By Lindsey Bever
lbever@neighborsgo.com

It might be reinventing itself as a bustling community, but those who have grown up in Oak Cliff know it as a cozy suburb of Dallas oozing with creativity and ingenuity.

Oak Cliff has produced imaginative minds and inspirational leaders such as Olympic cyclist Lance Armstrong, whose mother attended Adamson High School, and Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling.

And then there’s screenwriter Terry Southern, best remembered for his cult comedy, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the cold-war satire that continues to draw a sympathetic audience.

“Let’s remember those folks who were here before,” said Kirby Warnock, a 35-year resident and documentary film producer who wants to honor Oak Cliff’s history at The Texas Theatre. “We should be doing something to tell people about our rich cultural heritage.”

Warnock is launching a series, “The Soul of Oak Cliff,” at the theater, featuring films and performances from those who contributed to the community’s culture. Southern will be highlighted May 1, a day that Oak Cliff is proclaiming Terry Southern Day.

“We definitely want the awareness out there to let people know we have some great native sons,” said Dallas City Council member Delia Jasso, who has been working on Southern’s proclamation. “It’s important to honor our past so we know what we can do in the future. It doesn’t matter where you live or where you grew up; you can still do great things.”

Southern always aspired to be a novelist, writing short stories, book reviews and novels such as Candy, which he published in Europe. He dabbled in journalism, writing for Esquire. Later, he became a screenwriter for Easy Rider and The Cincinnati Kid.

“Those films he did, I watched growing up,” Warnock said.

‘Real love for Texas’

Southern grew up in Oak Cliff and went to Sunset High School.

“He had a full-blown Texas upbringing,” said his son, Nile Southern, who is working on a documentary, Dad Strangelove, about his father, who died in 1995.

Cpl. Southern left Dallas when he was recruited to serve in the U.S. Army from 1943-45, Nile Southern said, but his address was still on Junius Street in Dallas.

It wasn’t until last year that Nile Southern made his way down to his father’s old stomping grounds – looking for those who remembered him for the documentary.

That’s when he heard about Terry Southern Day.

“He didn’t like to blow his own horn so he’d probably hem and haw about it a little bit,” Nile Southern said. “He didn’t like the limelight. He didn’t feel that he deserved it, but it’d be nice to show him that he did.

“I think it’s great because Terry had a real love for Texas – that’s clear in his writing,” Nile Southern said. “He felt that he wouldn’t get the kind of support he needed for his writing in Texas, but he never left Texas behind although he left his accent. He kept that gregarious spirit that many Texans have. Many qualities stayed with him his entire life that were Texan qualities.”
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Lindsey Bever is a reporter for neighborsgo and can be reached at lbever@neighborsgo.com or 214-977-8051.