Take a closer look at some of Hollywood's top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Child Stars, Then and Now

Take a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

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He was born John (Jack) Bennett Reeve in 1922 in Houston, Texas. In 1935, his mother took him to Hollywood in the hopes that he could become a star. There he changed his name to Ray Dixon. Ray's mother later became a nurse/nanny for composer Alfred Newman.

Ray took classes at the Hollywood Professional School, appeared in plays, and was "discovered." In short order, he worked as an extra in Gunga Din (1939) and Beau Geste (1939). In The Sea Hawk (1940), he struggled with an assignment of carrying a powder keg until star Errol Flynn gave him a hand.

Ray acted in dozens of films, including several Andy Hardy, Little Tough Guys, and Henry Aldrich movies. Often he went from set to set, not even knowing the names of the movies he was in. On one occasion, he was directed to hold and kiss an actress in the rumble seat of a car. Ray admitted later that he never knew the name of the actress or the movie the scene appeared in.

During his career, Ray collected many autographed photos of stars such as Ronald Reagan and Judy Garland. He dated actress Jane Withers, who visited him when he was in Marine boot camp. World War II interrupted Ray's career, but he returned to Hollywood after the war. He found that everything had changed. After a couple of jobs, including working as the stand-in for Hoagy Carmichael in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), he gave up acting for good.

Ray was married several times, including twice to a woman named Marie Dixon who also had a career as a Hollywood extra. He died in 1999.

Ray Dixon's life is covered comprehensively in the March 2019 issue of Classic Images.

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