In 1973, he directed the film "The Spook Who Sat by the Door," a political drama based on a novel about a black CIA agent who becomes a revolutionary. He also directed the 1972 "blaxploitation" story "Trouble Man." His honors included four NAACP Image Awards, the National Black Theatre Award and the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award from the Black American Cinema Society. Born in 1931 in New York, Dixon graduated in 1954 from North Carolina Central University in Durham. In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife of 53 years, Berlie Dixon of Charlotte, and a son, Alan Kimara Dixon of Oakland. At Dixon's request, no memorial or funeral is planned, the family said.
Ivan Dixon, pioneering black actor has died
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - March 19, 2008 Dixon died Sunday at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte after a
hemorrhage, said his daughter, Doris Nomathande Dixon of Charlotte.
He had suffered complications from kidney failure, she said.
Dixon, who also directed scores of television shows, began his
acting career in the late 1950s. He appeared on Broadway in William
Saroyan's 1957 "The Cave Dwellers" and in playwright Lorraine
Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 drama of black life, "A Raisin in
the Sun." In the latter, he played a Nigerian student visiting the
United States, a role he repeated in the film version.
While not a hit, the 1964 "Nothing But a Man," in which Dixon
co-starred with Abbey Lincoln, also drew praise as a rare, early
effort to bring the lives of black Americans to the big screen.
Other film credits included "Something of Value," "A Patch of
Blue" and the cult favorite "Car Wash."
"As an actor, you had to be careful," said Sidney Poitier,
star of "Patch of Blue" and a longtime friend. "He was quite
likely to walk off with the scene."
In 1967, Dixon starred in a CBS Playhouse drama, "The Final War
of Olly Winter," about a veteran of World War II and Korea who
decided that Vietnam would be his final war. The role brought Dixon
an Emmy nomination for best single performance by an actor.
He was probably best known for the role of Staff Sgt. James
Kinchloe on "Hogan's Heroes," the hit 1960s sitcom set in a
German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.
The technically adept Kinchloe was in charge of electronic
communications and could mimic German officers on the radio or
phone.
Dixon was active in efforts to get better parts for blacks in
movies and television, telling The New York Times in 1967:
"Sponsors haven't wanted anything negative connected with their
products. We must convince them that the Negro is not negative."
"Heretofore, people have thought that, to use a Negro, the
story must pit black against white. Maybe we're getting to the
problems of human beings who happen to be black."
While Dixon was most proud of roles such as those in "A Raisin
in the Sun" and "Nothing But a Man," he had no problem about
being recognized for Kinchloe, his daughter said.
"It was a pivotal role as well, because there were not as many
blacks in TV series at that time," Nomathande Dixon said. "He did
have some personal issues with that role, but it also launched him
into directing."
Dixon also directed numerous episodes of TV shows, including
"The Waltons," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I." and "In
the Heat of the Night."