Thomas Howard Carr (July 4, 1907 - April 23, 1997) was an American actor and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

of Hollywood movies and television programs. Often billed as "Tommy Carr", he later adopted his more formal "Thomas Carr" birth name as his billing name.

Biography

Carr was born into an acting family on July 4, 1907 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. His father was the actor William Carr and his mother was the actress Mary Carr. Thomas Carr followed the family profession, and in 1915 began acting in silent films. From 1915 through 1953, Carr played small supporting roles in a number of low budget Hollywood films. However, Carr's star as an actor did not rise. In 1945, he turned to directing, and from 1945 through 1951 Carr directed numerous

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s for Hollywood's poverty row. Most of Carr's films were Westerns; however, in 1948 he was co-director (along with Spencer Gordon Bennet) of the live-action ''Superman'' serial. From 1951 to 1968, Carr's directing was focused mainly on television. He directed episodes of numerous television shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including episodes of ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...

'', '' Adventures of Superman'', '' Daniel Boone'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', and ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''. His older brother Stephen was a recurring cast member, in various roles, during the first season of ''Adventures of Superman''. Steve is also seen pointing "up in the sky" during the opening credits of the black and white episodes. Thomas Carr retired from directing in 1968. He died in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

on 23 April 1997.

Partial filmography

*''

Velvet Fingers ''Velvet Fingers'' is a 1920 American adventure film serial directed by George B. Seitz. Although the film is listed as lost by some sources, a copy is available in the archives of the Cinémathèque Française. Cast * George B. Seitz as Velvet ...

'' (1920) (as a young actor) *''

A Heart to Let ''A Heart to Let'' is a lost 1921 American silent drama film directed by Edward Dillon and starring Justine Johnstone. It was produced by Adolph Zukor offshoot production company Realart. Synopsis Agatha inherits a southern estate, but cannot ...

'' (1921) (as a young actor) *''

Polly of the Follies ''Polly of the Follies'' is a 1922 American silent romantic comedy film starring Constance Talmadge, Horace Knight, and Thomas Carr. It is presumed to be lost; all that is known to have survived is a trailer. An intertitle from the trailer stat ...

'' (1922) (actor) *'' The Road to Ruin'' (1928) (actor) *''

Men Without Law ''Men Without Law'' is a 1930 American pre-Code Western film directed by Louis King and starring Buck Jones, Carmelita Geraghty, Thomas Carr, Lydia Knott, and Harry Woods. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on October 15, 1930. Cas ...

'' (1930) (actor) *'' The Cherokee Flash'' (1945) *'' Alias Billy the Kid'' (1946) *''

The El Paso Kid ''The El Paso Kid'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by Norman Sheldon. The film stars Sunset Carson, Marie Harmon, Hank Patterson, Edmund Cobb, Robert Filmer and Wheaton Chambers. The film was released on Ma ...

'' (1946) *''

Red River Renegades ''Red River Renegades'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by Norman S. Hall. The film stars Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Tom London, Ted Adams, LeRoy Mason and Kenne Duncan. It was released on July 23, 1946 ...

'' (1946) *''

Jesse James Rides Again ''Jesse James Rides Again'' is a 1947 American Republic Western film serial. Plot Gunfighter Jesse James is framed for a Missouri bank job and murder by a black-cowled outlaw gang, known as "The Black Raiders". Unable to clear his name, him an ...

'' (1947) *''

Song of the Wasteland ''Song of the Wasteland'' is a 1947 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Jimmy Wakely, Lee White, Dottye Brown, Henry Hall, John James and Mike Ragan. The film was released on May 31, 1 ...

'' (1947) *''

Brick Bradford ''Brick Bradford'' is a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed on August 21, 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features ...

'' (1947) *''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' (1948) *''

Congo Bill Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed int ...

'' (1948) *''

The Maverick ''The Maverick'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and starring Wild Bill Elliott, Myron Healey and Phyllis Coates.Fitzgerald & Magers p.35 Plot Cast * Wild Bill Elliott as Lieutenant Pete Devlin * Myron Healey as S ...

'' (1952) *''

Captain Scarlett ''Captain Scarlett'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Thomas Carr (director), Thomas Carr, that was shot in Mexico. The film is set in France following the fall of Napoleon, stars Richard Greene in the title role as a Robin Hood- ...

'' (1953) *''

The Desperado ''The Desperado'' is a 1954 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Thomas Carr (director), Thomas Carr and written by Daniel Mainwaring. It is based on the 1950 novel ''The Desperado'' by Clifton Adams. The film stars Wayne Morris ( ...

'' (1954) *'' Dino'' (1957) *'' The Tall Stranger'' (1957) * ''

Cast a Long Shadow ''Cast a Long Shadow'' is a 1959 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Thomas Carr (director), Thomas Carr and starring Audie Murphy and Terry Moore (actress), Terry Moore. The film was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Wa ...

'' (1959)

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 30.

External links

*
Tommy Carr
in middle age,signed portrait(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Thomas 1907 births 1997 deaths American film directors American male film actors Male actors from Philadelphia 20th-century American male actors Male Western (genre) film actors