The Controversial Tom Mix Leap

 November 1, 2023

   Last night, the shutout was extended. Every year we have some candy on hand, but it's been 35 years and we have yet to receive one-single-trick-or-treater.

   Why? As a former real estate salesperson once told me: "Location. Location. Location."

   Meanwhile, we are going to finally pull the trigger on a feature I have been dying to do.

Daily Whip Out:

"The Day Tom Mix Died"

   Sometimes your greatest strength is your greatest weakness. When it came to daring do, Tom was fearless and because of that and the fact that he was a handsome real life cowboy he started pulling down $7,000 a week as a movie star doing his own dangerous stunts, like jumping Beale's Cut in a film called "3 Jumps Ahead" (1923).

   Yes, the film is directed by John Ford, who went by Jack early in his career. This early flick gave Mix a chance to do a variety of "jumps" to show off his action skills. Here is the big one, that got everyone talking.

Tom Mix on Tony in a publicity still
for the movie "3 Jumps Ahead"

   This photograph is very controversial. Some say it has been faked in while others say it was actually done and captured on film (the actual film has been lost, but one author claims he has seven frames of the contentious jump). One faction claims a stunt double did the actual jump. Others say Tom would have never stood by while someone else did it for him. I agree with that! Still, to my eye, it seems a little too good to be true—horse and rider seem a tad small for the scale—but there are more than a few historians who believe the two—Tom & Tony—actually made the jump. Whether it was faked, or not, one thing is certain, Tom Mix was famous for actually doing hairy stunts that were every bit as ridiculous. And, it was that very personality trait and attitude which got him killed.

"The Old West is not a certain place in a certain time, it's a state of mind. It's whatever you want it to be."

—Tom Mix