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 A number of theatre companies are associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Lafayette Players (1916–1932) Anita Bush, a pioneer in African American theater, began an acting company after seeing a show at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. She wante ...

. In 1933, he wrote several songs together with

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

. 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. In 1938, he was the managing

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, 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, orga ...

for the launch of the magazine ''Silhouette Pictorial''. Southern acted in a supporting role in the Western film, '' Two-Gun Man from Harlem''. He acted in the "all-colored cast" film ''

Mystery in Swing ''Mystery in Swing'' is an American murder mystery film released in 1940. It was directed by Arthur Dreifuss, based on a script by Arthur Hoerl. (The University of California at Berkeley erroneously states it was directed by Arthur Hoerl.) ''Mys ...

''. In a review, the '' Pittsburgh Courier'' said he gave the best individual performance by a male. War Perkins of the '' Chicago Defender'' 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. The following busin ...

production department". The film featured

Black spiritual Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a Music genre, genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritag ...

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. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

. 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, Southern, Hampton, and Otis René wrote a song together for the feature, titled "I'd Be Lost Without You". A

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of the song was made at Victor Records 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, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

played on the record, with Helen Forrest 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 Million Dollar Productions was a movie studio in the United States active from 1937 until 1940. It was established to produce films with Afric ...

'' (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'', w ...

'' (1938) as Dr. Bowdin *'' Two-Gun Man from Harlem'' (1938) as John Steel *'' Double Deal'' (1939) *''

Harlem Rides the Range ''Harlem Rides the Range'' is a 1939 American Western race film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It followed the groundbreaking 1937 Western musical film '' Harlem on the Prairie''. Plot Bob Blake (Herb Jeffries) and his sidekick Dusty ( Lucius Br ...

'' (1939) as Jim Connors *''

'' (1940) as Sgt. Phipps *''

Look-Out Sister ''Look-Out Sister'' is a 1949 film featuring Louis Jordan. Directed by Bud Pollard, it is a satirical, Western-themed musical and "horse opera". The film was produced by Astor Pictures. John E. Gordon wrote the story. The film remains in existence a ...

'' (1947)

References

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