A Dinner Party for Tom Tyler: The Wallace Brothers Circus

Traveling and performing with the Wallace Brothers Circus back in 1937 certainly had its benefits for Tom Tyler. He got to meet many fans, visit many cities and towns across the nation, and continue doing his favorite charity work: visiting orphans and disabled children, often inviting them to see him perform under the big top. No doubt Tom also enjoyed working with the many performers of Wallace Brothers Circus, meeting and making new friends. One such friend led her to host a special dinner party for Tom Tyler at her house in Springfield, Illinois.

According to an article in The Illinois State Journal Register, Springfield, IL dated August 5, 1937, Wallace Brothers troupe member Mrs. Thomas Burton hosted a dinner party at her house, inviting Tom Tyler as a special guest while on the road. Mr. and Mrs. Del Diver, T. P. Lewis with his son Ted Lewis Jr were among just a few of the many guests who were employed with Wallace Brothers Circus. The dinner must have been a wonderful one for Tom, getting the chance to share happy memories of his career in film plus his performance with the circus. Mrs. Burton already had several years under her belt with Wallace Brothers, and getting to reunite with some of the other performers she already knew allowed her to introduce them to Tom. Being a troupe member, or professional acrobat, Mrs. Burton shared something in common with Tom Tyler, who also performed acrobatic feats of strength in the circus, often on the trapeze, when he was not riding on horseback around the ring as part of his regular performance.

Such an event as this dinner party must have held a special memory for Tom Tyler once his stint with Wallace Brothers Circus was completed and he resumed his film career in Hollywood, where he continued to live his ambition as an actor.

Hitching a ride on horseback with Tom Tyler at the circus

When he performed with the Wallace Brothers Circus back in 1937, Tom Tyler enjoyed many special moments when it came to meeting fans. One particular performance made a lasting impression upon Tyler fan Doran Peck, who was lucky enough to see his hero in person at the circus.

Born in 1927, Doran was 10 years old when he had that exciting encounter with Tom Tyler under the Big Top. The son of Lucille Peck, Doran lived in La Harpe, Illinois with his parents but was visiting relatives in Keokuk, Iowa when he had the opportunity to attend the Wallace Brothers Circus. Doran was lucky to have the privilege of sitting in the front row which must have made him feel even more close to the western film star. Perhaps it was the sheer amount of cheering on from the boys and girls that day which made Tom Tyler survey his fans as he rode on horseback around the ring and decide to give Doran the ultimate thrill of his life: a ride on the back of Tom’s circus horse!

The event was reported in The Hancock County Quill, the newspaper for La Harpe dated August 4, 1937, Doran climbed onto the horse and sat behind Tom as the two trotted along the ring, no doubt being the envy of the other young men who watched them in action. As all truly exciting events in life worth talking about for days after and even passing down to the younger generations, Doran shared the news with friends and family.

One may ask, why did Tom Tyler specifically select young Doran Peck for a ride upon his horse? One possible theory is that Doran reminded Tom of his silent film co-star, the child actor Frankie Darro. Were one to view a photo of Doran at the age of 10, he might pass for a young Frankie. By the time Doran reached his 20’s, however, the evidence is even more clear: he really did resemble Frankie Darro!

Like Frankie, and Tom Tyler, young Doran had that ambitious drive so prevalent among young American boys of the late 1930’s through early 1940’s. He settled on becoming an accountant, and as soon as he graduated from high school, entered college. When Doran graduated from the University of Denver in 1949 with a degree in accounting, his first job was with a steel firm in Provo, Utah. He studied hard to become a certified public accountant (CPA), passing a rigorous exam at the age of 22, according to The Hancock County Quill, dated August 17, 1949. Eventually, he opened his own office with a partner in Denver. The office was located in Majestic Building, located at the corner of 16th Street and Broadway in Denver.

Now that he was cemented in a successful career, Doran married in 1952, meeting his wife while residing in Denver. Eventually the couple had two sons together, which gave Doran Peck the opportunity to share that historical moment of his life, when he rode on the back of Tom Tyler’s circus horse with his hero.

Signing a card for Tom Tyler

Nowadays the signing of a digital card for a famous person is quite easy: the interested fan is provided a link to the card either by email or social media, then navigates to the fields to fill out, such as name, city and state. But did you know that the non-digital card that Tom Tyler received was soon after he filmed “Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941?

