WNN Weird News Network #4 – The Humble Poet Tom C. Armstrong Radio Interview by Lee Stevens

My writer friend and major mentor the late Tom C. Armstrong was a tremendous individual. Lee Stevens interviewed Tom on WLAC 1510AM Radio in June of 1983. Tom always supported me and encouraged me as an actor. He attended all my college performances at Austin Peay State University and professional theatre after that. I also competed in forensics and read Tom’s work in the poetry events. I remember doing five minutes of his epic poem Upson Brown Upside Down or Prometheus Bound in Leather, a poem about a young black man struggling to find his place in the world through the sport of boxing at Nashville’s David Lipscomb University. This poem has dialogue and could be made into a film. After my reading one of the judges questioned whether my interpretation was the author’s intent. I retorted that Tom was sitting in the back row of the room if he wanted to ask him.
Tom called me every day of his life, literally 7 days a week just to tell me he loved me. He would say “Hi Tone, how’s my good guy? This is just a love call my friend. And, then he would usually tell me how his wife Beverly and their cats were doing. He was best friends with my dad and had a list of dozens of folks he would call on a daily basis. He buried his cat “Tiger” on our property and wrote poems about him
Tom wrote and published poems for my Dad, my aunt and my son as well as his grandchildren some of which are included in a reading by Tom at the end of this interview.
Tom wrote for comedians like the Smothers Brothers. He wrote for the Tomorrow show starring Tom Snyder. He wrote short stories, films, plays and songs. He was nominated for writer of the Year by the Writer’s Guild for his 52 hour radio show “The History of Country Music.”
Tom wrote the first Country Music Musical Play slated for Broadway that the main character Vern Anthony, a Karate instructor/Country Singer who was based on a composite of me and my Dad Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Vern Pratt.
Tom billed himself as the “Humble Poet.” He considered it a humorous oxymoron. A style of poetry called “shorties” was named after his work. His most popular series of shorties was called God Regarding. It featured one liners that were brilliant like God Regarding Televangelists “Good Help really is hard to find.”
The photo you see while listening to the interview is me awarding Tom a certificate of appreciation and honorary black belt for his support of the sport of Tae Kwon Do at the 1983 Kentucky State Olympic Tae Kwon Do Nationals qualifying event in Hopkinsville, Kentucky for senior and junior Olympics competition. You barely can see my dad at his right shoulder running the sound board and my brother Kevin who is at his left who placed 1st winning the Men’s Heavyweight black belt title. Behind me is one of my student’s father Mr. Henry Giese. His son Steve won a Gold medal at Junior Olympic Nationals and our team was the number one team nationally in 1983 & 1984 the first two years Tae Kwon Do was introduced officially into Olympic competition.
Tom unfortunately passed away before the Broadway Country musical “Its a funny Old World was launched.” I spent one whole summer choreographing the Karate dance fights kind of like West Side Story. I still have the script and some of the music if anyone is interested in producing this play on Broadway which in my view still holds up today.
I hope you enjoy this interview.

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