American prop man and actor who worked for the Hal Roach Studios in the late 1920s. He was one of (at least) 10 children (one passed before 1910) born to Russian Jewish immigrants Pearl and Moses Mintz. Several of Tom's siblings would also work in the motion picture industry, perhaps most notably Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sam Mintz (1897-1957); another brother, Jack Mintz (1895-1983), spent about five decades working in the industry as, at various times, an actor, gagman, writer, assistant director, studio manager, producer's assistant, and dialogue coach.
Tom's death occurred while he was horseback riding with a party of friends at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, when his horse was suddenly frightened by something and bolted. Mintz was unable to control the runaway horse and attempted to grab a nearby telephone pole, but instead he hit the pole and was reportedly killed instantly. A newspaper account says his head struck the pole and he broke his neck, but his death certificate gives his full cause of death as "Crushing injuries of the chest with traumatic rupture of the aorta. Fell from horse - accidental." Some accounts state he was working as a prop man for Roach at the time, but one (Spokane Daily Chronicle) says he was working as a prop man for Paramount. He is buried at Mount Zion Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Brother Jack was the informant on Tom's death certificate, but he didn't appear to know Tom's birth date; the certificate says Tom was "about 25" years old, and had been in California for 6 years. Tom's headstone also gives his age as 25. For a more potentially accurate idea of when Tom was actually born, we turn to U.S. Census records: the 1910 Census (taken 30 Apr) gives Tom's age as 5, the 1920 Census (taken 3 & 5 Jan) gives his age as 14, and the 1930 Census (taken 8 Apr) gives his age as 25; if the reporting is indeed correct and consistent (and if his siblings' ages and birth dates are any indication, it does appear to be), this indicates that Tom's actual date of birth likely falls somewhere within the period of January-April 1905.
His Dad's 1910 Naturalization Petition in Fargo, ND in naming his children, says his son "THOMAS" was born in "America 23 March 1905". For each of his 8 children he names, he states they were born in either "Russia" or "America". At Ancestry.com, the Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry cites "Tommy Mintz's"..... "Hebrew Name:......Moshe MEINTZ".
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