Tom Southern, also known as Tommy or Thomas Southern, was an actor in American film and stage productions as well as a songwriter. He was a theater actor with the Lafayette Players. In 1933, he wrote several songs together with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

. For a few years before 1937, Southern was absent from acting in films and theater; the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' stated he "gave up acting as a career" around 1936 and became a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. In 1938, he was the managing

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

for the launch of the magazine ''Silhouette Pictorial''. Southern acted in a

supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

in the

Western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

, ''

Two-Gun Man from Harlem ''Two Gun Man from Harlem'' is a 1938 American contemporary Western film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It was produced by Merit Pictures, distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises and featured an all-African-American cast. Plot summary A man wro ...

''. He acted in the "all-colored cast" film ''

Mystery in Swing Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

''. In a review, the ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acquired in 1965 by ...

'' said he gave the best individual performance by a male. War Perkins of the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' newspaper listed Southern and three others as giving the best performances in the film. Around 1940, Southern partnered with drummer

on a musical film project, titled ''From Spirituals to Swing'', which was "accepted by the

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

production department". The film featured

Black spiritual Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

s and

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

. It was said to have an "all-colored cast". In 1940, Hampton announced that the film would release soon. The movie then "fell through" that year. According to a

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

, Southern, Hampton, and

Otis René Otis Joseph René Jr. was an American songwriter and record label owner. As a songwriter, he is notable as the co-author of "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", which became a signature song for Louis Armstrong. Biography Otis René was born in Ne ...

wrote a song together for the feature, titled "I'd Be Lost Without You". A record of the song was made at

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

in 1940, with Hampton credited for the music and Southern for the lyrics. Lionel Hampton and the

King Cole Trio Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

played on the record, with

Helen Forrest Helen Forrest (born Helen Fogel, April 12, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was an American singer of traditional pop and swing music. She served as the "girl singer" for three of the most popular big bands of the Swing Era (Artie Shaw, Benny Good ...

singing. After the recording, Otis René claimed he was not given a contract for the record and was left uncredited. He stated he intended to sue. Tom was married to Viola Southern.

Filmography

*''

Bargain with Bullets ''Bargain with Bullets'' is a 1937 American film. The first film produced by Million Dollar Productions, it features an African American cast of actors and performers. The gangster film is about the Harlem underworld. It was described as the fir ...

'' (1937) *''

Spirit of Youth ''Spirit of Youth'' is a 1938 boxing film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring then-heavyweight world champion Joe Louis in a story with similarities to his own real life. (According to IMDb, the Spanish title is ''La vida de Joe Louis'', wh ...

'' (1938) as Dr. Bowdin *''

'' (1938) as John Steel *'' Double Deal'' (1939) *'' Harlem Rides the Range'' (1939) as Jim Connors *''

'' (1940) as Sgt. Phipps *'' Look-Out Sister'' (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern, Tom American male film actors Harlem Renaissance Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors