The Films and Life of Tom Tyler: Cowboy, Monster, Hero

Actor Tom Tyler is perhaps yet another performer from the 1920s-1950s who may only be remembered for his work in westerns and serials, but Tyler was different from many of his peers by looking to expand his acting opportunities and successfully becoming a character actor.

His non-western appearances include "Gone with there Wind," "Talk of the Town" (with Cary Grant and Ronald Colman) and "Samson and Delilah," among many others. Director John Ford made his part of his company of actors.

Tyler was the son of Eastern European immigrants who originally settled in upper New York State to work in the mines but then moved to Detroit to find employment in the auto plants. Tyler actually hitched his way across the country to Los Angeles to seek a career as an actor and after several years of struggle was chosen to have his own series of westerns in 1926.

He literally acted until the incurable disease he had was too much to bear, passing in 19564 at the age of 50.

His accomplishments deserve attention and celebration. How many people worked for directors Ford, Ron Ormand, George Stevens, Howard Hawks, as well as Ed Wood? How many other people gained a certain kind of film immortality by playing a murderous mummy ("The Mummy's Hand') and the first superhero in live action film ( "Adventures of Captain Marvel").

G. Michael Dobbs, the recently retired executive editor of Reminder Publishing, has spent most of his career in mass communications. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, freelance writer, radio talk show host, college instructor and was the editor of two nationally distributed magazines about animation. He has written eight books to date and is continuing to write as well as appear as a host for Focus Springfield cable television. He proudly lives in Springfield, MA, with his wife and four moderately disinterested cats.