America has always loved its cowboys.

Even before the frontier was declared closed in the late 19th century, people voraciously consumed dime novels that told fictional stories about real people, from Billy the Kid to Bat Masterson. And starting in the 1870s, celebrities like William “Buffalo Bill” Cody put on live shows that put cowboys front and center.

Early single-reel films showed some of the stars of these shows in later years, demonstrating skills like shooting.

By the turn of the 20th century, the advent of motion pictures got mixed together with cowboys and the Wild West. In 1903, “The Great Train Robbery,” which set the shape of the Western genre for decades to come, premiered.

That movie launched Glibert “Broncho Billy” Anderson as the first Western star.

It wouldn't be long before there were others.

Born near State College in Centre County in 1880, Tom Mix grew up in DuBois in Clearfield County and learned to love horses from his father, who worked as a stable master.

In 1898, at age 18, he enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. Despite later studio publicity claims, he wasn't a Rough Rider, and his unit never went overseas.

What Mix might have lacked in combat experience he made up for in horsemanship, though. His debut film “The Cowboy Millionaire” showcases both Mix's acting ability and the skills he and the other cowboys in the movie possess.

In “The Cowboy Millionaire,” Mix plays the title character, John Bud, who inherits $10 million from his uncle — the equivalent of $350 million today.

The film uses both documentary style footage of cowboys riding bucking horses and standard silent film acting and leans heavily on the stereotype of a cowboy as someone quick to draw — and fire — his revolver, whether from anger or in celebration.

Bud's cowboy friends come for a visit — scaring his wife, terrorizing servants and breaking up a theatrical performance with gunplay. When they leave, he finds himself relieved to have his quiet life back.

The next year, he'd appear as himself in “Ranch Life in the Great Southwest,” a short documentary that highlighted Mix's abilities as a cattle wrangler.

Mix had the skills to back up his claims. He won national shooting and roping contests in both 1909 and 1910.

After the success of that film, Mix became one of the earliest Western stars.

His earliest movies were made by Selig Polyscope, and between 1909 and 1917, he appeared in more than 100 Western films for the company. By then, Selig was in financial trouble and Mix jumped ship to Fox Pictures, which offered him a wider audience and more lucrative opportunities.

“Initially Tom's films at Fox were similar to those he had made at Selig,” according to the Tom Mix Museum Website. “One reel quickies. The public, however, was becoming impatient with 15 minute movies and soon Tom and Fox were making multi reel feature films. In 1917 Tom made four one reel comedies and two feature dramas. In 1918 he made six feature films and only one single reel.

“As Tom became more popular the budgets for his films grew, his costumes became more elaborate and he became more popular at the box office. Tom Mix made 85 films with Fox studios making both he and William Fox millionaires. The days at Fox were Tom's finest in the motion picture industry. Sadly only a few of the movies from this period are available in the United States today.”

It was during his time with Fox that Mix would work with one of his most famous co-stars, Tony the Wonder Horse.

A circus program promoting Mix and Tony put it this way: “Every patron of the motion picture theater knows Tom Mix and his wonder horse Tony, who for years have been almost inseparable ... Tom is the only master Tony ever had and the only person who has been on his back, which may partly account for their extreme love for each other.”

Tony was a true co-star for Mix. He got equal billing with Mix, the first horse to earn such an honor. And he had three Tom Mix movies named after him: “Just Tony” in 1922, “Oh! You Tony” in 1924 and “Tony Runs Wild” in 1926.

Tony and Mix were popular, but not always critically acclaimed. A columnist for “Photoplay” offered this assessment of “Just Tony,” “Somebody said of this picture that it was acted by a horse but unfortunately not written by one.”

Tony was noted for the tricks he could perform, including untieing Mix's hands, as well as for the stunts he undertook.

Shari Kizirian, writing for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, described some of the action in 1926's “The Great K&A Train Robbery.”

“Fifteen minutes in, before leaping out a hacienda window into the drink then over a fence, all while carrying two riders, Tony is tethered to a caboose, available for Mix to hop on and ride to save another day,” Kizirian wrote. “It’s rather nonchalantly done but seems a particularly reckless thing to ask of a horse.”

And many of Tony's stunts simply wouldn't fly today, but he retired before the American Humane Association started overseeing animal performers in film.

But Tony was well cared for, even if he performed dangerous stunts. He lived until 1942, and his age is reported as anywhere from 32 to 42, but most accounts put him at age 40.

After more than 10 years employed by Fox, Mix was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, reportedly making $17,500 a week — more than $300,000 in today's money.

His high salary, the high production costs on his movies and the launch of lower-budget imitations of Mix's oeuvre led to tension at Fox, which was also interested in transitioning to talkies. Mix left the studio in 1928 and made five films for Film Box Office, which was owned by Joseph P. Kennedy, father of future President John F. Kennedy, before leaving Hollywood for a few years and touring with the Sells-Floto Circus.

In 1932, Mix appeared in his first “talkie,” one of nine he would produce with Universal Pictures.

His final screen appearance was in “The Miracle Riders” in 1935, a 15-episode serial.

By then, Tom Mix was more than a cowboy and more than a movie star. He was a brand unto himself. Starting in 1933, Ralston Purina produced the series “Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters,” but Mix himself was never on the show.

Injuries from his life of dangerous stunts — including a bullet wound to the throat — meant his voice wasn't suitable for radio. Instead, the role of Tom Mix was performed by four different actors over more than 15 years on the air.

The Ralston radio show actually outlasted its namesake.

Mix died in October 1940, when he lost control of his car outside of Florence, Ariz.

The first sentence of the UPI article announcing his death and funeral would likely have resonated with him.

“The last roundup has called Tom Mix,” the reporter wrote.