Allan Nixon

A little-remembered tough-guy actor on film and tough-guy brute off camera during the 40s and 50s, good-looking "C"-level player Allan Nixon was born on August 17, 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts. Geared toward sports in his early years he studied journalism at the University of Richmond on a football scholarship but left before graduating after being signed professionally by the Washington Redskins. When the football career did not work out, he found another athletic outlet as a pro wrestler. While in New York, Nixon found work with the John Robert Powers modeling agency. Through that connection MGM took him on as a client and he relocated West. It was disappointing as the studio only relegated him to playing uncredited bit parts in such secondary war-era films as Rookies on Parade (1941), The Bugle Sounds (1942), Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air (1942) and Margin for Error (1943). In 1942 he married sexy, beautiful Marie Wilson, known for her "dumb blonde" roles ("My Friend Irma") in comedy films. Following WWII service with the Signal Corps., Nixon found the interruption hurt what was already a fledgling career. Having difficulty winning parts as a freelance agent, he found plenty of time to develop a fondness for alcohol and getting arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior. A few post-war roles came his way with obscure parts in the films Dragnet (1947) and Linda, Be Good (1947), the latter film starring wife Marie. Nixon's dark, brawny handsomeness led to his being one of a thousand contenders interviewed in replacing Johnny Weissmuller as the film's Tarzan, but in the end producer Sol Lesser chose Lex Barker. Nixon instead looked for some work on stage, finding a touring show with zaftig Mae West in her vehicle "Come On Up," as well as appearing with Ann Dvorak in "Anna Lucasta," Gladys George in "Rain" and wife Marie in both "The School for Scandal" and "Three Out of Four". Despite Nixon having a slightly more visible role in Siren of Atlantis (1949), a Maria Montez vehicle, and finally nabbing a lead as a caveman in the now cult film Prehistoric Women (1950), he continued to sabotage his career with more tabloid news of his frequent drinking and fisticuffs arrests. And then Czech producer/director Hugo Haas gave Nixon a break co-starring with Haas' wife Beverly Michaels in his sordid exploitation film Pickup (1951), a Columbia release. Columbia signed him but lost interest fast with his rebellious nature and off-camera problems. Wife Marie, who was the breadwinner in the house and who had continued to find him work here and there, finally had enough. After a couple of separations, she finally divorced the actor in 1952. Without Marie's support, work was meager, finding some work on TV westerns ("Death Valley Days," "Wild Bill Hickok," "Judge Roy Bean," "Tales of the Texas Rangers") and in the lowgrade films Outlaw Women (1952), Mesa of Lost Women (1953) (lead), Untamed Mistress (1956) (lead) and Apache Warrior (1957). A second marriage was annulled quickly in 1954 and a third one in 1957 actually led to violence. Desperate for money, he resorted to getting income providing information for tabloid magazines. Although Warner Bros. producer William T. Orr offered him help by signing him up and finding bit parts on TV, Nixon gave it up in 1962. A fourth marriage settled him down and a new sideline as a novelist in the lurid vein ("Blessed Are the Damned," "The Sex Symbol," "The Bitch Goddess") gave him some financial security. He died of emphysema on April 13, 1995 at age 79.