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Thomas E. Mix ( January 6, 1880 - October 11, 1940) was an American film actor, the star of many early Western movies.

Tom Mix made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but 9 of them silent features. Tom Mix was Hollywood’s first larger-than-life Western megastar. His films defined the genre for all actors that followed.

Mix was born on Jan 6th, 1880 into a relatively poor logging family in Mix Run , Pennsylvania. This region is still a heavily wooded area about 40 miles (60 km) north of State College, PA. His parents named him Thomas Hezikiah Mix, but he stated it as Thomas E. Mix when he enlisted in the Army in April 1898. He served in a heavy artillery unit during the Spanish-American War. After re-enlisting in 1901Events January 1 World celebrates what is regarded as the start of the new century. Zero-ists' argument that new century should be celebrated in 1900 rejected worldwide). January 1 The six colonies that make up Australia are federated as under an act of t, he failed to return to duty after a 1902Events January-April January 28 The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie. France, Loisy's L'evangile et l'Eglise which inaugurates the Modernist Crisis February 11 Police beat up universal suffrage extended furlough for his honeymoon--but was never court martialed or, apparently, even discharged.

After working a variety of odd jobs in the Oklahoma TerritoryOklahoma Territory was an organized territory of the United States from May 2, 1890 until November 16, 1907 when Oklahoma became the 46th state. External links Oklahoma history U. historical regions and territories., Mix went on to work at the 101 Ranch, the largest ranching outfit with 101,000 acres (409 km²), hence the name 101, in the US. He distinguished himself as a great horseman and expert shot, winning the 1909 national Riding and Rodeo Championship. He is rumored to have served a brief and undistinguished term with the Texas Rangers.

Mix was picked out to be a supporting cast member with the Selig Polyscope Company, one of the first silent film makers. His first shoot (1910) was called “Ranch Life in the Great Southwest” and he showed off his signature style as a cattle wrangler. The film was a success (partially because of America’s romantic interest in the American cowboy) and audiences began wanting more westerns: Tom Mix became a staple, and then a star. He did more than 100 films with Selig throughout the silent film era, and began to re-define what the western film was--with less humdrum cowboying, and more breathless chase-the-bad-guys action. Mix's career in the movies lasted 26 years and made him $6,000,000.

Selig folded in 1917, and Tom Mix signed with Fox Films. He went on to make more than 160 films throughout the 1920s, each growing in plot and complexity as the matinee film became a Saturday staple for escapist American youth. These were “packaged” dramatic films, no longer attempting to be the documentary style of the Selig days, with clear-cut heroes and villains, with a Ronald Reagan-style of clean cut cowboy saving the day in a John Wayne fashion. (Keep in mind that Ronald Reagan and John Wayne watched Tom Mix films when they were boys. Their acting styles were clearly adapted from various Tom Mix personas.)

Tom Mix did all of his own stunts in almost all of his pictures, and was frequently injured with his dangerous riding, roping, and varmint-catching tricks. Tom’s legend was even larger than his actual accomplishments, partially due to the breathless reporting of Hollywood studio promoters.

Mix married five times and had two children. He died October 12, 1940 in a freak auto accident in Florence, ArizonaFlorence is a town located in Pinal County, Arizona. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 17,054. The city is the county seat of Pinal County 6. The largest Arizona State Prison complex is located in the city. Geography Florence is lo in which he was killed by a suitcase. Mix was driving at night along the dusty roads between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona (which was then a two lane highway) in a convertible when he unknowingly came upon a bridge that had been washed away. Mix’s car catapulted across the empty space of about thirty feet (10 m) and crashed into the other side. Mix had been wearing his seat belt, and normally would have survived the accident despite being 60 years old-- but the metal-hardened suitcase he had packed and put on the seat behind him flew free and struck him in the back of the head, shattering his skull and killing him instantly. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park CemeteryForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California is the original Forest Lawn. see also Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery) Forest Lawn was founded in 1917 by Dr. Hubert Eaton on the grounds of a 1913 cemetery. Eaton was a firm believer in a jo in Glendale, CaliforniaGlendale is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is an important suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city is bordered to the southwest by.

There is a Tom Mix museum in DeweyDewey County is a county located in the U. State of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population is 4,743. Its county seat is Taloga 6. Geography According to the U. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,611 km² (1,008 mi²). 2,590 km² (1,000 mi²) of it, Oklahoma and another in Mix Run , Pennsylvania.