Nixon was born in
Boston, Massachusetts in 1915. He studied journalism the
University of Richmond but left college to play football professionally. He was signed to the
Washington Redskins but only played in the
exhibition season. After a stint with a
farm team in
Norfolk, Virginia, he wrestled professionally, and then went to New York to become a reporter. Instead, 6'6" and attractive Nixon ended up modeling and was scouted by
MGM. He was drafted during
World War II, but his wife,
Marie Wilson, saw to it that he was assigned guard duty. Nixon also starred in the sex hygiene film
Three Cadets made by the
First Motion Picture Unit.
Republic Pictures had been interested in putting him in westerns, but this interest had faded by the end of the war. with a review stating that he had played his role with "effective sincerity." He appeared in the play
Kitty Doone by
Aben Kandel in 1949. He was also on stage in
Miranda,
You Only Twinkle Once,
Rain,
School for Scandal,
Three Out of Four, and
Anna Lucasta; the latter was a touring production in which
Ann Dvorak costarred. Nixon appeared on various television shows in the 1950s and early 1960s, including
Gunsmoke. this became public knowledge during the
Confidential trial in 1957. finding more success as a writer than as an actor. He later reflected on his career as an actor, "Things went wrong, just put it that way. I'm not bitter. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the people I met and the fun I had." == Personal life and death ==