Roaming Range Reporter

Continued from May-June 2013, Smoke Signals

Reel Cowboys of Western Cinema

A Century of Silver Screen Heroes on Horseback
Number 14 in the Series

 
By Gary Eugene Brown

One of the early celluloid stars of tinsel town, before he became popular, was a champion weightlifter with a thick European accent...no, not the guy who became Governor of California. His parents, of Polish decent, migrated from Lithuania to the USA, fleeing Russian dominance. One of their three sons went on to Hollywood in the Golden Era, seeking fame and fortune. He became a cowboy film hero, even though he didn't know how to ride. He went on to become one of the most popular actors in the cliffhangers. It was in the popular chapter serials of the era where he would become cinema's first "Super Hero." During his days of playing a cowboy leading man in B westerns, he landed a small, yet memorable role in a classic A western directed by the master John Ford. He would go on to play bit parts in films for the rest of his career, often as a "heavy", until an incurable disease turned the former Super Hero into a mere mortal man. He was loved by those who spent their nickels at the Saturday matinee to watch one of his cowboy movies and perhaps a chapter from one of his several serials. He was the one and only Vincent Markowski...oops...perhaps you might remember him as:

TOM TYLER

The Markowski's settled in Port Henry, New York, a small fishing village on the West bank of Lake Champlain. Frank Markowski worked in the nearby coal mines. Vincent was born there on August 9. 1903, one of five siblings (two brothers and two sisters). The family moved to Hamtramck, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, a Polish enclave when Vincent was 15. They had received news that the Henry Ford, "horseless carriage" plant was in need of workers. During high school Vincent became interested in the sport of weight lifting.

According to the well-researched book, The Tom Tyler Story by Mike Chapman with Bobby Copeland, Vincent, even though he was mild mannered and shy, was intrigued with the possibility of becoming a thespian. This is not surprising, as many actors are basically introverts. Acting enables them to display their repressed, inner self. He began by experimenting in changing his appearance using a "theatrical make-up kit." Later, Vincent entered and won a strong man contest in a local theater. A talent scout, who was in the audience, advised him he should go to Hollywood. His mother had noticed that when they walked down the street, the young women would turn their heads to watch her son...there was a reason: he was a big, good looking guy in his early 20s...the makings of a motion picture star. Vincent decided he would try his luck in Hollywood and borrowed money from his sister Mollie to make the long trip. Off to California, land of sunshine, orange groves, pretty girls, the Pacific Ocean and perhaps a career in the relatively new art form of cinema.

Vincent Markowski, like many would-be actors, found an inexpensive place to stay and performed odd jobs while going to casting calls from studio to studio. He was often an artist's model like George O'Brien, due to his muscular physique. A newly found friend was an aspiring journalist, Oliver Drake. Drake was doing better than Vincent and so he often picked up the tab for he and his friend. Vincent's first film was a bit part in a new studio's (MGM) production of a film based upon a novel by Elinor Glyn Three Weeks (1924). He realized he had to change his Polish ethnic name, so he choose the handle - Bill Burns. After a small role in another MGM film, due to his physique, Bill Burns was cast as a charioteer in MGM's epic production of Lew Wallace's Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), starring Ramon Navarro and Francis X. Bushman. For those interested in cinema history, Bill Burns was in stellar company. Other uncredited actors in the crowd scenes or as Roman guards, on their way up the food chain while others were already established stars (possibly as a favor to Louie B. Mayer), were: Lionel and John Barrymore, John Gilbert, Clark Gabel, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Myrna Loy, Harold Lloyd, Carole Lombard, Colleen Moore, Fay Wray, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Gary Cooper!!! Seems to me, New Hollywood doesn't come close to the "class" displayed by old Hollywood; they were truly "stars"!

