The Land of Make Believe

THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE

The above picture by Jaro Hess published in 1930, was given as a baby gift from my cousin, Robert Warren Camp, and hung over my bed from the time I was born. It is now in my office, and there is rarely a day that I don’t look at it. It has greatly influenced my life. It was the gift of Imagination and lets me go anywhere at any time and be whatever I want.

Music has inspired me to every emotional level…and has filled all of my senses.

Laughter has always been my best friend…right along with Jesus. It has also gotten me in trouble with both.

My Mother, Athol Hill Northam, besides the love of music and laughter, taught me that “the world owes no one a living…it was here first” and I would be “judged by the company I kept.” She also taught me that there is humor in any situation…if you look for it.

My Father, John Teter Northam, taught me to have a hard work ethic, to be honorable, to have Christian principles; that I would be better alone than in bad company and that there is nothing that I can’t do if I set my mind to it.

My Life has taught me to wonder what on earth I’m doing for heaven’s sake? Entertainment, whether through acting, singing, writing: songs, books, plays, poetry, music, or cooking or whatever I do…if I can give only one person a smile, or make them laugh, or feel good for a little while, or inspire them to be all they can be…that’s my gift…and I want to share with everyone.

Life is not a dress rehearsal…it’s the main performance! So give it all you’ve got, keep going…don’t cost a thing!

Tom Northam

Biography

Tom Northam is no stranger to entertainment. He is a multiple award-winning actor and singer having appeared in more than 135 theatrical productions. He has appeared throughout the United States and Europe in more than 4,000 performances as a singer and entertainer. He is the author of the books: O B, Where Are You, Wally Bearstone?, both fiction novels, Part Nigh…But Not Plumb!, a personal memoir, and Who Am I?, What Am I? What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?...a young man’s scratch and sniff guide through puberty.

He is the playwright and  composer of the story, lyrics and music for the musical score for his National Mature Media Award winning Broadway-style musical A Bag Full Of Miracles, as well as his new musical The Mad Widows…on Walnut Hill, and Sometimes A Rainbow, a hilarious musical comedy based on the homeless in Washington, DC. He has written several other plays and musical revues including: Standing Ovation, Faded Pictures, The Life and Times of the Robt. E. Lee,  and The Sandcrabs, as well as numerous other songs and theatrical productions. 

A successful executive in both the public and private sectors, he was instrumental in creating the professional field of facilities management. He was drafted into the US Army, worked many years for the Department of Navy, did numerous projects for the US Marine Corps, the US Air Force, and several civilian agencies including the US Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of State and the Executive Office of the President. He is retired from the US Administration on Aging. He lives in Virginia.

