyal son.'"
  30. ^ Welles, Orson (1993). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperPerennial. p. 369. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  31. ^ "Met Opera on Air 11 Years; 'Faust' Will Close Season; Program Costly But It Reaches Select Audience". The Buffalo News. March 12, 1942. p. 28. "'Stanley,' the bellhop with Ransom Sherman, is 13-year-old Dix Davis, who also was 'Bellylaugh Barton' with Jack Benny."
  32. ^ "Films Discover Valuable Face—Ransom Sherman". Salt Lake Telegram. June 1, 1942. p. 9. "Hollywood discovered Ransom Sherman, but he's NOT in pictures. He's one of radio's topflight fun-making men, and as he puts it: 'There's one thing certain about a microphone; It doesn't care whether you get a few gray hairs in your head or not.' Here's Sherman and his bellboy, Dix Davis, who plays in his show."
  33. ^ Hoins, Jack (March 20, 1942). "Radio Beams From Coast-to-Coast". p. 5.
  34. ^ "Girl Opposes Father's Marriage on Those We Love". The Shreveport Times. September 2, 1942. p. 9.
  35. ^ "Girl Missing as Father Bars Boy From Home". The Shreveport Times. September 9, 1942. p. 9.
  36. ^ "'Today at the Duncans' Opens on KWKH Monday; Comedy Series Thrice Weekly" The Shreveport Times. November 1, 1942. p. 16.
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ "WCCO, Serving Northwest Listeners 24 Hours Every Day". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. July 5, 1943. p. 15.
  39. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  40. ^ "What a Family!". The Honolulu Advertiser.
  41. ^ Steinhauser, Si (October 3, 1943). "Dorsey and Sinatra Do Some Explaining About 'Settling Up'". The Pittsburgh Press. Sec. 3, p. 8.
  42. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  43. ^ "Basil Rathbone – A Christmas Carol: Credits". Discogs.
  44. ^ "On the Air Today". The Central New Jersey Home News. April 22, 1944. p. 8. "Joe DiMaggio, former star [sic] of the New York Yankees, appears tonight in the leading role in 'One Hit, Two Errors' on the Skippy Hollywood Theatre program via WEAF at 6:30 p. m."
  45. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2003). Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931-1972. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 49. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  46. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC : McFarland & Company. p. 299. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  47. ^ Dunning op. cit., "I Love Adventure" pp. 339-340
  48. ^ "Radio-TV Briefs". Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News. August 16, 1948. p. 20. "Dix Davis has temporarily taken over the role of Scrapper Malloy on 'Dr. Christian.'"
  49. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  50. ^ "Radio-TV Briefs". WorldCat.
  51. ^ Berard, Jeanette M.; Englund, Klaudia (2006). Radio Series Scripts, 1930-2001: A Catalog of the American Radio Archives Collection. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 152. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  52. ^ "Studio Jottings". The Buffalo News. December 29, 1941. p. 18.
  53. ^ "On the Air". Circleville Herald. November 12, 1947. p. 9. "Dix Davis, 20-year-old actor who plays 'Randolph' on NBC's Tuesday Night 'A Date With Judy,' is a senior at the University of Southern California. A hitch in the Army prevented him from graduation last year. Dix began his professional career in 1934, playing a role in the United Artists production of 'Kid Millions.' His first radio show was in 1939 with Rudy Vallee and Lionel Barrymore."
  54. ^ Subotnik, Nadine (April 2, 1946). "Radio: Notes and Comment". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 7.
  55. ^ Subotnik, Nadine (April 27, 1947). "Radio: Notes and Comment". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Sec. 3, p. 9.
  56. ^ "Listening In". Quad-City Times. January 18, 1948. p. 23. "Dix Davis, who plays Randolph on 'A Date With Judy' is thinking seriously of entering the diplomatic service as a career man. He won't make a definite decision until he graduates from the University of Southern California next June. He is 21 years old and has been a top flight radio actor since he made his debut with Rudy Vallee and Lionel Barrymore almost 10 years ago."
  57. ^ Subotnik, Nadine (May 15, 1948). "Radio Notes and Comment". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. p. 6.
  58. ^ Kinnear, Carolee (November 12, 1948). "Radio and Records". The News-Herald. p. 3. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  59. ^ Helgerson, John L. (2004). Getting to Know the President: Intelligence Briefings of Presidential Candidates, 1952–2004. Washington, D.C.; Central Intelligence Agency. p. 115. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  60. ^ "Our Gang Follies Of 1938, film no. 141; the kids". TheLuckyCorner.com.
  61. ^ "Our Gang Follies Of 1938, film no. 160; the kids". TheLuckyCorner.com.
  62. ^ "Our Gang Follies Of 1938, film no. 162; Club Spanky extras". TheLuckyCorner.com.
  63. ^ a b c d "Dix Davis filmography". American Film Institute.
  64. ^ Bradley, Edwin M. (2020). Hollywood Musicals You Missed: Seventy Noteworthy Films from the 1930s. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 145. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  65. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  66. ^ Maltin, Leonard (1972). Selected Short Subjects From Spanky to the Three Stooges. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 111. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  67. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  68. ^ "Casts of Current Pictures". Photoplay. July 1940. p. 80.
  69. ^ "Young Veteran". Washington Evening Star. March 28, 1940. p. C-10.
  70. ^ Parish, James Robert (1974). Hollywood's Great Love Teams. New Rochelle, N.Y. : Arlington House Publishers. p. 233. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  71. ^ Houk, Kathryn (August 29, 1940). "Society News". The Urbana Daily Citizen. p. 5.

Further reading

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  • "Foreign Relations Award Given to U. of C. Student". San Francisco Examiner. April 23, 1956. Sec. 1, p. 32.
  • Davis, Peter Dixon (1957). The Himalayan Frontier from the Perspective of India's National Interest. Berkeley, CA : The University of California. OCLC 21749572.
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