Fred Thomson
(1927 or 1928)
Birth name	Frederick Clifton Thomson
Date of birth	February 26, 1890
Place of birth	Pasadena, California
Date of death	December 25, 1928
Place of death	Los Angeles, California

Frederick Clifton Thomson (February 26, 1890–December 25, 1928) was an American silent film cowboy. He was a natural actor that rivaled Tom Mix in popularity before dying at age 38 of tetanus. February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Pasadena is the name of several places: In the United States: Pasadena, California Pasadena, Maryland Pasadena, Texas In Canada: Pasadena, Newfoundland Pasadena is also the name of a submarine in the United States Navy, the SSN 752 Pasadena, the third naval vessel to bear that name and the first submarine... This article is becoming very long. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining for the year. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City 1,290. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining for the year. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... The classic vision of the American cowboy, as portrayed by Frederic Remington A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. ... Thomas E. Mix (January 6, 1880 – October 11, 1940) was an American film actor, the star of many early Western movies. ... Tetanus is a serious and often fatal disease caused by the neurotoxin tetanospasmin which is produced by the Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani. ...

Birth and Athletic Achievement

Born in Pasadena, California to Williell and Clara Thomson, he was the third of four sons. After graduating college, Fred competed in the National Amateur Athletic Union’s Field and Track Championship Meet in the summer of 1910. He won the event with 7009 points and the title of All-Around Champion.^[1] Pasadena is the name of several places: In the United States: Pasadena, California Pasadena, Maryland Pasadena, Texas In Canada: Pasadena, Newfoundland Pasadena is also the name of a submarine in the United States Navy, the SSN 752 Pasadena, the third naval vessel to bear that name and the first submarine... This article is becoming very long. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

He attended Princeton Theological Seminary from 1910 to 1913 and won the All-Around Champion title in 1911 and 1913. He married his college sweetheart, Gail Jepson and was ordained by the Presbytery of Los Angeles in September 1913. Three years later, Gail Jepson died of tuberculosis. The steeple of Alexander Hall Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary located in Princeton Township, New Jersey in the United States. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

During World War I, Thomson served in the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment (known as the Mary Pickford Regiment^[2]) in Arcadia, California as U.S. Army Chaplain. While playing football, he broke his leg. Mary Pickford visited the patients in the hospital ward with her friend Frances Marion. It was love at first sight and within 10 days Fred and Frances agreed to marry after the war was over.^[3] Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Conrad von... Mary Pickford. ... Arcadia is a U.S. city in Los Angeles County, California that is located about 20 miles Northeast of downtown Los Angeles It is the site of the Santa Anita Park racetrack and home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... A chaplain is typically a member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church; lay chaplains are also found in some settings such as universities. ... Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mary Pickford. ... Frances Marion Frances Marion (November 18, 1888 - May 12, 1973) was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century. ...

The 143rd were sent to France in August 1918, but did not see any action before the armistice on November 11, 1918. A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Movie career

Fred and Marion were married on November 2, 1919 at the Memorial Baptist Church in New York City. Initially interested in directing, he ended up acting in one of Frances' films Just Around the Corner (1921). The movie was a success. Next, he had a co-starring role in another Pickford movie, The Love Light (1921), which was also directed and written by Frances. In 1923, Fred starred in his own action serial The Eagle's Talons in which he performed his own stunts. November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Fred was the No. 2 box office star for 1926 and 1927.^[4] 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Death

In early December 1928, he stepped on a nail while working in his stables. Contracting tetanus, which the doctors initially misdiagnosed, he died in Los Angeles on Christmas Day in 1928. Tetanus is a serious and often fatal disease caused by the neurotoxin tetanospasmin which is produced by the Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus, at the first Christmas Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Fred and Silver King in Silver Comes Through (1927).

Silver King

Silver King was a white Palomino horse seventeen hands high. Al Rogell who directed Thomson's first seven Western films, told about Silver King: Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white or flaxen mane and tail. ...

"He did all of the work...everything in the early pictures—the mouth work, the jumps, the chases, the falls, quick stops—and could untie knots, lift bars, etc. He could wink one eye, nod his head yes or no, push a person with his head. Fred trained him to do certain things and expected him to perform them."^[5]

After Thomson's death, Silver King appeared in a series of three-reel Westerns from Imperial Studios, starring Wally Wales.^[6]

Filmography

Only two of Fred Thomson's movies have survived to the present day, The Love Light (VHS & DVD), starring Mary Pickford and Thundering Hoofs (VHS). (Silent movies were printed on nitrate film stock which was extremely flammable.) Film base is a transparent substrate which acts as a support medium for the photosensitive emulsion that lies atop it. ...

In Thundering Hoofs, Fred performs a dangerous jump from a moving stagecoach to one of the horses pulling the coach. He fell and suffered a compound fracture of his right thigh. Yakima Canutt completed the stunt. Production of the movie was delayed for weeks while Fred recovered from his injury. Yakima Canutt (November 29, 1896 - May 24, 1986) was an actor and stunt man in Hollywood movies of the 1920s through the 1950s. ...

• The Love Light (1921)
• Just Around the Corner (1921)
• Penrod (1922)
• Oath-Bound (1922)
• The Eagle's Talons (1923)
• A Chapter in Her Life (1923)
• The Mask of Lopez (1924)
• North of Nevada (1924)
• Galloping Gallagher (1924)
• The Silent Stranger (1924)
• The Dangerous Coward (1924)
• The Fighting Sap (1924)
• Thundering Hoofs (1924)
• That Devil Quemado (1925)
• The Bandit's Baby (1925)
• The Wild Bull's Lair (1925)
• Ridin' the Wind (1925)
• All Around Frying Pan (1925)
• The Tough Guy (1926)
• Hands Across the Border (1926)
• The Two-Gun Man (1926)
• Lone Hand Saunders (1926)
• A Regular Scout (1926)
• Don Mike (1927)
• Silver Comes Through (1927)
• Arizona Nights (1927)
• Jesse James (1927)
• Pioneer Scout (1928)
• The Sunset Legion (1928)
• Kit Carson (1928)

References

1. ^ More Than A Cowboy: The Life and Times of Fred Thomson and Silver King (1988), Edgar M Wyatt, Wyatt Classics, page 23.
2. ^ ibid, page 38.
3. ^ ibid, page 39.
4. ^ IMDB
5. ^ More Than A Cowboy: The Life and Times of Fred Thomson and Silver King (1988), Edgar M Wyatt, Wyatt Classics, page 52.
6. ^ ibid, page 110.

Further reading

• More Than A Cowboy: The Life and Times of Fred Thomson and Silver King (1988), Edgar M Wyatt, Wyatt Classics.

External links

• Fred Thomson at the Internet Movie Database
• Fred Thomson Collectible Cards
• Fred Thomson Memorial at Find A Grave