1. Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films, and for his portrayal of superheroes in movie serials The Adventures of Captain Marvel and The Phantom.
25 Facts About Tom Tyler
1. 2.
Tom Tyler was born either Vincent Markowski or Vincentas Markauskas in Port Henry, Essex County, New York to Lithuanian-American parents, Helen and Frank Markowski.
3.
Tom Tyler was an amateur weightlifter sponsored by the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the late 1920s.
4.
Tom Tyler set a new world's amateur record for the right-hand clean and jerk by lifting 213 pounds.
5.
Around 1924, Tom Tyler arrived in California and found work in the film industry as a prop man and extra.
6.
In 1925, Tom Tyler was signed to a contract with Film Booking Offices of America to star in a series of Western adventures with a starting salary of about $75 per week.
7.
Tom Tyler's first starring role was in Let's Go, Gallagher.
8.
In 1929, Tyler signed with producer W Ray Johnston of Syndicate Pictures, where he made his last eight silent films, including The Man from Nevada, Pioneers of the West, The Canyon of Missing Men, and Call of the Desert.
9.
In 1930, Tyler was loaned out to Mascot Pictures for his first "all-talking" sound film, The Phantom of the West, a ten-chapter cliffhanger featuring a mysterious secret villain and numerous stunts and action sequences.
10.
In 1931, Tom Tyler made his first Syndicate sound film, West of Cheyenne; his baritone speaking voice recorded well, despite his awkward delivery of lines.
11.
Tom Tyler concluded his Syndicate tenure with Rider of the Plains and God's Country and the Man.
12.
Tom Tyler was strongly considered for the role of Tarzan by MGM in their Tarzan the Ape Man.
13.
Tom Tyler signed Tom Tyler to an eight-picture contract as part of the company's sagebrush series.
14.
When Monogram signed Bob Steele to star in the next season's series, Tyler signed with Universal for three serials: Jungle Mystery, Clancy of the Mounted, and Phantom of the Air.
15.
In 1934, Tyler signed a two-year contract with Harry S Webb's Reliable Pictures for eighteen low-budget Western films, tailored as second features on double bills for second- and third-tier movie houses.
16.
In 1936, Tom Tyler signed a two-year contract with Sam Katzman's new Victory Pictures for eight Western films, each budgeted at about $6000.
17.
The first five of these films were directed by Bob Hill and included Cheyenne Rides Again with Lucile Browne and Feud of the Trail, in which Tom Tyler played a dual role.
18.
In 1941, Tom Tyler signed a two-year contract with Republic Pictures to star in 13 films in the popular Three Mesquiteers series in the role of Stony Brooke opposite Bob Steele playing Tucson Smith, and Rufe Davis or Jimmie Dodd playing Lullaby Joslin.
19.
In costume, Tyler bore a striking resemblance to the Phantom character.
20.
The patchwork was released as The Adventures of Captain Africa, and footage of Tom Tyler's Phantom appears in some of the long shots.
21.
Tom Tyler was one of the John Ford Stock Company, appearing in six of the director's films.
22.
Tom Tyler co-starred with Tom Keene in an unsold TV pilot, Crossroad Avenger, written and directed by Ed Wood.
23.
The last screen appearance by Tom Tyler was as a "District Marshal" on the television series Steve Donovan, Western Marshal.
24.
Tom Tyler died on May 1,1954, aged 50, of heart failure and complications from scleroderma.
25.
Tom Tyler was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.