Tom Mix a legend in his own time...The highest paid Star at Fox... until Talkies made his' future uncertain.

Tom Mix did his own stunts long before there were stuntmen and doubles handling the dangerous stuff. His silents for Fox were big box office and kept that studio solvent.

One of the top box office stars of the 1920s ...

Tom Mix has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  In 1958, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And at the 1987 Golden Boot program, Mix was the recipient of their In Memorial Award.

Tom Mix was a genuine Hollywood legend and his lavish lifestyle reflected that status, as his salary at Fox reached $17,500.00 ..... PER WEEK.

Tom Mix, loved fast automobiles, and drove them with accelerator to the floorboard.  Over the years, the ownership of the Mix death car has changed several times. In August, 2009, it was sold at a Bonhams auction 
 

AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG

After all these years, the iconic star’s personal toy, the 1937 Cord 812, will now be out in the open again, at the Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance in 2012. 

When my grandfather, Preston Williams, met Tom Mix in Hollywood, in 1927, he called his brother Tom Lyle and told him he had to get to California and see Mix's car collection.  Tom Lyle and Emery not only took Preston's advice, they eventually moved to California, bought Rudolph Valentino's home in Hollywood and like Tom Mix, had this custom, 1940 Packard Victoria, made by Bowman and Schwartz.

Tom Lyle's Packard Victoria today, owned and restored by Bill Snyder in California. 

Two Generations of Maybelline cousin's, loved dressing up like Tom Mix and Roy Rogers - 1930s -1950s

Maybelline Cousins love Tom Mix in 193o's.

 The Cadillac Cowboy, Tom Mix, pulled in $17,000 a week in the 1920's and was every little boys, Western Hero.

 

 Bill Williams dressed like Tom Mix, with his new wheels, in 1930.

 Noel Allen Williams dressed like Tom Mix, with his famous white hat, 1930.

 Cowboy Noel, getting ready to shoot em up in the Old West with his cousin Bill, in 1930.

Maybelline cousin's, kid's,  love Roy Rogers in the 1950s.

 Maybelline Cousins in the 1950's - like their parents in the 1930's - loved to dress up like Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans were the King and Queen, of  Saturday morning TV, from 1951 - 1957,  most every girl and boy in America 

had their own cowboy or cowgirl costume.

Here I am at my 6th Birthday, sitting on my dad, Bill Williams lap - a little amped on sugar it looks like - with my little sister Donna, sitting quietly on our grandfather, Andy Mac Donald's lap, while my grandmother Elna - who never wore eye makeup - smiles for the camera.  Notice the Lucite coffee table, sofa and Hawaiian drapes.  They came from the Villa Valentino, after it was destroyed, when the Hollywood freeway took it in 1951. 

Trigger rides again, as Roy and Dale give a big Cowboy shout out, in the Old West.  In 1954, all I wanted was a baby sister and brother, while  Donna on the other hand,  wanted a horse, just like Trigger.

Sharrie and Donna, Cowgirls to the core.

My cousin's, Chuck, (aka, BB1,) and Nancy, Noel Allen Williams, kids,  were the little Roy and Dale, of the family, and like us, they were crazy about Saturday morning television, on those tiny TV sets in the early 1950's.

  During the early 1950's, Maybelline began showing Before and After, commercials, on network stations and it was a really big deal for our family when one came on.

Remembering Tom Mix, Marjorie Woodworth, Carole Lombard, Zoe Mozert, Elyse Knox and Tom Lyle Williams.

Here are a few of my favorite comments on the Maybelline Book Blog this year.

                             Dear Sharrie.....

I live in Florence AZ where Tom Mix had his accident, there are still local residents who remember seeing the Cord being  towed into town and having a close up look at the vehicle,  there is also one resident who was friends with the coroners  daughter and says it was just as much the steering wheel  as the metal suitcase that killed him. on Maybelline cousins  worship Tom Mix, as little boys   Anonymous Thanks for this fascinating material. I just saw Marjorie  Woodworth in "Broadway Limited" and thought she was  terrific. I had previously seen her in "All American Coed."  Looking at her career, I was surprised that it was so short.  She seems to have suddenly become a star in 1940, and  was in demand in 1941 and 1942, but suddenly she flamed  out in 1943. Hollywood in the Golden Age (1920's-1950's)  was a brutal system. Typically, most women stars started  around 20, rose for four or five years, starred in five-ten  movies from 25-30 and then faded out of the business after  getting smaller and smaller roles for another five years. She  seems to have condensed this arc to 1/3 of its normal life  span. Of course there were the exceptional actresses who  continued in the business their whole lives, like Bettie Davis  and Katherine Hepburn. I am curious why she quit. She  was beautiful and talented and absolutely star material.  Why did she give up such a promising career at 24? I hope  it was not because she got married and her husband  forced her to quit. That happened to many promising  actresses back then.  Maybelline model and actress Marjorie Woodworth -  1941  Jay Raskin