Achievements

Playwright
Plays:
The Sandcrabs
Faded Pictures
Musical Revues:
Life and Times of the Robt. E. Lee
Standing Ovation
Musical Comedies:
SUDS
A Bag Full of Miracles
Sometimes A Rainbow
The Mad Windows On Walnut Hill
Composer
Someone You’ve Not Met
A Bag Full Of Miracles
I Can Make Old Things New
Please Pardon Me
Could This Be Love?
Old Enough
Has Love Come My Way Again?
I’m The Rotten Lawyer Emner Strunk
I Needed Someone Special
Here’s To A Jolly Good Fellow
You Gotta See D.C.
I’ve Got It
Street People
Sometimes A Rainbow
They Call Me Mack The Knife
Once We Had Tomorrow
When Someone Sees
So They Will Be Free
Point of View
Big Little World
Building New Dreams
Everything I Need
I Love Life
Ain’t She Something Special?
Not A Little Bit Like Me
You Got Us
Old Tim Brooks
Mayor Clifford P. Cotton the Third
Late Night Saturday Blues
Don’t Get Connected To A Sailor
Why The Heck Are We Here?
Never Give Up
Actor
Training: Tom Daley, Jeff Corey
Movies: Funny Lady, and two Training Films for USN
Theatre:
Over 135 Stage Productions:
Best Actor by a Male: That Championship Season
Best Male Role: The Gingerbread Lady
Best Supporting Role in a Musical: Lun Thau on The King And I
Best Supporting Role in a Musical: Lt. Cable in South Pacific
Best Lead Role in a Musical: Robert in Company
Best Lead Role in a Musical: Lancelot in Camelot
Multiple awards for his Leading role: Dr. Frankenfurter in The Rocky Horror Show
Television: Hec Ramsey Series, Tom Northam Sings (8) Weeks, Summer Replacement KKOG-TV
Radio : WIBC, WFBM, KMOX, KTTV, KTLA, AFN Germany, Voice of America – Worldwide
Author
Part Nigh, But Not Plumb
Who Am I, What Am I, What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
Where Are You Wally Bearstone?
O.B.
Writer
Multiple published political articles
Multiple poems -published. Two Award winning: A Kid, A Cat, A Dog and A Wife; Please Pardon Me
Singer
Had a one-time repertoire of nearly 1,000 songs
Awards
Competitive Winner of a two-week Egyptian Music Camp Award
Multiple competition medals and trophies
Training
G. Wade Ferguson
Marcene Jardine
Venues
Night Clubs: The Palomino Club, Sammy’s Hen House, The Green Lantern, Riverside Rancho, The Red Door, Gay Nineties, Roaring Twenties, The Beverly Hills Hilton, Shakees Pizza, The Pizza Palace,Mickey Finn’s, Tne Santa Barbara Biltmore, Bassins in Washington DC, The International Press Club
Stage Entertainer. Pierce College Theater – Woodland Hills, CA
Valley Playhouse – Van Nuys, CA
Pasadena Playhouse – Pasadena, CA
Oxnard Auditorium – Oxnard, CA
Hilton Hotel – Beverly Hills, CA
Biltmore Hotel – Santa Barbara, CA
Allegama Theater – Santa Barbara, CA
Mickey Finn’s – San Diego. CA
Outpost Theater – Berlin, Germany
Harnack Haus – Berlin, Germany
Berlin Colloseum – Berlin Germany
USIA – Fifteen stage productions for East Germans – Berlin Germany.
Bassins – Washington, DC
International Press Club – Washington, DC
Greek Theater – Hollywood, CA
MGM Grand Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
St. Louis, MO.
Hyatt Regency Hotel – Washington, DC
Concert 2019, 2020, 2021 Locust Grove, VChoir
Church Choir: 1945 – 2022
Genre
Semi-Classical
Religious
Musical Theatre
Pop
Jazz/Rock
Country
Folk-Hillbilly
Recording Artist
A Night At The Palace Album
A Tribute To Valor Album
A Bag Full of Miracles Album
Sometimes A Rainbow Album
Narrator
Two Books: Part Nigh, But Not Plumb and Where Are You Wally Bearstone?
Thirty-four Training Films NCEL, Pt. Mugu, CA
Two Commercials: Global Teen Challenge
Musician
Piano
Clarinet: Seven years in Zionsville concert and marching band. 3rtd, 2n3, and 1st Chairs and in a Clarinet Quartet that won the highest award ever awarded in Indiana’s history.
Awards: Thirteen medals 1st and 2nd place
Guitar
Organ
Harmonica
Ukulele
Lecturer
Camarillo State Mental Hospital
Ventura School District – Middle and High Schools
NSMSES Port Hueneme, CA
University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, MD
National Organization of Counties,Las Vegas, NV
Artist/Creator
Miniatures
Rock Jewelry
Management
Management Executive in both the public and private sectors for nearly forty years. 27 years in public and 10 in private.
IFMA – one of 23 founding members of the International Facilities Management Association, a worldwide organization of nearly 250,000 members with graduate programs in 19 colleges and universities.
Political/Republicans – Founder of the LOW Republican Club
Consultant on the Field of Facilities Management
Interior Designer/Licensed
Real Estate/Licensed
Education
Grade School: Zionsville, IN
High School: Zionsville, IN; Van Nuys, CA
Junior College: Pierce College, Woodland Hills, CA; El Camino ,CA
College: Pepperdine University (W/Honors), Malibu, CA
Graduate: Washington Bible College; Working on MS Biblical Studies, Washington, DC
Hobbies
Cooking
Furniture Refinishing
Estate Sales
Horseback Riding
Skiing
Snow
Water
Skating
Ice
Roller
Military
Basic Training – Fort Ord, CA
Specialty Schools – Fort Ord, CA
Administrative School
Chaplain School
Permanent Assignment Chap[lain Division, Berlin Command, Berlin, Germany
Awards: Outstanding Class Leader. Outstanding Trainee of the Cycle, Outstanding Soldier in the European Command