TOM MIX
Actor, Stuntman, Hollywood's First Cowboy

  Many may ask why Tom Mix would be here. The man was an incredible stunt-man on a horse, always performing his own stunts in becoming a silver screen icon.  Read on my friends...

The Strange Fate Of Tom Mix
[Hollywood's First Cowboy, Stuntman, and actor]

In the 1920s - 1940s, before Rodeo rider, stuntman cowboy, Ben Johnson [Sons Of The Pioneers] broke into the movies, Tom Mix was paving the way. He was the first Western movie stuntman-actor in movie history. Seems everyone in America knew who Tom Mix was by the late 20s. He made over 400 films and a 15 episode serial in the mid 30s. Now, all but a handful has been destroyed by the elements and poor storage--an old story in Hollywood. Most were silent films. What was unique about this actor? He wasn't just an actor with flashy moves and stuntmen doubles to make him look good. No Sireee, Bob! He did "all" of his mouth-dropping, hair-raising stunts. He was the real McCoy -- quite the accomplished rodeo star who could ride, do trick riding, roping, take on the bad guys, and woo the ladies. He learned it in a circus. mix loved the circus so much, eventually, he bought once of his own. That's another story.

When the average man's wage was less than a half dollar, this Hollywood cowboy star was grossing around $17,000 a week, or more at the peak of his career [in the late 30s]. He worked for Fox, and later, Universal. Supposedly he had been a Texas Ranger and even rode with the Rough Riders, according to his publicist. However, some researchers say it was bunk--in truth, he was an Army deserter and had once been a deputy in some little Texas town, and played in an Army band as a soldier. It's hard to know what was true or not so long ago--especially in Hollywood. In those days, you got away with anything. He was, however, the real stuff on the silver screen.

Tom Mix was not a western born cowboy by any stretch of the imagination. He born "Thomas Hezekiah Mix," January 6, 1880 in Pennsylvania, of all places, in Cameron County. You can imagine, Hezekiah was thrown out in favor of a more western flavor name. He gave his all to become a cowboy, and did it with grit. In the movies, he became King Of The Cowboys before Roy Rogers rose to claim the title. There were comic books about Tom Mix on the market 10 years after he died. That says a lot.

He was the first of his kind, stunt-riding acrobatics and rodeo skills, and audiences were awed and thrilled to the likes they had never seen before--a real hero of the screen. From historical reports, Tom sustained more than 80 serious injuries in his stunts--for which his was well paid as he rose to celluloid fame. Tom was a good friend of Will Rogers and Wyatt Earp. Ex-Marshal Earp appeared on the movie sets as a Western advisor.

Tom's only social vice was perhaps women. He could never hang onto his wives. He was rich and extravagantly lived life to its fullest. As the saying goes, he had sawdust in his veins. In mid career, he left Hollywood a while and toured with the circus. He and his predecessor, William S. Hart attended Wyatt Earp's funeral. Tom Mix was a pallbearer, and like many, wept during the service for the departed famous Marshal of the old west.

Tom met his own in end in 1940 when he left an engagement in Tucson, Arizona, heading out across the desert. History has it that he swerved the car to miss some road workers, lost control, and careened his custom ordered Cord roadster into a ditch. The first western stuntman-actor died on October 12, 1940, died behind the wheel when his suitcase flew forward in the crash; torn from the luggage rack on the trunk, bashing his head. As irony would have it, Tony, his famous original show horse, died two years later, October 12, 1942, the second anniversary of Tom's death. Whether his personal life was fake or not, what you saw on the screen was all cowboy and all Tom Mix.

There are many books about Tom Mix. His life was strange, and so has his popularity been. After his death, his popularity waned for many decades, and now, Tom seems to have developed into a cult figure. All over the net you can find historical tidbits of his life and his work, but to get the whole, amazing story, you best buy one of his biographical books and see what you are missing.[]

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