Art Mix (born George Washington Kesterson; June 18, 1896 â€" December
7, 1972), was an American character actor from the 1920s until the
mid-1940s.Prior to becoming an actor, Mix worked as a circus performer
and a boxer. He initially appeared under his real name, Kesterson,
before being given his stage name by Victor Adamson. Adamson
calculated that a cowboy named "Art Mix" would be associated somehow
with western superstar Tom Mix, and that small-town exhibitors who
could not afford Tom Mix's expensive films would be likely to use
cheaper films marketed with the lesser "Art Mix" brand name.Art Mix
appeared in over 200 film shorts and feature films. Although most of
his roles were in smaller and bit parts, he would sometimes be cast in
a featured role, such as in 1932's Border Devils, starring Harry
Carey. He was even given an occasional leading role, as in the 1935
"B"-western, The Rawhide Terror.Of his more than 90 feature films,
some of the more notable include: Sagebrush Trail (1933), starring
John Wayne; the 1939 classic Gunga Din, starring Cary Grant, Victor
McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; and the Academy Award-winning The
Westerner, starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan.
7, 1972), was an American character actor from the 1920s until the
mid-1940s.Prior to becoming an actor, Mix worked as a circus performer
and a boxer. He initially appeared under his real name, Kesterson,
before being given his stage name by Victor Adamson. Adamson
calculated that a cowboy named "Art Mix" would be associated somehow
with western superstar Tom Mix, and that small-town exhibitors who
could not afford Tom Mix's expensive films would be likely to use
cheaper films marketed with the lesser "Art Mix" brand name.Art Mix
appeared in over 200 film shorts and feature films. Although most of
his roles were in smaller and bit parts, he would sometimes be cast in
a featured role, such as in 1932's Border Devils, starring Harry
Carey. He was even given an occasional leading role, as in the 1935
"B"-western, The Rawhide Terror.Of his more than 90 feature films,
some of the more notable include: Sagebrush Trail (1933), starring
John Wayne; the 1939 classic Gunga Din, starring Cary Grant, Victor
McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; and the Academy Award-winning The
Westerner, starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan.
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