Handsome Fred Thomson (1890–1928) was an American silent film cowboy, who rivaled Tom Mix in popularity in the mid-1920s. He was the no. 2 box office star for 1926 and 1927 and played the legendary Jesse James and Kit Carson. In 1928, he suddenly died of tetanus, only 38 years old. He should not be confused with silent film director Frederick A. Thomson.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1993/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Paramount.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3500/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4355/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Walter F. Seely, Hollywood / Paramount.
Frederick Clifton Thomson was born in Pasadena, California to Clara and Williell Thomson, a Presbyterian minister.
Fred attended the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1910 till 1913 and won the All-Around Champion title given out by the Amateur Athletic Union in 1910, 1911, and 1913.
Initially interested in the ministry, he became a pastor in both Washington, DC, and in Los Angeles, and subsequently married his college sweetheart, Gail Jepson, in 1913. Three years later, Gail died of tuberculosis. Following her tragic death in 1916, he left his fellowship and enlisted in the military.
During World War I, Thomson served as a U.S. Army chaplain in the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, known informally as 'the Mary Pickford Regiment'. While playing football, he broke his leg. Mary Pickford visited the patients in the hospital ward with her friend, screenwriter Frances Marion. (Other sources write that Fred was assigned as technical advisor for a Mary Pickford war film, Johanna Enlists (William Desmond Taylor, 1918), and thus he met Pickford's friend Marion.) Anyway, Thomson and Marion fell in love, and in 1919, after the war was over, they married with Pickford as the maid of honour.
Initially interested in directing, Thomson ended up acting in one of Frances' films, the drama Just Around the Corner (Frances Marion, 1921). The film was a success. Next, he had a co-starring role in a Pickford film, the drama The Love Light (1921), which was also directed and written by Frances.
In 1923, Thomson starred in his own action serial for Universal, The Eagle's Talons (Duke Worne, 1923), in which he performed his own stunts. Signed by Joseph P. Kennedy's studio Film Booking Offices of America, he made his debut for FBO in The Mask of Lopez (Albert S. Rogell, 1924). Thomson became a superstar at FBO: he was the no. 2 box office star for 1926 and 1927.
His April 1925 contract paid him $10,000 a week (equivalent to approximately $145,787 in 2019 dollars) and also gave Thomson his own independent production unit at the studio. In 1927, Kennedy—sensing that Thomson had reached the peak of his popularity and seeing a financial opportunity for FBO—arranged a four-picture deal with Paramount Pictures, one of the major Hollywood studios. The deal essentially ceded Thomson to the rival studio. For guaranteeing $75,000 in the financing, Thomson would star in Paramount productions. In return, Paramount would return the $75,000 in financing plus an additional $100,000 and pay Thomson $15,000 a week, wiping Thomson's salary off of FBO's books.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3379/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 434. Photo: Paramount.
Paramount's exhibition circuit was more prestigious than FBO's, and its cinemas, many located in larger cities, charged a premium for a ticket. In addition, Paramount boosted the price of a Fred Thomson picture to cover the backend deal with FBO and Thomson's hefty salary.
The new production arrangement meant that Thomson fans in rural theatres that were the core of FBO's audience often had to wait months for a chance to see a new Thomson picture, if it was even released to backwater cinemas, or were forced go to a larger city where the film was playing on the Paramount circuit.
Some critics found that the Thomson Westerns, which essentially were "B-pictures", were not suited for the high-end, more expensive cinemas they were being shown in. As a result, the Thomson-Paramount Westerns such as Jesse James (Lloyd Ingraham, 1927) and The Sunset Legion (Lloyd Ingraham, Alfred L. Werker, 1928) proved not to be as profitable.
In early December 1928, Thomson stepped on a nail while working in his stables. Contracting tetanus, which his doctors initially misdiagnosed, he died in Los Angeles on Christmas Day 1928. His final Western was Kit Carson (Lloyd Ingraham, Alfred L. Werker, 1928)
He was survived by his widow, screenwriter Frances Marion, and their children Richard Thomson (adopted) and Frederick C. Thomson. Because of her memories of Fred, Frances Marion could not live anymore on Enchanted Hill, their 160-acre estate in Beverly Hills with a house designed by Wallace Neff. So she sold everything, including Thomson's horse Silver King, the co-star of his films. In 1997, Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, bought the estate, up till then lovingly kept, bulldozed all of it, and basically didn't do anything else with it.
Silver King was legendary. It was a white Palomino horse seventeen hands high. Al Rogell, who directed Thomson's first seven Western films, told about Silver King: "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. Thomson trained him to do certain things and expected him to perform them."
Only three of Thomson's films have survived to the present day: Just Around the Corner is in the collection of the Library of Congress; The Love Light, starring Mary Pickford, has been released on VHS and DVD; and Thundering Hoofs has been released on VHS. In Thundering Hoofs, Thomson 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 film was delayed for weeks while Thomson recovered from his injury. Canutt told the story in the episode 'Hazard of the Game' in Kevin Brownlow's fascinating TV series Hollywood (1980), produced by Thames Television.
American postcard. Photo: F.B.O. Fred Thomson riding his horse Silver King in The Bandit's Baby (James P. Hogan, 1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3260/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount. Thomson is marked dead at the postcard.
Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Steve Vaught (Paradise Leased), Hollywood (Thames Television 1980), Wikipedia, and IMD.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1993/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Paramount.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3500/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4355/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Walter F. Seely, Hollywood / Paramount.
Discovered by Mary Pickford
Frederick Clifton Thomson was born in Pasadena, California to Clara and Williell Thomson, a Presbyterian minister.
Fred attended the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1910 till 1913 and won the All-Around Champion title given out by the Amateur Athletic Union in 1910, 1911, and 1913.
Initially interested in the ministry, he became a pastor in both Washington, DC, and in Los Angeles, and subsequently married his college sweetheart, Gail Jepson, in 1913. Three years later, Gail died of tuberculosis. Following her tragic death in 1916, he left his fellowship and enlisted in the military.
During World War I, Thomson served as a U.S. Army chaplain in the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, known informally as 'the Mary Pickford Regiment'. While playing football, he broke his leg. Mary Pickford visited the patients in the hospital ward with her friend, screenwriter Frances Marion. (Other sources write that Fred was assigned as technical advisor for a Mary Pickford war film, Johanna Enlists (William Desmond Taylor, 1918), and thus he met Pickford's friend Marion.) Anyway, Thomson and Marion fell in love, and in 1919, after the war was over, they married with Pickford as the maid of honour.
Initially interested in directing, Thomson ended up acting in one of Frances' films, the drama Just Around the Corner (Frances Marion, 1921). The film was a success. Next, he had a co-starring role in a Pickford film, the drama The Love Light (1921), which was also directed and written by Frances.
In 1923, Thomson starred in his own action serial for Universal, The Eagle's Talons (Duke Worne, 1923), in which he performed his own stunts. Signed by Joseph P. Kennedy's studio Film Booking Offices of America, he made his debut for FBO in The Mask of Lopez (Albert S. Rogell, 1924). Thomson became a superstar at FBO: he was the no. 2 box office star for 1926 and 1927.
His April 1925 contract paid him $10,000 a week (equivalent to approximately $145,787 in 2019 dollars) and also gave Thomson his own independent production unit at the studio. In 1927, Kennedy—sensing that Thomson had reached the peak of his popularity and seeing a financial opportunity for FBO—arranged a four-picture deal with Paramount Pictures, one of the major Hollywood studios. The deal essentially ceded Thomson to the rival studio. For guaranteeing $75,000 in the financing, Thomson would star in Paramount productions. In return, Paramount would return the $75,000 in financing plus an additional $100,000 and pay Thomson $15,000 a week, wiping Thomson's salary off of FBO's books.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3379/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 434. Photo: Paramount.
The legendary Silver King
Paramount's exhibition circuit was more prestigious than FBO's, and its cinemas, many located in larger cities, charged a premium for a ticket. In addition, Paramount boosted the price of a Fred Thomson picture to cover the backend deal with FBO and Thomson's hefty salary.
The new production arrangement meant that Thomson fans in rural theatres that were the core of FBO's audience often had to wait months for a chance to see a new Thomson picture, if it was even released to backwater cinemas, or were forced go to a larger city where the film was playing on the Paramount circuit.
Some critics found that the Thomson Westerns, which essentially were "B-pictures", were not suited for the high-end, more expensive cinemas they were being shown in. As a result, the Thomson-Paramount Westerns such as Jesse James (Lloyd Ingraham, 1927) and The Sunset Legion (Lloyd Ingraham, Alfred L. Werker, 1928) proved not to be as profitable.
In early December 1928, Thomson stepped on a nail while working in his stables. Contracting tetanus, which his doctors initially misdiagnosed, he died in Los Angeles on Christmas Day 1928. His final Western was Kit Carson (Lloyd Ingraham, Alfred L. Werker, 1928)
He was survived by his widow, screenwriter Frances Marion, and their children Richard Thomson (adopted) and Frederick C. Thomson. Because of her memories of Fred, Frances Marion could not live anymore on Enchanted Hill, their 160-acre estate in Beverly Hills with a house designed by Wallace Neff. So she sold everything, including Thomson's horse Silver King, the co-star of his films. In 1997, Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, bought the estate, up till then lovingly kept, bulldozed all of it, and basically didn't do anything else with it.
Silver King was legendary. It was a white Palomino horse seventeen hands high. Al Rogell, who directed Thomson's first seven Western films, told about Silver King: "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. Thomson trained him to do certain things and expected him to perform them."
Only three of Thomson's films have survived to the present day: Just Around the Corner is in the collection of the Library of Congress; The Love Light, starring Mary Pickford, has been released on VHS and DVD; and Thundering Hoofs has been released on VHS. In Thundering Hoofs, Thomson 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 film was delayed for weeks while Thomson recovered from his injury. Canutt told the story in the episode 'Hazard of the Game' in Kevin Brownlow's fascinating TV series Hollywood (1980), produced by Thames Television.
American postcard. Photo: F.B.O. Fred Thomson riding his horse Silver King in The Bandit's Baby (James P. Hogan, 1925).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3260/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount. Thomson is marked dead at the postcard.
Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Steve Vaught (Paradise Leased), Hollywood (Thames Television 1980), Wikipedia, and IMD.
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