Tom Sizemore
Sizemore in 2013, photo by PrPhotos
Birth Name: Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr.
Date of Birth: November 29, 1961
Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Date of Death: March 3, 2023
Place of Death: Burbank, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, German, Scottish, around one eighth African-American, French, Irish, distant Native American [Cherokee or Creek], remote Welsh
Tom Sizemore was an American actor and producer. His roles included the films Born on the Fourth of July, Blue Steel, Point Break, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Passenger 57, Heart and Souls, True Romance, Striking Distance, Wyatt Earp, Natural Born Killers, Strange Days, Devil in a Blue Dress, Heat, The Relic, Saving Private Ryan, Enemy of the State, Bringing Out the Dead, Red Planet, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Big Trouble, Dreamcatcher, and Paparazzi, and the series Twin Peaks.
Tom was the son of Judith (Schannault), who was on an ombudsman staff, and Thomas Edward Sizemore, a lawyer and professor. His brother, Aaron Sizemore, was a writer.
His European ancestry included English, German, Scottish, French, Irish, and remote Welsh. In his autobiography, By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir, 2013, Tom stated that his maternal grandfather was the illegitimate son of a white plantation owner, John Oliver Chennault, and of a Native American woman, Nina. Similarly, in 2011, Tom stated that his maternal grandfather had African-American ancestry. Tom’s grandfather’s mother, Nina/Effie Tompkins, was African-American. People of African-American heritage sometimes described themselves as being of Native American descent. Tom’s paternal Sizemore family likely also had distant Native American, Cherokee or Creek, ancestry.
Tom had two children with Janelle McIntire.
Tom’s patrilineal line can be traced to Francis Sizemore, who was born, c. 1618, in London, England.
Tom’s paternal grandfather was Blevins Sizemore (the son of Wilburn/Wilber B. Sizemore and Margaret L. “Peggy” Asher). Tom’s grandfather Blevins was born in Kentucky. Wilburn was the son of Blevins Brock Sizemore and Rebecca Sizemore. Margaret was the daughter of David Wilkerson Asher and Nancy Jane/Patsy Sizemore.
Tom’s paternal grandmother was Vina Marie King (the daughter of James Garfield King and Nancy Jones). Vina was born in Kentucky. James was the son of Henry M. King and Paralee/Parlee Kelly/Kelley. Nancy was the daughter of John Jones and Mary.
Tom’s maternal grandfather was Samuel/Sam Schannault (the son of John Oliver Shannault/Chennault/Chenault and Nina/Effie Tompkins). Samuel was born in Georgia. John was white, and was a prominent political figure and planter in Georgia. He was the son of John Oliver/Nelson Chennault/Chenault and Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Barksdale McClendon/McLindon. Tom’s great-grandmother Effie was black, the daughter of Sam/Sim Thompkins and Odesa/Odessa Norman.
Tom’s maternal grandmother was Mildred Dean Hayes (the daughter of Robert Leslie Hayes and Lonetta “Nettie” Anderson). Mildred was born in Tennessee. Robert was the son of Richard A. Hayes and Elizabeth Ann Terry. Lonetta was the daughter of Henry Davis Anderson and Josephine “Josie” Exum.
Sources: Tom’s paternal grandfather, Blevins Sizemore, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Blevins Sizemore on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Tom’s paternal great-grandparents, Wilburn/Wilber B. Sizemore and Margaret L. “Peggy” Asher – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Tom’s paternal great-grandfather, Wilburn/Wilber B. Sizemore – https://gw.geneanet.org
Genealogy of Tom’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Blevins Sizemore – https://www.wikitree.com
Tom’s mother on the 1950 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogies of Tom’s maternal grandparents, Samuel/Sam Schannault and Mildred Dean (Hayes) Schannault – https://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of Tom’s maternal grandfather, Samuel/Sam Schannault – https://web.archive.org
Tom’s maternal great-grandfather, John Oliver Shannault/Chennault/Chenault, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Death record of Tom’s maternal great-grandfather, John Oliver Shannault/Chennault/Chenault – https://familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal great-grandmother, Nina/Effie Tompkins, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Nina/Effie Tompkins on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Tom’s maternal grandmother, Mildred Dean (Hayes) Schannault – http://www.tributes.com
Genealogies of Tom’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Henry Davis Anderson and Josephine “Josie” Exum – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Tom’s maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather, William Henry Cantrell – https://www.wikitree.com
https://www.geni.com/people/Wilburn-Sizemore/6000000013363309014?through=6000000013365041125
He was probably joking about the Native American thing just like the AA thing.
The guy is white as the pale driven snow and unless there is some reliable DNA evidence to the contrary I would take this guy’s claim to be part anything but white about as seriously as I’d take a claim that he’s part Klingon.
It’s very chic in Hollywood to claim remote non-white ancestry; almost as chic as adopting African orphans.
@ follers
Well I guess talking to you later, means now lol.
(Who’s old, Sizemore or Hall?)
Well they’re both old
@ Follers
If I’m not mistaken,didn’t Tom reveal that his granddad was actually part black?That he stated during his one man show,that his granddad told him to never reveal,that part of his heritage,that it would hurt his acting career.I don’t know if you ever saw the articles about it.
I did see that mentioned in this article.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/tom-sizemore-one-man-show-geffen.html
I was very confused about that, because in his autobiography, he says that while his grandfather “always thought of himself as a white man”, he (the grandfather) was actually the son of a white plantation owner father and an “American Indian” mother named Nina. He says there was “always a bit of mystery” about his grandfather’s heritage. But he doesn’t say anything about black ancestry. This autobiography was published in 2013, two years after the Los Angeles Times article about the one man show.
His grandfather’s obituary here names his parents:
http://tngenweb.org/dekalb/obituaries/obituaries-S.pdf
It appears that they were indeed never married. I could find the white plantation owner (John Oliver Chennault, Jr.).
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=32328706
But I couldn’t find any information on Tom’s grandfather’s mother, who was listed in the obituary as Effie Tompkins, and who Sizemore refers to as “Nina”.
It is certainly possible that she was Native American. Or perhaps she was a black woman who tried to pass as Native American, as I know some African-Americans did? Or she could have just been caucasian? It’s all very confusing.
Sizemore’s maternal grandmother’s genealogy is pretty well documented, and she was white. So it seems the mystery, such as it is, is with Sizemore’s maternal grandfather’s mother.
BTW, I didn’t include it in his entry because I just wasn’t sure enough, but I believe the maternal grandfather of Philip Baker Hall, who was listed as “White” on the 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses, was the same man who was listed as “Black” in 1880…
http://ethnicelebs.com/philip-baker-hall
This grandfather moved from the South to Detroit, just like Tom Sizemore’s grandfather.
Well i think he pulled a Carol Channing.He’s old now and just doesn’t care who knows what.Just my opinion,talk to you later
Who’s old, Sizemore or Hall? I do think there is some kind of “story” with Sizemore’s great-grandmother. I can’t find his grandfather on censuses before 1940. Perhaps he used a different surname.
He reiterated the story of his grandfather being black when he promoted his autobiography on “The Howard Stern Show”. Which makes it even more strange that he says his grandfather was Native American in the book.