The exact details of how this all came about are unknown, it could have been a marketing tactic offered through Republic Pictures, although it may have been an idea on behalf of the Odeon’s manager, Jack Smith, who offered the suggestion to Tom’s fans when the famous serial was released. Located on 7 E. Main Street in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the Odeon placed a special advertisement in the Shawnee News-Star dated February 21, 1942 requesting all young cinema patrons who attend the opening night of “Adventures of Captain Marvel” sign a large card measuring 60” x 40” in size. The card itself was most likely sturdy posterboard, white in color, large enough for many children to sign for it to be sent their hero. Once Smith mailed it to Tom Tyler on behalf of Republic Pictures, Tom in return sent a thank you letter to the Odeon. The letter was reproduced in full in the Shawnee News-Star dated March 29, 1942:

The signers of the card must have been pleased as punch to have Tom thank them for such a special gift. The cinema ad bearing the special notification appears below:

 

Tom Tyler and his birth family

In observance of Tom Tyler’s 119th birthday, August 9, 2022, I’d like to share some birth (and death) information about his family and where his birth ranking is among his other four siblings. First, some information about his parents.

Frank Markowski was born on August 15, 1873 in Lithuania; his wife Helen Mantivila was born three days after, on August 18 of the same year. Rare is it for a married couple to share such close birthdates, perhaps even rarer if they share the same exact birthdate. Together, they had five children which they raised upon settling in Port Henry, New York. One interesting thing to note is that Frank and Helen’s first child, Frank Michael, was born in Lithuania prior to the small family immigrating to America.

The five Markowski children were born in the following order:

Frank Michael Tyler (born September 21, 1900; died July 21, 1975)

Tom Tyler (Vincent Markowski) (born August 9, 1903; died May 1, 1954)

Molly Redge (born December 24, 1906; died October 28, 1987)

Joseph John Marko (born November 18, 1907; died May 6, 1972)

Katherine Slepski (born February 17, 1911; died August 1, 1972)

Katherine being the youngest, was also the closest to Tom, eventually becoming his caregiver during the last years of his life due to scleroderma’s effects on his body. Sadly, Tom’s father Frank died in 1935 at the age of 61, before getting a chance to see his second-born son become the first superhero on film, Captain Marvel. Eight years later, his mother Helen died, at the age of 70. The family plot is located at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.

Aventuras de Tom Tyler blog celebrates its five-year anniversary!

It is hard to believe that the last five years since the inception of this blog flew by – not to mention having the material and creativity to keep it going. The first post written was Welcome to the Trigger Tom Blog!  and was certainly the appropriate opening to information about Tom not seen in his biography by Mike Chapman. Keeping an ongoing, unique niche blog dedicated to Tom Tyler (apparently the only one of its kind to exist ever since the earliest days of the Internet) with engaging and interesting information about Tom has at times been challenging but fulfilling in its own way, bringing little elements of his background to life.

As Aventuras de Tom Tyler enters the New Year of 2022, the search for Tom’s lost silent films and Monogram Pictures westerns continues – and any updates will be made here on this blog.

On a final note for this blog entry – three years from 2022 will mark Tom Tyler’s 100th Anniversary of his debut as a leading man in silent film. Specifically, September 1925 when “Let’s Go Gallagher” was released for exhibition across the nation. “Let’s Go Gallagher” remains the Holy Grail of lost Tom Tyler silent films – here’s hoping that it will be rediscovered in 2022.

Meet Imogene, a special Tom Tyler fan

While one of the most fascinating insights into Tom Tyler’s personality was the type of charity work he did as a famous Hollywood star – visiting orphanages as his unique way of giving back to the community, and inviting them to see him in person when he traveled the nation back in 1937 with Wallace Brothers Circus, the following event is sure to tug at the heart strings of the reader.

A young girl and very special fan of Tom’s named Imogene Brown lived at 203 South Charles St. in Belleville, Illinois. She loved watching Tom Tyler’s movies and even wrote him a fan letter or two during the 1930’s at the height of his career. In an article from The Belleville News-Democrat, August 7, 1937, her name is mentioned along with Tom about his national tour with Wallace Brothers circus. At the tender age of seven, her letter must have touched Tom rather deeply, enough for him to invite her personally to see him perform at the circus, riding horseback and performing muscular feats upon the high bar. In Imogene’s own words, "There are times when being a shut-in is not so bad", upon speaking on the phone with Tom Tyler’s representative who made it a priority to call her. So why was Imogene a shut-in, for want of a better word, invalid?

