Tom Davenport

Biography

Tom Davenport, recipient of the 2021 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship, has dedicated much of his life to creating forums to teach the world about different cultures and ways of life. Through collaborations with hundreds of documentary filmmakers, he brings stories and traditions of American culture to Folkstreams, a free streaming service for nearly 400 hard-to-find documentary films about American folklife. The curated site includes interviews with filmmakers, background essays, teacher guides, and film transcripts. The films of Les Blank, Arlene Bowman (Diné), John Cohen, Amanda Dargan, Gerald Davis, Bill Ferris, Debora Kodish, Alan Lomax, Olga Nájera-Ramírez, Pete and Toshi Seeger, Bill Wiggins, and Steve Zeitlin are among those whose work lives on Folkstreams. Davenport had early contact with iconic figures in folklife and cultural heritage when his father, Robert Davenport, moved to Washington, DC during the Great Depression and became president of the Washington Book Shop, a left-leaning cooperative which hosted performances of Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly. He then discovered their 78 rpm records as a teenager in the 1950s. Davenport attended Yale and spent tim…

Directed

1. Soldier Jack, or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack (1989) — Director
2. Mutzmag (1992) — Director
3. Willa: An American Snow White (1998) — Director
4. Ashpet: An American Cinderella (1990) — Director
5. Born for Hard Luck: Peg Leg Sam Jackson (1976) — Director
6. Jack & the Dentist's Daughter (1985) — Director
7. Rapunzel, Rapunzel (1979) — Director
8. Bearskin, or The Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years (1984) — Director
9. The Frog King (1981) — Director
10. Bristlelip (1982) — Director
11. Hansel & Gretel (1977) — Director
12. It Ain't City Music (1972) — Director
13. The Brothers Grimm: American Folktales Part 2 — Director
14. The Brothers Grimm: American Folktales Part 1 — Director
15. The Upperville Show — Director
16. A Singing Stream (1986) — Director
17. Tai Chi Ch'uan (1969) — Director
18. Where Do They All Go? — Director
19. Remembering the High Lonesome (2003) — Director
20. Alex Green Tours Markham (2014) — Director
21. The Shakers (1974) — Director
22. The Ballad of Frankie Silver — Director
23. Thoughts on Beagling (1998) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Hansel & Gretel (1977) — Narrator
2. Where Do They All Go? — Self