An agent with R-C Studios who was familiar with Joseph P. Kennedy's FBO (Film Booking Office of America) western film endeavors saw Bill Burns during the production of Ben Hur and encouraged him to meet with FBO to determine if they might be interested in him. FBO had the ever increasing popular cowboy star Fred Thomson under contract, however they needed a leading man in case their main star would sign with a major studio at the end of his contract (which he eventually did). Bill Burns impressed the studio executives - they discovered their new cowboy film star. However, the main question that still needed to be asked: "Can you ride a horse?" According to Chapman's book on his boyhood hero, of course, he said yes. Later, in an interview, the then Bill Burns, recalled: "I said 'yes' and didn't even gulp." "I knew if there was a way to stick on, I'd find it. I contacted a friend who was an expert horseman and it wasn't long before I was riding very well." Before the production began on his first western - Galloping Gallagher (1925), he was riding like a real cowboy! In addition, the studio changed his name to the "phonetically pleasing" Tom Tyler.

The initial press release from FBO noted their new cowboy star Tom Tyler held the "American and world's record in weightlifting in two events"; that he was "an expert horseman", spent "a lot of time on his father's ranch in Wyoming," was a "football" hero and a "track and field" athlete of some note. Well...not exactly true. However, he did win the AAU, Southern California Heavyweight division, representing the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1928. Tom also won the AAU National Championship in 1928. He was not a football star or a track and field athlete, however FBO's cowboy actor Fred Thomson was both. And we know by now, he had never been a working cowboy nor did his father owns a ranch in Wyoming. It was typical of the many publicity stunts, common to the era, in an attempt to make their new "reel" cowboy hero into a "real" cowboy. That said, Tom was truly a physical specimen: 6'2", 200 pounds with a 45" chest (unexpanded) with a 32" waist.

Tom Tyler would go on to make 29 cowboy films for FBO from 1925 to 1929. Of these silent films, all but one or two co-starred child actor Frankie Darro. Young Frankie often received second or third billing. The duo was very popular with the youth and parents alike. Those who are Gene Autry fans may remember an older Frankie as Frankie Baxter in the first Western/Sci-Fi serial The Phantom Empire (1935). Another costar in most of the FBO films was the dog "Beans," an added draw for the kiddie set. The wonderful actress Jean Arthur even played the leading lady in two of the early Tom Tyler silent westerns. Her early career began in western movies and 23 years later, her last role was as Marian Starrett in the classic western Shane (1953). Sadly, only The Texas Toronado (1928) of the FBO films has survived and it is even missing some footage. However, it shows Tom and Frankie performing some amazing stunts. As was the case in early cinema, if the actors were physically capable of performing their own stunts, they were allowed to do within reason. Both actors were physically fit. Film historian, the late Buck Rainey said the Tyler FBO films were: "...fast, furious action, gunplay galore, and Tom himself in some of the most daring stunts ever filmed. He was only 23 and in the pink of condition. What he didn't have in thespian talents he more than made up in red-blooded stories built around his athletic prowess."

The Pride of Pawnee (1929) was the last film of the Tyler series to be released by FBO. The studio had added the great Tom Mix to their stable, however, the studio, now known as RKO, was making the transition to sound, and as mentioned in previous articles, they wondered how sound could be picked up clearly in the making of outdoor cowboy films. Then, Tom, Bob Steele and Bob Custer signed with J. P. McGowan Productions and Syndicate Studios to make silent westerns, even though the sound era had begun. Each film was directed by J. P. McGowan and the majority of the screenplays were written by Sally Winters. The last film was Call of the Desert (1930). When Syndicate decided to convert to "all talking pictures" Mascot Studios with Nat Levine as producer, wanted Tom to star in a 10 chapter, "all talking" serial The Phantom of the West (1930). However, there was a problem which didn't impact the FBO westerns, a handicap he had to overcome. His friend Oliver Drake, the journalist, who had befriended Tom when he was just starting out, had been paid back in spades, as his friend Vincent, now Tom Tyler the popular cowboy star, had got him steady employment as a screenwriter with FBO.  Drake, in his book: Written, Produced and Directed by Oliver Drake, recalled: "When sound came in, things were tough for me in the motion picture business, but my friend Tom Tyler was having it much tougher. He had a slight Lithuanian accent and it seemed no one wanted him for a talkie." Drake went on: "He had to move out of his house in Beverly Hills, sold his car, and was slowly going down the drain. I finally convinced him to get with my friend J. Frank Glendon, and see if Frank could help him lose his accent." "Frank liked Tom very much and continued coaching him over the next few months, long after Tom's money ran out." The help provided by Drake and Glendon enabled Tom Tyler to salvage his film career. His lost his accent and projected a deep, baritone voice, most suitable for the "talkies."

