---
name: "Rick Dial"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rick-dial"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "9 March 1955"
died: "27 May 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:18:02.414851+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Rick Dial

Actor. Born 9 March 1955 in Malvern, Arkansas, USA. Died 27 May 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 9 March 1955, Malvern, Arkansas, USA
- **Died:** 27 May 2011

## Biography

Rick Dial was an American character actor. Born in Malvern, Arkansas, he first appeared on screen as Bill Cox in Billy Bob Thornton’s *Sling Blade* (1996), a role written for him owing to their longstanding friendship. He went on to appear in fourteen films, including *The Apostle* (1997) as Elmo, *The General’s Daughter* (1999) as Cal Seivers, *Secondhand Lions* (2003) as the feed store owner, *Crazy Heart* (2009) as Wesley Barnes and *Bernie* (2011) as Don Leggett.

Dial also worked as a businessman, part-owner of a furniture store in Malvern, and served for more than twenty years as the public-address announcer for local high-school football and basketball games. He died in Malvern in 2011.

*Sources: encyclopediaofarkansas.net, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Sling Blade* (1996), Fi1m 83, as Bill Cox — [page](https://film.one/film/sling-blade.md)

## Also known for

- *Crazy Heart* (2009), Wesley Barnes
- *The General's Daughter* (1999), Cal Seiver
- *Bernie* (2012), Don Leggett
- *Secondhand Lions* (2003), Feed Store Owner
- *The Apostle* (1997), Elmo

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/rick-dial