Thursday, October 12, 2017

Sad Death Of Tom Mix...!

One of the best known names of the "Old West" was actor Tom Mix.

Seemingly bigger than life at times, his death was sad to many of his fans, but his name lives on to this day as one of the first cowboy heroes of silent films.

1940
Silent-film star Tom Mix dies in Arizona car wreck; brained by “Suitcase of Death”

On this day in 1940, cowboy-movie star Tom Mix is killed when he loses control of his speeding Cord Phaeton convertible and rolls into a dry wash (now called the Tom Mix Wash) near Florence, Arizona. He was 60 years old. Today, visitors to the site of the accident can see a 2-foot–tall iron statue of a riderless horse and a somewhat awkwardly written plaque that reads: “In memory of Tom Mix whose spirit left his body on this spot and whose characterization and portrayals in life served to better fix memories of the Old West in the minds of living men.”

According to Mix’s press agent, the star was a genuine cowboy and swaggering hero of the Wild West: He was born in Texas; fought in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Boer War; and served as a sheriff in Kansas, a U.S. marshal in Oklahoma and a Texas Ranger. In fact, Mix was born in Driftwood, Pennsylvania; deserted the Army in 1902; and was a drum major in the Oklahoma Territorial Cavalry band when he went off to Hollywood in 1909.

None of these inconvenient facts prevented Mix from becoming one of the greatest silent-film stars in history, however. Along with his famous horse Tony, Mix made 370 full-length Westerns. At the peak of his fame, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, earning as much as $17,500 a week (about $218,000 today). Unfortunately, Mix and Tony had a hard time making the transition to talking pictures. Some people say that the actor’s voice was so high-pitched that it undermined his macho cowboy image, but others argue that sound films simply had too much talking for Mix’s taste: He preferred wild action sequences to heartfelt conversation.

On the day he died, Mix was driving north from Tucson in his beloved bright-yellow Cord Phaeton sports car. He was driving so fast that he didn’t notice–or failed to heed–signs warning that one of the bridges was out on the road ahead. The Phaeton swung into a gully and Mix was smacked in the back of the head by one of the heavy aluminum suitcases he was carrying in the convertible’s backseat. The impact broke the actor’s neck and he died almost instantly. Today, the dented “Suitcase of Death” is the featured attraction at the Tom Mix Museum in Dewey, Oklahoma.

At least Tom went out in a blaze of glory. Some of his films are still around for viewing, if you are interested.

Coffee out on the patio one more time.

8 comments:

taminator013 said...

I used to go trout fishing in the many streams around Mix Run, PA where he was born. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere..............

Sixbears said...

My dad loved those old Tom Mix movies. He used to talk about it.

linda m said...

I've been to his Memorial in Florence, AZ. He was quite the cowboy. I've watched a few of his movies on TCM. None today can compare to him.

HermitJim said...

Hey Taminator013...
Sounds like the perfect place to go fishing.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Sixbears...
Tom was a hero to many old timers, I reckon.
Thanks for coming over today!


Hey Linda...
From what I've heard, he was quite the action star.
Thanks for the visit today!

JO said...

I've driven past the memorial so many times and I'm sure I have pictures of it somewhere in my files. To this day that is still a long quiet drive most of the time but can be dangerous at high speeds. I wouldn't want to drive that in the dark.

Patio time it is nice morning

Dizzy-Dick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dizzy-Dick said...

My Grandma's sister married Jack Mix who was a full cousin of Tom Mix, so I have heard all about him through most of my early life. In fact, my family had a camp located on Mix Run until Cutiss-Wright took control of that area supposedly for aircraft testing. Yes, I spent the first half of my life living in Pennsylvania.

HermitJim said...

Hey Jo...
Please only make that drive in the light and at safe speeds! Don't want anything to happen to you, sweetie.
Thanks for dropping by today!


Hey Dizzy...
Just think...you were almost there where it all started. How cool was that?
Thanks for coming over today!