Tom made the serial The Phantom of the West, his first of many, for Nat Levine and a popular one it was. Mr. Levine, later in his life, according to Mario DeMarco in his book, Tom Tyler and George O'Brien: The Herculeses' of the Cinema Range, said, "I do know he was a nice human being, a gentleman, never gave us any trouble and was always cooperative." Tom would do four more films for Syndicate, absent J.P. McGowan at the helm, the first being: West of Cheyenne (1931). Tom then signed with Monogram Studios for seven sound films beginning with The Man From Death Valley (1931) and concluded with Honor of the Mounted (1932). During this period he was selected to play the lead in a 12 chapter serial for Universal - Battling With Buffalo Bill (1931). Tom worked alongside cowboy hero Rex Bell and the greatest athlete of the 20th century, Jim Thorpe. Tom shared that "It was a wonderful part" playing the flamboyant Indian scout and showman William F. Cody. "I love the out-of-doors and the feel of a good horse under me will always give me a thrill, but this doesn't make me unfit for any but cowboy portrayals." Tom fared so well that he played the lead in three more serials: Jungle Mystery (1931), Clancy of the Mounties (1931) and Phantom of the Air (1933). He proved his point - he was more than just a cowboy actor.

Tom made four B oaters for Frueler/Monarch. The first in the series was The Forty Niners (1932) and concluded with War on the Range (1933). He then signed with another small, independent studio - Reliable Studios under Bernard B. Ray, where he was featured as their premier cowboy star. The studio also had cowboy actors Jack Perrin and Richard Talmadge under contract. He made 18 low budget pictures for Bernard B. Ray and William Steiner, beginning in 1934 with Ridin Thru' and ending in 1936 with Santa Fe Bound. This was a significant movie in Tom's life as his costar was the lovely Jeanne Martel. In 1937, Jeanne would become the first and only wife of Tom Tyler. Prior to his marriage, Tom was romantically linked to one of Hollywood's most interesting ladies. In Western Women by film historian Boyd Magers and Michael G. Fitzgerald, they shared an interview with Marion Schilling who costarred with Tom in The Silver Bullet (1935). She described the cowboy leading man as "a handsome, big mass of muscle. Always prompt and knew his lines but was very quiet. He was (at the time) in the midst of a torrid love affair with Marlene Dietrich and during the day was probably in recovery." Sadly, the Tyler marriage lasted only 5 years, perhaps long by Hollywood standards. The reasons for the divorce, no one knows. Just another divorce of two working actors. Tom would never remarry.

Unfortunately, although he was making a good living ($1800 - $2000 per month), Tom was no way close to the level of Tom Mix in his glory days ($17,000 - $20,000 per month). Don Miller, in his book Hollywood Corral said, "The feeling persists that with creative and intensive guidance, the attributes of Tom Tyler, buried as they were under an avalanche of neglect and carelessness, could have been transformed into a screen image approaching the highest plateaus. That it didn't happen is too bad." Tom even dabbled in real estate by opening Willett & Tyler Realtors in 1934 to supplement his income.

During the Reliable years, Tom joined the all-star cast of western heroes in his former studio FBO/RKO's production of Powdersmoke Range (1935), starring Harry Carey and Hoot Gibson in the first Three Mesquiteers film. Tom joined his former FBO stable mate Bob Steele, as well as several other leading men, in the role of Sundown Saunders, "a gunman with a conscience." This was Tom's first role as an outlaw; however it would not be his last.
 
