Born On This Day- December 6th... Thomas Edward Hulce

One degree of separation. Not all that often, but on occasion when I was working as a server, I would leap over the bounds of propriety & become friends with someone I had been waiting on. It was easy to start chatting with friendly regulars & it was a very short bridge to: “do you want to get together for a drink or something, sometime?” I was cautious, but the breaking of rules usually paid off with a sweet acquaintance or even a long time friend.

I had been his waiter of choice for a while. He usually came in late afternoon, after lunch & before the dinner rush, at Seattle’s best known, gourmet vegetarian café. I acknowledge that I enjoyed his work, but mostly I left him alone. One spring afternoon, mid-1990s, he came in with 2 other people, the playwright Peter Parnell & actor/producer Jane Adams. Jane & I shared an agent & had worked together filming The Vanishing. We had enjoyed each other’s company.

Eventually Tom Hulce & I became acquainted. Jane Adams had raved about our garden & Hulce wish to have a tour. I am in the habit of letting Tony Winners & Oscar Nominated actors visit at my house. I found him to be cordial, & if you are nice to your waiter you get points from me. I had heard that Hulce was tough stuff & pulls no punches as a producer. One Seattle actor told me: “Oh…you DO NOT want to work for him.” But on a summer day in my garden, sipping Prosecco, Hulce was a dream.

Tom Hulce is most recognized for his roles in the films Animal House or Amadeus, which garnered him an Academy Award nomination & helped the film win 8 Oscars. Hulce seems to be retired from acting, becoming a much-touted director & producer. He produced the Broadway smash-hit, Tony winning musical- Spring Awakening. The shift in profession seems to agree with him, the musical was nominated for 11 Tony Awards & won 8 of them, including Best Musical of 2007. In 2010's he produced American Idiot, which is currently on its way to the West End.

My favorite Hulce performance is in Dominick & Eugene (1988).

Tom is gay, I happen to know for sure. He lives in Seattle & NYC. As The Husband puts it: “He blew up real good”. Hulce is not the only curly haired darling who gained some pounds & became in touch with his inner-grouch. He turns 58 years old today.