Tom Tyler
| Tom Tyler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Vincent Markowski August 9, 1903 Port Henry, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 1954 (aged 50) Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart failure, complications from scleroderma |
| Resting place |
Mount Olivet Cemetery Detroit, Michigan |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–1953 |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanne Martel (m. 1937–194x) |
Tom Tyler (August 9, 1903 – May 3, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel.
Born Vincent Markowski in Port Henry, New York, to Lithuanian-American parents, Helen (née Montvilos) and Frank Markowski. he had two brothers: Frank Jr. and Joe (who changed his last name to Marko), and two sisters: Katherine (Mrs. Slepski), and Maliane "Molly" (Mrs. Redge). He made his First Communion in a small church in Mineville around 1910. His father and older brother worked in the mines for the Witherbee Sherman Company.
In 1913, his family moved to Hamtramck, Michigan, where he attended St. Florian Elementary School and Hamtramck High School. After graduating high school, he left home and made his way west, finding work as a seaman on a merchant steamer in the U.S. Merchant Marine, a coal miner in Pennsylvania, a lumberjack in the Northwest, and even a prizefighter.
Tyler was an amateur weightlifter sponsored by the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the late 1920s. He set a new world's amateur record for the right-hand clean and jerk by lifting 213 pounds (97 kg). In 1928, he won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) heavyweight weightlifting championship, lifting 760 pounds (340 kg)—a record that stood for fourteen years.
Around 1924, Tyler arrived in California and found work in the film industry as a prop man and extra. His first screen appearances as an extra included Three Weeks (1924), Leatherstocking (1924), and Wild Horse Mesa (1925). In 1925, Tyler was signed to a contract with Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) to star in a series of Western adventures with a starting salary of about $75 per week. His first starring role was in Let's Go Gallagher (1925). In the next four years, he starred in 28 additional Westerns for FBO, including The Masquerade Bandit (1926), The Sonora Kid (1927), The Texas Tornado (1928), The Avenging Rider (1928), and Pride of the Pawnee (1929). While romance was generally underplayed in these early Westerns, a number of up-and-coming heroines—including Doris Hill, Jean Arthur, and Nora Lane—contributed to the overall appeal of Tyler's films, which enjoyed critical praise and were popular with Saturday matinee audiences. His four years with FBO gave him valuable riding and acting experience, and made him a popular cowboy hero in the latter years of the silent film era.
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