Tom Tyler (August 9, 1903 – May 1, 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. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.
Early years
Tyler was born either Vincent Markowski or Vincentas Markauskas (sources differ) in Port Henry, Essex County, New York to Lithuanian-American parents, Helen ( Elena Montvila) and Frank Markowski ( Pranas Markauskas). 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 from 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.
Weightlifting
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 . In 1928, he won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) heavyweight weightlifting championship, lifting —a record that stood for fourteen years.
Early film career
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). Over 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.
In 1929, Tyler signed with Syndicate Pictures, where he made his last eight silent films in 1929 and 1930, including The Man from Nevada (1929), Pioneers of the West (1929), The Canyon of Missing Men (1930), and Call of the Desert (1930). In 1930, Tyler was loaned out to Mascot Pictures for his first "all talking" sound film, The Phantom of the West, a typical ten-chapter Saturday matinee cowboy cliffhanger featuring a mysterious secret villain and numerous stunts and action sequences. Kermit Maynard, the brother of Ken Maynard, was Tyler's stunt double in the more dangerous sequences. In 1931, Tyler made his first Syndicate sound film, West of Cheyenne, which showcased his excellent voice for westerns despite his awkward delivery of lines. Tyler concluded his tenure with Syndicate Pictures with Rider of the Plains (1931) and God's Country and the Man (1931). He was also strongly considered for the role of Tarzan by MGM in their Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Monogram Pictures
Syndicate merged into Monogram Pictures, which signed Tom Tyler to an eight-picture contract as part of the company's sagebrush series. These typical low-budget "quickies" included Man from Death Valley (1931), Single-Handed Sanders (1932), The Man from New Mexico (1932), and Honor of the Mounted (1932), each made for about $8000. All of his Monogram films received critical and popular support. When Monogram chose Bob Steele to star in the next season's series, Tyler moved over to Universal to do three chapter plays—a safari yarn called Jungle Mystery (1932), Clancy of the Mounted (1933), and Phantom of the Air (1933)—while managing to fit in four low-budget Westerns for John R. Freuler's Monarch Pictures, including The Forty-Niners (1932), When a Man Rides Alone (1933), Deadwood Pass (1933), and War of the Range (1933).