Tom Graves was the writer and researcher who began the idea of a production based on the 12 debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley that aired on ABC News in 1968. Having begun inquiries into the whereabouts of the vintage video footage of the debates in the early Seventies, it took Graves over 30 years to finally pry the videos loose from the only available sources. Graves was approached by documentarian Robert Gordon about the feasibility of a documentary film on the debates. It was at this point that Graves, Gordon, and filmmaker partner Morgan Neville came together on the project. Graves, along with Gordon and Neville, prepared interview questions and background data and participated in many of the interviews shown in the film, Best of Enemies.

Graves published the companion book to the film that includes the complete transcripts of the 12 debates. The book is titled Buckley vs. Vidal and is available in the U.S. and several foreign countries.

In addition to his film work, Tom Graves is perhaps best known as an author and journalist. He was the author of the award-winning biography Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson, which won the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award in Literature from the Blues Foundation. The book is considered the definitive text on the elusive and mysterious bluesman. Graves is an in-demand speaker and has often lectured on blues and the life of Robert Johnson.

Graves is also a wide-ranging journalist noted for his ability to get reclusive personalities to reveal their inner lives in penetrating interviews. He was particularly praised for his profile of the extremely reticent silent film star Louise Brooks who allowed Graves into her apartment in 1982 for a visit and interview. With the help of Quentin Tarantino Graves also re-discovered actress Linda Haynes, who had fled Hollywood in 1980 and had resisted virtually all efforts to locate her. These profiles were included in the acclaimed book Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers published by Devault-Graves Digital Editions.

Most recently, Graves did the first ever in-depth interview with the first Jamaican superstar, Millie Small, who had a worldwide hit in 1964 with the song "My Boy Lollipop." Miss Small also introduced the world to the sounds of ska, which later evolved into reggae. Millie Small had refused all interviews and offers to sing for over 40 years until she agreed to be interviewed by Graves who announced that the interview was "one of the most delightful interviews I've ever done with one of the most delightful people I've ever met."

Tom Graves resides in Memphis where he is well-known as a writer, author, and publisher. His independent publishing house, Devault-Graves Digital Editions, made world news in 2015 when it published the first J.D. Salinger book in 50 years, Three Early Stories, which has been translated into several languages and is available the world over.

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Tom Graves

Writer

Producer

Additional Crew

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