The 'brains' and 'action' heavies who had meaty roles and lots of dialog ... and the players who were fathers, ranch owners, lawman, mayors, judges, lawyers, storekeepers, newspaper editors, wardens, etc.

Richard 'Dick' Alexander Full name: Richard P. Alexander 1902 - 1989

Dick Alexander was of hefty build, and came to Hollywood in the mid 1920s.  Typical of the players during this period, he found some bit parts and walk-on roles including one in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Universal, 1930).  He wound up playing baddies and henchmen in various B westerns and serials during the 1930s and 1940s. In other A and B grade films, he'd turn up in bit parts portraying a longshoreman, a barkeep, a blacksmith, a henchman/thug, etc.

Though he appeared in lots of westerns, he's probably best remembered for his work in serials. Three roles come to mind:

- he was "Prince Barin" in the first two FLASH GORDON cliffhangers at Universal

- he was Brad "El Lobo" Dace, the evil assistant to Noah Beery, Sr. in the ZORRO RIDES AGAIN (Republic, 1937) chapterplay

- he was the brutal "Thorg" in the SOS COAST GUARD (Republic, 1937) serial

Les Adams has Alexander spotted in about 220 sound era films - that number includes 105 westerns and 23 chapterplays. When the horse opera and cliffhanger work ended, Alexander appeared in various 1950s TV shows. He also had a few bit and background parts in some 1950s and 60s films.

Like Roy Barcroft, Harry Woods and Fred Kohler, Sr., Alexander had largeness/bulk. But Roy/Harry/Fred also had booming voices which oozed malevolence. I always thought Alexander's dialog delivery was a tad mild and monotone.

Go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral and check the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for: Richard Alexander, born 11/18/1902 in Texas, and he passed away on 8/9/1989. There is a corresponding record in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Richard P. Alexander.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Dick Alexander.  Click HERE.

Jim Tipton's Find A Grave website has info that Alexander is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11692299

(Courtesy of Larry Imber)

In the photo left, Larry Imber is visiting Dick Alexander at the Motion Picture Home, Woodland Hills, California in the 1980s. Larry adds: "Alexander's wife was also there in another area. He had suffered a stroke which left him unable to talk, but still had a strong reaction to anything I said. When you wanted to take a picture, he would put on a cowboy hat to add to his appearance. If you asked about his off screen life, he handed you a box of snapshots of he and his wife taken around their home. Nice man."

(Courtesy of Jack Tillmany) (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above, from L-to-R are Helen Dahl, Tom Tyler, Lafe McKee, Dick Alexander and Slim Whitaker in COYOTE TRAILS (Reliable, 1935). Above, in BORN TO BATTLE (Reliable, 1935), Julian Rivero is the Spanish-garbed gent on the far left, William Desmond and Earl Dwire are in the darkened doorway, Blackie Whiteford is restraining the star of this film, Tom Tyler, and Dick Alexander has the butt of his six-shooter aimed at Tom's head.  The heroine is Jean Carmen, who would later change her screen name to Julia Thayer and become the rider of the titled horse in Republic's cliffhanger, THE PAINTED STALLION (1937). Above, cowboy hero Tom Tyler has his mitts on Dick Alexander in MYSTERY RANGE (Victory, 1937), one of the cheapies churned out by Sam Katzman's Victory Pictures. Above, is star John Carroll (probably Yak Canutt doubling for him) in a brawl with beefy Dick Alexander as "El Lobo" in the ZORRO RIDES AGAIN (1937) cliffhanger. Above, Johnny Mack Brown in a screen brawl with burly Dick Alexander in BOSS OF BULLION CITY (Universal, 1941).