Tom was
one of the greatest of the movie cowboy heroes, and he was perhaps the
biggest liar to ever hit Hollywood. Now he did not lie maliciously; he
only lied to build up Tom Mix. If Tom read a biography or heard a of a
heroic deed that he liked, he simply added it to HIS biography. He often
said, I just tell people what they like to hear. Many of his lies even
got into the encyclopedias. However, during the past few years relatives
and film historians have have determined the truth about Tom and encyclopedias
have made the corrections. Here are some revelations about Mix. He was
not born in a log cabin in El Paso, TX--he was born in Mix Run, PA.; He
did not break horses for the British, not did he participate in the Boer
War; He did not fight with Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba or ride with the Rough
Riders; He DID join the Army the day after war was declared with Spain.
Later, when he took a bride, they ran off to Oklahoma and Mix was charged
with desertion...he never returned, and at that time the military did little
to chase down deserters; He did not fight in the Boxer Rebellion in China;
He was not a U. S. Marshal; He was not in the Mexican Revolution; He was
not a Texas Ranger, and he did not catch the notorious Shont brothers.
In fact there is not record of such persons; He did not break "about every
bone" in his body or wounded many times by gun shots. In1910, he borrowed
a horse from the Miller Bros. 101 Rodeo to enter a rodeo. He wound of breaking
a leg and when Mix failed to return the horse he was charged with horse
stealing. The charges were dropped when he agreed to appear on Mexico City
during a winter tour; Mix was quite a ladies man--married five times. I
could go on and on with Tom's lies, but I won't. Although Tom Mix did not
live the exciting life he wanted people to think he did, he was a great
performer, outstanding rider, expert marksman, fearless daredevil, and
one of the best known and beloved personalities of the first half of the
Twentieth
Century. His last film was the 1935 serial, THE MIRACLE RIDER. Mix was
born on January 6, 1880, and died when he wrecked his car near Florence,
AZ on Oct. 12, 1940.
Bobby Copeland
Thanks again to Bobby Copeland for info on Tom Mix, you can find out
more about Tom and other western stars order "Trail Talk" directly from
Bobby Copeland
This page
is devoted to the silent stars of 20's and 30's western matinee idols.
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