Earl Henry Hulsey (September 13, 1880 - January 10, 1961) was a Dallas business man and former owner and operator of the Circle Theatre, where Vitaphone made its debut in Texas. The Circle Theatre opened on December 25, 1923.
Hulsey began construction on a building currently known as the Waco Hippodrome Theatre in 1913. Opened on February 7, 1914, the theater was a select road show house and spent much of its life as "Hulsey's Hipp," operated by Hulsey to offer major vaudeville attractions and movies. Hulsey and J.P. Harrison operated the Hippodrome from its opening until 1928. In the mid-1920s, Hulsey sold his downtown Dallas theater interests to Karl Hoblitzelle.
Hulsey was a native of Georgia's DeKalb County and owned several silent motion picture theatres, which he sold when he moved to Dallas to head a brokerage office. He helped form First National Pictures in 1917, and was also a member of the New York Stock Exchange.
References
- World War 1 Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com
- Texas Death Index, 1903-2000, Ancestry.com
- http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_062246/49
- "Joy Theatre in Dallas, TX - Cinema Treasures".
- "Waco Performing Arts". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21.
- "Group Tours - Escort Notes". Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
- "Hippodrome's demise another chapter in its near century of life".
- "Alan Austin 'Bud' Hulsey, