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Show FILM COWBOY PASSES AWAY Fred Thomson Dies Following Operation; Was Famous U. S. Athlete. HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 26. (UP) Fred Thmson, noted star of western films, die'O early today In the Queen of Angels hospital. Failure to recover' re-cover' from an operation for gallstones gall-stones last week caused death. Thomson first was taken ill three weeks ago. A major operation was performed and he appeared on the way to recovery until Christmas eve. when his condition turned worse and was reported critical. Thomson was a favorite among his associates in the screen colony as well as to the hundreds of thousands thou-sands of fans who follow the perilous peril-ous trails of the western players. With his horse, Silver King, he had ridden to a place among the two-gun immortals of tho screen -Tom Mix, William S. Hart, Hoot Gibson and Ke'n Maynard. Was Fair.' His Athlete Before he entered films. Thomson Thom-son was known internationally as an athlete. He was born in Pasadena. Calif.. in 1891. He graduated first from Occidental college and then went cast to attend Princeton. At Occidental college he was a football, basketball, baseball and track star and at Princeton he starred in track and field events. In 1916 he was boy seout commis-sioneV commis-sioneV of the state of Nevada. During the war Thomson served as a chaplain in the 113 field artillery artil-lery of the 40th division. After the armistice was signe'd he won the pentathalon event at the inter-allied J athletic games. Just before he was to return to America from France he suffered n borken leg in a football game While recovering from the injury he met Frances Marion, famous scenario writer, whom he marrieM later. Coming to Hollywood, Thomson found work doubling for non-athletic western heroes and gradually worked himself to stardom. |