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.