In a visit to his folks in Hamtramck, Michigan over the Christmas holidays in 1934, The Hamtramck Citizen newspaper led with the headline: "Tom Tyler, Screen Star, visits his parents." "While staying here, Tom will make a personal appearance in Hamtramck at the midnight show on December 28 and 29 at the Martha Washington Theater. The program will feature one of his best western pictures, 'Silver Bullet' with 'Lightning' the wonder horse. It is an honor to have a former resident of Hamtramck of Polish descent that has become a famous stage and screen personality to make a personal appearance in his own hometown." As to his impressions of Hollywood, Tom granted an interview where he shared his opinions: "As to Hollywood, it is a beautiful place with many beautiful buildings, wonderful landscapes and climate. The movie industry, since the drive for decent pictures on the screen, has produced more westerns and pioneer pictures as they are morally decent and appeal to the older people as well as the children. The western pictures are going to be the main factors in the coming years." And they were for many more years; however, sadly that is not the case today.  The "drive for decent pictures" is being driven over the proverbial cliff by today's hedonistic and morally bankrupt producers, with a few exceptions. Where are you now Tom Tyler when we need you???

Sam Katzman who formed Victory Pictures recruited Tom Tyler to be a cowboy film hero in his western films beginning in 1936. Rip Roarin' Buckaroo was the first of the low budget films. Tom, like so many popular cowboy stars of the day, took to the sawdust trail of the traveling circus with the Wallace Brothers, after concluding the Victory films. However, he was smart enough, or perhaps didn't have enough capital, to form his own circus or Wild West show. Besides Wild West acts, Tom performed acrobatic moves on the horizontal bar and put on weight lifting exhibitions. The circus tour, which lasted most of the year, limited his films to only one in 1938 - King of Alcatraz starring Lloyd Nolan, J. Carrol Nash and Harry Carey. Tom was one of many in the cast.

However, a pivotal role came Tom's way in a film directed by the legendary director John Ford. Stagecoach (1939) would have an all-star cast headed up by Claire Trevor and a B cowboy actor by the name of John Wayne. Tom was selected to play the main heavy Luke Plummer. The Ringo Kid was after the Plummer brothers who killed his brother, who were in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Tom played Luke Plummer to the hilt. Ford was able to have Tom Tyler transition from the self-confident pistolero, to a frightened man who bolstered his courage with a shot of rot gut and then lead his two worthless brothers in to the streets to meet their arch nemesis. Don Miller, in his book Hollywood Corral, recalled the role: "In the small but effective part of one of the deadly Plummer boys...Tyler made his minutes onscreen count for all they were worth, and more. He also developed the stylized 'long walk' after getting plugged, although (director John) Ford didn't show it - just Tyler ambling into the saloon after the gunfight, smiling benignly at the gathered tipplers, then keeling over." Ford soon cast Tom in a small part in his exciting film Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert and would use him in his critically acclaimed Grapes of Wrath (1940) and later They Were Expendable (1945), along with former cowboy film hero Jack Holt.

The same year (1939), Tom had a small part in the Academy Award mega hit Gone With The Wind. He also had supporting roles in the Three Mesquiteers The Night Riders (1939) starring John Wayne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan and Max "Alibi" Terhune; Frontier Marshall (1939) with Randolph Scott;  and Zane Grey's The Light of Western Stars (1940) with Victor Jory. In 1940, Tom was cast in another role of a villain - The Mummy. Wrapped in thick gauze with darkened eye sockets, Tom terrorized the folks in Universal's The Mummy's Hand (1940). Tom was also cast as a horse thief in the often overlooked classic western by William Wyler, The Westerner with Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan. He played bad guy roles in two Hopalong Cassidy films, played a part in an Abbot and Costello movie and a Richard Dix western Cherokee Strip (1940). However, two of the biggest breaks in his career would come along soon.
 
Tom became cinema's first "super hero" based upon a comic book character. Republic Studios was interested in filming a Superman film; however, legal rights resulted in their going in another direction. William Whitney was able to secure the rights to the Fawcett comic book super hero, Captain Marvel, created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parke. The 12 chapter cliffhanger was the Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941). Tom Tyler played the lead role of "The World's Mightiest Mortal" and Frank Coughlan, Jr. played Billy Batson. "Shazam" was yelled by Billy Batson and he magically turned into Captain Marvel. The comic book series of Captain Marvel, out sold Superman during the 1940-41 period. Jim Harmon and Donald F. Glut's book The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury, referred to the film as "one of the finest movie serials ever made." William C. Cline in his book on movie serials In The Nick Of Time noted: "Tyler's striking performance remains in thousands of minds as the most memorable serial hero of all time - bar none!"