In her letter to Tom Tyler, she described what happened to her as a toddler which resulted in her being handicapped. Confined to a board which held her spine in place, a horrific accident occurred to her when she was two years old in her hometown of Clinton, Indiana. Playing outside with friends, little Imogene fell onto the pavement the wrong way, which resulted in a spinal injury, two vertebrae cracking. Due to her young age, Imogene’s doctors could not perform surgery on her until she reached the age of eight, to happen at Shriner’s Hospital in St. Louis. Unlike present-day medicine, which would have little Imogene wearing a brace to hold her spine in place, she remained immobile for five years as a child, strapped to a special board. Can you imagine young Imogene, unable to move as she wished, running and playing with her friends, while she had to be confined to a certain position? Chances are she would dream of walking, running, dancing – and even horseback riding while watching Tom Tyler westerns during the early 1930’s. Just receiving the news she was invited to see her hero at the circus making an appearance in her hometown must have had her dancing on air:

Magnanimous Despair alone
Could show me so divine a thing
           - Andrew Marvell

Residing in Belleville, Illinois by 1936 with her parents according to The Belleville News-Democrat, December 4, 1936, Imogene did attend the local school, Washington School, by means of using a special bench built just for her by the school janitor, who was handy in creating a “desk” just for her use. Being disabled certainly did not hinder Imogene’s ability to excel at academics, for she remained a straight-A student in grammar school. Neither did her disability prevent her from practicing tap-dancing at home before bedtime, while remaining strapped to her special board. The injury did not affect her foot movement ability, thankfully, and it did help blood circulation in her lower half. Upon speaking with Tom Tyler’s representative, little Imogene must have felt tremendous joy being able to take part in an activity with her friends, which was to attend the circus. Not that she was unhappy about not taking part in everything with her friends, for earlier in 1937, she celebrated her seventh birthday party in April that year, playing the role of hostess. However, the circus was going to be her first main event to attend, and at the encouraging of her hero, Tom Tyler. Better yet, she would get to meet one hundred children from St. John’s Orphanage, Belleville, also attending the circus, courtesy of Tom Tyler’s invite.

The Belleville News-Democrat, IL, December 4, 1936

Imogene Brown was Tom Tyler’s guest of honor, and, strapped to her support board, was in a special place of the audience next to her parents where her view of his act would remain unobstructed for the duration of the show. One can only imagine just how bright her smile was that day, her face lighting up the audience like a spotlight:

And of condensed Rays a Gem to make,
'Twould be the brightest Lustre of a Crown,
And an esteem invaluable take
- Thomas Heyrick

To be sure, Imogene must have had a grand time that day at the circus, enjoying and cheering Tom Tyler’s performance, a day to be remembered long afterward. After all, who would not want to attend the circus and be the honored guest of its #1 touring star? Tom Tyler lived up to his public image and always kept his major fan base in mind. Perhaps most importantly, Tom was, for one day in a little girl’s life, a real-life superhero – five years before he portrayed the most popular superhero in the world on the silver screen, in “Adventures of Captain Marvel”.

Note: If anyone knows whatever became of Miss Imogene Brown of Belleville, Illinois, born April 9, 1930, if she grew up and married, had children, please contact me (aventurasdetomtyler_@_triggertom.com – remove underscores) and I will include it here as an update. Thank you!

Remembering Tom Tyler: 67 years ago (a week from) today

As we move in to the 67th year since Tom Tyler’s passing, the social media pages for Aventuras de Tom Tyler will be commemorating him during the last week of April 2021 through movies and tv shows from his film career, up to the end. You are invited to join us; please share posts of these movies and tv shows, and for those of you who first saw Tom Tyler appearing on popular television westerns like “The Lone Ranger”, “The Gene Autry Show”, and “Steve Donovan, Western Marshal”, keep in mind that a rare disease like scleroderma does not define its victim. Tom shall always be remembered the way he wanted to be remembered.

Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AventurasDeTomTyler/

Our Twitter page: https://twitter.com/AventurasDeTom

Tom Tyler: A conversation piece?

The thought of a Hollywood actor being labeled a “conversation piece” may seem amusing to most people but that is exactly what Clifton Webb, the star of movies like “Laura” (1944) and “Mr. Belvedere Goes to College” (1949) has in fact called Tom Tyler, according to a Hollywood column in The Tampa Tribune (December 11, 1935). This was around the same time when Tom appeared at a party given by Dorothy DiFrasso, the popular Hollywood hostess during the 1930’s, for she was mentioned in the newspaper column at the same time.

Chances are that Webb was probably at the same party that Tom was, admiring the shy handsome B-western star who was the center of attention for some of the actors and actresses in attendance. Enchanted with Tom’s sparkling eyes and dazzling smile, they were struck by Tom’s ability to be congenial yet not an extrovert, especially in a social setting. Being politely brief when engaging with the other Hollywood stars, Tom and his peers discussed their most recent film roles as well as their next roles in the movies. It is unknown if Tom’s weightlifting career was ever the topic of discussion among the A-list stars although it is possible that some actresses took the time to admire his muscular physique, if only to elicit a shy reply from Tom.

Combining the charm factor with his level of attractiveness, there was reason for the most prominent of Hollywood actors and actresses to talk about Tom Tyler, statements made about him to others were always positive and complimentary.