Sharrie, I am grateful to Twitter. Without Twitter, I would never have found you. Your uncle would have ruled the world if he were starting out today. Think about how starved the world is for glamor. He walked, talked and breathed it into existence. I wish I had met him. I truly believe that after I get and read your book, I will feel like part of the family. Ameikins on MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK SEPT 6 - 13 Maybelline New York’s Colossal Cat Eyes Mascara will officially launch in October. Anonymous

The posters and magazine covers of the beautiful young models and starlets painted by Zoe Mozert, are very glamorous! Maybelline had such a presence in the Era of Elegance! Today Maybelline New York remains the No. 1 brand globally and that includes my home too! on 1930's Maybelline ad painted by Zoë Mozert, the most famous female pin-up artist of her day Shellyfire04

It seems like a pretty ruthless system doesn't it? There must have many beautiful & sometimes talented young girls that were shot into the glamorous world of Hollywood only to be cast aside 5 minutes later ,it must have been hard for a lot them to return to the normal world after all that promise & excitement. I can't believe how dashing Fred McMurray is,quite different from My 3 Sons. Carol Lombard is just beautiful ,it is so sad that she died the way she did. I adore those Maybelline ads ,i am on a mission to collect as many as i can:) on Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray star in 1938 film, True Confession, introducing "Miss Typical America" Eleanor Fisher.  Mrs. Cleaver


She certainly was a beautiful girl.It's sad that her fame was so fleeting.I hope she had a good life after all that,I'll have to look it up. Hi Sharrie,i hope you are well.My apologies for my absence,things have just been very busy as usual with my family. I wanted to tell you that i am now the proud owner of a 1930's?(i think) box of Maybelline.It still has the brush and mascara,the mascara has been used a few times.I was so thrilled when i bought it on ebay i think the seller thought i was a little odd lol! I am also looking at purchasing a Maybelline ad featuring Elyse Knox. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! :) on SEXY GLAMOR SHOT OF MAYBELLINE MODEL MARJORIE WOODWORTH - HAND SIGNED BY HER - HAL ROACH PLAYER  Mrs Cleaver

Wasn't Mark's Mother originally from KY. My mother always told me about them being friends before she went to Hollywood. Mother knew her from Fleming or Mason County, I think & they were friends. I would love to be able to contact Mark to see if he had ever heard of my mother, who would probably at that time have been called Doug (Douglas) Royce, Her "given name was Lola Douglas Royce... then she married & her last name was Fawns. When her first husband died during the war, she married my father, Oscar P Whitton, (Buster). I am Doris Whitton  on MARK HARMON'S MOTHER, MAYBELLINE MODEL, ELYSE KNOX DIES AT 94  

TOM MIX, Hollywood’s first Western Megastar .

A legend in his own time...The highest paid Star at Fox... until Talkies made Tom Mix' future uncertain.

Tom Mix did his own stunts long before there were stuntmen and doubles handling the dangerous stuff. His silents for Fox were big box office and kept that studio solvent.

One of the top box office stars of the 1920s ...

Tom Mix has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  In 1958, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And at the 1987 Golden Boot program, Mix was the recipient of their In Memorial Award.

Tom Mix was a genuine Hollywood legend and his lavish lifestyle reflected that status, as his salary at Fox reached $17,500.00 ..... PER WEEK.

                     Click on video, to see a tribute to Tom Mix.

Tom Mix, loved fast automobiles, and drove them with accelerator to the floorboard.



Over the years, the ownership of the Mix death car has changed several times. In August, 2009, it was sold at a Bonhams auction and there's some info and photos at:http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=USA&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=4225432&iSaleNo=17327&iSaleSectionNo=2#

AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG

After all these years, the iconic star’s personal toy, the 1937 Cord 812, will now be out in the open again, at the Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance in 2012. 

click for information.