Also, in 1941, Tom was invited to assume the role of Stony Brooke in the popular Three Mesquiteers series for Republic, when Robert Livingston decided to exit stage right. He joined his friend Bob Steele, from the early FBO silent era, and Rufe Davis. The first of the series with Tom was Gauchos of the Eldorado (1941). Tom made 13 films in the series with the last being Riders of the Rio Grande (1943). The latter, according to Boyd Magers' reviews in his Western Clippings (a great resource) was one of the best of the series, along with Outlaws of Cherokee Trail (1941), Raiders of the Range (1941), and The Blocked Trail (1943). Overall, as B westerns go, it was a very good series. Also, in 1942, Tom revived his role of The Mummy in The Mummy's Tomb for Universal. The next major project was to once again star as a comic strip hero, created by Lee Falk, in a 15 chapter serial for Paramount Studios - The Phantom (1943). The Hollywood Hills served as the African Jungle. William C. Cline, in his book on movie serials, referred to Tom Tyler as "the Gary Cooper of B films."

After the end of the lengthy Three Mesquiteers series, Tom was relegated to playing smaller parts in many films. However, he had a notable role in Howard Hawks' classic Red River (1946) starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. Later, John Ford summoned him to play the sentimental role as the wounded Corporal Mike Quayne in his She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), with John Wayne in his favorite role as Captain Nathan Brittles. Tom was then invited to join an all-star cast in Republic's Trail of Robin Hood (1950), starring Roy Rogers. He joined fellow former leading men for Republic Studios in western films: Rex Allen, Crash Corrigan, Rocky Lane, Monte Hale (a Republic artist under contract), Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene, William Farnum and Jack Holt. Tom, to his many fans, just didn't look the same in the film compared to his peers, several of whom were much older than him. He had come down with the dreaded, incurable disease - scleroderma. Basically, it is a systematic autoimmune disease of the skin..."hard skin"...which produced skin lesions and stiffness in the joints. Tom would continue to obtain a few bit parts in TV westerns until 1953. His last performances were in the Gene Autry TV show. Gene was aware of Tom's health and extended a helping hand to an aging cowboy star, not unlike what he did for Ken Maynard. However, the Public Cowboy #1, never publicized his good-will gestures.

Tom Tyler, aka Vincent Markowski returned to his hometown in Hamtramck, Michigan and moved in with his sister Katherine Slepski and her family. He lived with his sister until he died on May 3, 1954. Vincent Markowski was only 50 years old, however looked thirty years older.

Mike Chapman in his bio on Tom Tyler closed his chapter in a touching tribute: "What is the legacy of Tom Tyler? He will long be appreciated by those who enjoy film and appreciate its long and varied history. He made a lasting mark in one of the most demanding and celebrated of all professions; he was a man of substance and of style, loved by his family and friends, respected by those in his profession, and idolized by a million plus Americans at the peak of his career." Chapman's last paragraph reads: "Above all, he offered a clean-cut, manly role model that may have positively impacted a portion of an entire generation of moviegoers. He had a life worth living and a life worth remembering." Well said Mike!!

________________________________________________________________________

GARY E BROWN
is the retired Police Chief of Monterey, CA; Ashland, OR and San Clemente. However, his avocation is collecting western art and memorabilia including many Tom Mix items. Tom Mix was his father's hero, so he is Gary's as well. Gary wrote an article on Tom Mix for The National Film & Collectors Magazine - Hollywood Studio Magazine, as well as a recent article on Tom Mix's final day for American Cowboy magazine. He has also written articles on the Western Photoplays of the Golden Era and lectured on the Western Heroes of the Silver Screen. He can be reached at montereycowboy@hotmail.com or found, most mornings, at his son Jordan's Mavericks Coffee House in Visalia, CA....the site of "possibly the best coffee in the world" with walls of vintage cowboy movie posters and a collection of 66 original, autographed photos of yesterday's cowboy heroes.

• Feature Articles
• Featured Photos
• The Feed Bag Recipes
• In The News
• Our Inner Cowgirl
• Dealer Spotlight
• Getting to Know our Team
• Previous Issues of Smoke Signals
•