Thomas E. Jackson

Thomas E. Jackson (July 4, 1886 – September 7, 1967) was an American actor born in New York City whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 67 years and eight decades. He was most frequently credited as Thomas Jackson, though he also appeared under the names Tom Jackson and Tommy Jackson.

Jackson entered the theater as a child actor at the age of twelve, making his Broadway debut in 1899 in The Ragged Earl, a short-run production at the Academy of Music. He continued appearing in stage productions over the following four years before stepping away from the theater for approximately a decade. Returning to the stage in 1913, he went on to appear in or produce roughly a dozen plays through the end of the 1920s. His Broadway credits during this period included Her Salary Man, Madeleine and the Movies, Shore Leave, Shipwrecked, and Broadway Boy, among other productions.

His final performance as a stage actor came in the hit play Broadway, directed by George Abbott and Philip Dunning, which ran from 1926 to 1928 at the Broadhurst Theatre. Jackson's portrayal of the sarcastic detective Dan McCorn in that production led directly to an invitation to reprise the role in Universal's 1929 film adaptation. Though he had appeared in minor roles in two films produced in New Jersey during the 1910s, the Broadway film marked his first featured screen role. He returned to Broadway one final time not as a performer but as a producer, backing the successful 1928 play Gentlemen of the Press.

The reception of his performance as Detective McCorn in the 1929 film Broadway launched a film and television career that would last 38 years. He built on that success with multiple performances in 1930 and earned further recognition in 1931 with a notable turn in Little Caesar, starring Edward G. Robinson, once again playing a sarcastic police officer. Among his more prominent roles was Richard Snow in the hit drama Manhattan Melodrama. Featured roles also included a part in the 1935 adaptation of The Call of the Wild. His filmography encompassed a wide range of productions, including The Thin Man (1934), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Beau Geste (1939), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Union Station (1950), and Stars and Stripes Forever (1952). Jackson appeared in footage shot for the original 1945 version of the film noir The Big Sleep, but his scenes were removed before the film's 1946 release. That footage, along with a scene featuring actor James Flavin, became available to general audiences when the original version was released in the 1990s. His final film appearance was an uncredited bit role as a minister in the 1966 production A Big Hand for the Little Lady.

Jackson began working in episodic television in 1954, appearing as a guest on dozens of programs including Dragnet, Adventures of Superman, Have Gun – Will Travel, and 77 Sunset Strip. His last screen appearance, also in 1966, was a guest role as the Governor in an episode of the NBC sitcom Camp Runamuck. He died of a heart attack in Hollywood at the age of 81 on September 7, 1967.