Tom Mix
1880 - 1940
Forest Lawn Glendale
Before he became the silent screen's King of the Cowboys, Tom Mix was a bartender and part-time sheriff in Dewey, OK. He joined a traveling Wild West show that often provided horses and riders for Westerns, and Mix made his screen debut in "Ranch Life in the Great Southwest" (1910).
Mix appeared in more than 100 short Westerns over the next few years,
many of which he also produced and directed. In 1917, Mix joined
Fox studios, and quickly became the most popular cowboy star of the
silent screen, with action-packed films combining folksy humor and
daredevil stunts. Riding his horse, Tony, Mix performed many of his
own stunts, and was often injured as a result.
With the growing popularity of sound films in the late 1920s, Mix left the screen to tour with the Ringling Bros. Circus. Mix made a handful of films in the early 1930s.
Mix was killed in an automobile accident in Arizona. His grave marker includes a facsimile of his signature, and the "TM" symbol that he wore on his belt buckle. Mix was reportedly buried wearing the original belt buckle, which spelled out "Tom Mix" in diamonds.
Mix was born Thomas Hezikiah Mix on Jan. 6, 1880,
in Mix Run, PA. He died on Oct. 12, 1940, in Florence, AZ.