When my grandfather, Preston Williams, met Tom Mix in Hollywood, in 1927, he called his brother Tom Lyle and told him he had to get to California and see Mix's car collection.  Tom Lyle and Emery not only took Preston's advice, they eventually moved to California, bought Rudolph Valentino's home in Hollywood and like Tom Mix, had this custom, 1940 Packard Victoria, made by Bowman and Schwartz.

 Here is Tom Lyle's Packard Victoria today, owned and restored by Bill Snyder in California.  Stay tuned as my cousin Chuck, aka, BB1, and I meet with Bill and his son, Steve Snyder of VAULTCARS, next week and view our great uncle's car.

Leaving Chicago, and heading to California in the late 1920's, changed Tom Lyle's life forever and this song, by Al Jolson, sums up the excitement and fun he must have felt as he packed up his car and headed, Out West. 

Thank you to my cousin, Linda Hughes, (Mabel Williams Hewes granddaughter,)  for another perfect song to go along with The Maybelline Docu-Blog's, Silent Film and concert series week.

Al Jolson - California Here I Come.mpg

In 1949, Al Jolson made a personal appearance tour to promote "Jolson Sings Again," the sequel to "The Jolson Story."

Prohibition - Hollywood - Cowboys!!!

As a Child, Preston Williams, craved the adventure and excitement he read about in Western, Dime Novels.  All he wanted, was to someday, be a real cowboy.

This picture of my grandfather, Preston Williams, was taken in 1922, during the Jazz age, of the Roaring 20's. Prohibition was in full force and Hollywood's heyday was just beginning.   

Preston was a born athlete, a boxer, swimmer and WW1 Vet, - perfect requirements for a stuntman in the movies.  His hero's were Tom Mix and Will Rogers who would eventually touch his life in the most unexpected way. 

Will Rogers 

click here.

Tom Mix.

click here.

                                                   Charlie Chase.
                                         click here.

Through comedian Charlie Chase, Preston did live out his dream, for a short time in Hollywood, but you'll have to read The Maybelline Story to see what happened. 

Buy a signed copy at www.maybellinestory.com.

Charley Chase in "APRIL FOOL" (1924) musical score by Ben Model. 

                  The Miracle Rider Trailer,Tom Mix ...

 
WESTERN COWBOY STAR - WILL ROGERS - BIOGRAPHY.  William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (November 4, 1879 -- August 15, 1935) was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentato​

Maybelline cousins worship Tom Mix, as little boys.

Maybelline cousins, Noel Allen Williams and William Preston Williams Jr. 

They may not have ended up on the back of a horse, but their love for beautiful automobiles, influenced by their uncle Tom Lyle Williams and Tom Mix, enriched their taste for elegance.

 The Cadillac Cowboy, pulled in $17,000 a week in the 1920's and was every little boys, Western Hero.

                             Tom Mix, 1937 Cord 812 Convertible. 

Mix was killed. In the fall of 1940, while speeding along a gravel road, between Tucson and Phoenix, when he came upon the site of a road crew. The Cord crashed through the barriers, swerved violently, plowed into the ditch, and rolled, killing 60-year old Mix. Today a monument marks the spot. 

 Tom Lyle Williams, with his 1940, convertible Packard, at the Villa Valentino.

Bill Williams with his first little car.  Christmas, 1926.

 

Noel Allen, standing outside his Daddy's garage, already a gentleman, automobile enthusiast.

 

 Bill Williams dressed like Tom Mix, with his new wheels, in 1930.

 Noel Allen Williams dressed like Tom Mix, with his famous white hat, 1930.

 Cowboy Noel, getting ready to shoot em up in the Old West with his cousin Bill, in 1930.

Bill standing on the running board of his uncle Noel's Buick, while his little cousin Noel Allen looks out the window, sad to leave, after a day of cowboy play!

Noel Allen's son Chuck, aka, BB1, inherits his fathers 1975 Rolls Royce, and restores it to its original glory.

 William Preston Williams lll, and Sharrie, in their father's 1977 Series 1, 13th edition, Clenet.   Five years after Bill's death, his favorite automobile is back, in its full glory.

See Bill's Clenet, Oct. 28 -30, at the Santa Barbara Concours D' Elegance and meet the family.

read more about Tom Mix and his incredible movie career, in The Maybelline Story.  Purchase a signed copy from me, at www.maybellinestory.com, on this website.