Tom Towles

Birth Name: Thomas E. Towles III

Date of Birth: March 20, 1944

Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Date of Death: April 2, 2015

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Place of Death: Pinellas, Florida, U.S.

Ethnicity: African-American, as well as 1/16th Scottish

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Tom Towles was an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Night of the Living Dead (1990), and House of 1000 Corpses (2003), among many others. He was a U.S. Marine.

He was the son of Katheryn and Thomas Towles. While he was not publicly known as a black man during his lifetime, his parents and all of his grandparents were black. One of his maternal great-great-grandfathers was a Scottish immigrant.

Tom usually played implicitly white characters. In Henry, he played a real life, white, serial killer, somewhat fictionalized for the film. In Night of the Living Dead, his character, on first reading, is implied to be a white man who is at least somewhat racist towards Tony Todd’s character.

His father was born in Texarkana, Arkansas. His aunts, his father’s sisters, were Lois Towles, a prominent concert pianist, and Dorothea Church, who was the first successful black fashion model in Paris.

Tom’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Elsworth/Ellsworth “Tom” Towles (the son of Golden Towles and Lucy Bradford). Tom’s grandfather Thomas was born in Alabama. Lucy was the daughter of a Scottish father and black American mother.

Tom’s paternal grandmother was named Arabella/Anabella Clark (the daughter of Cassabana Clark and Mary). Arabella was born in Arkansas.

Tom’s maternal grandfather was Richard James Sanderson (the son of Moses Sanderson and Katie Brown). Richard was born in Tennessee. Moses was the son of Richard Sanderson and Esther Lockridge.

Tom’s maternal grandmother was named Ida May Greene/Green (the daughter of Scott/Scot Green). Ida was born in Tennessee.

Sources:

Marriage record of Tom’s parents –

Tom’s father on the 1910 U.S. Census – Tom’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census –

Death records of Tom’s father –

Obituary record of Tom’s father –

Biography of Tom’s aunt (father’s sister), Lois Towles –

Obituary of Tom’s aunt (father’s sister), Lois Towles –

Marriage records of Tom’s paternal grandparents, Thomas Elsworth/Ellsworth “Tom” Towles and Arabella/Anabella Clark –

Tom’s paternal grandparents, Thomas Elsworth/Ellsworth “Tom” Towles and Anabella/Arabella Clark, on the 1930 U.S. Census –

Tom’s paternal grandfather, Thomas Elsworth/Ellsworth “Tom” Towles, on the 1880 U.S. Census –

Death record of Tom’s paternal grandfather, Thomas Elsworth/Ellsworth “Tom” Towles –

Tom’s paternal great-grandparents, Golden Towles and Lucy Bradford, on the 1900 U.S. Census –

Tom’s paternal grandmother, Arabella/Anabella (Clark) Towles, on the 1940 U.S. Census –

Death record of Tom’s paternal grandmother, Arabella/Anabella (Clark) Towles –

Birth record of Tom’s mother –

Tom’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – Tom’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census –

Death record of Tom’s mother –

Marriage record of Tom’s maternal grandparents, Richard James Sanderson and Ida May Greene/Green –

Tom’s maternal grandmother, Ida May Greene/Green, on the 1900 U.S. Census –

Death record of Tom’s maternal grandmother, Ida May (Greene/Green) Sanderson –