Photo Courtesy of Western Heritage Photography
by John Mason Glen, Ph.D., for Western Heritage Foundation
In the late 1930s, when the average salary was around $1,500 per year, cowboy movie star Tom Mix was reportedly earning over $20,000 per week.
Of his nearly 300 films, 65 were made in Prescott in and around Williamson Valley and the Granite Dells, or at his own ranch here, the Bar Circle A, now part of the Yavapai Hills subdivision.
Born in Mix Run, Pennsylvania in 1880, Mix enlisted to fight in the Spanish-American war, and although his unit never went overseas the Fox studio publicist later claimed he had been with Roosevelt’s Rough Riders’ charge up San Juan Hill.
When Mix rode in T.R.’s inaugural parade with a group of Rough Riders, the legend became fact.
Mix broke into the film industry in 1909, did his own stunts in action-packed westerns, and along with “Tony, the wonder horse,” became Fox’s highest paid star but left after a salary dispute with studio head Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Mix later made nine “talkies” with Universal, but injuries required him to quit filming. His final screen appearance was in a 15-episode serial called The Miracle Rider in 1935. He reportedly earned over $6 million during his career.
However, free spending, alimony (he was married five times), and poor business decisions robbed Mix of much of his wealth. Nevertheless, his love of fast cars necessitated his purchase of a brand new supercharged 1937 Cord 812 “cigarette cream” (yellow) Phaeton.
The fancy automobile would prove to be his undoing. On Oct. 12, 1940, following a nearly all-night party with friends in Tucson, Mix drove toward Phoenix, and undoubtedly driving beyond his limits, failed to negotiate a sharp turn. The car flipped, and a heavy metal suitcase, unsecured in the backseat, hit Mix in the head, killing him.
The gully, near Florence, was named “Tom Mix Wash” in his honor. A stone obelisk memorial along
AZ-79 was dedicated by Gene Autry. Mix has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and his boot prints, palm prints, and hoof prints of “Tony” may be seen outside Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
The Western Heritage Center at 156 S. Montezuma St. is the repository for numerous film posters and memorabilia, including the iconic telephone booth from the Palace bar featured in Junior Bonner, starring Steve McQueen. Admission is free.
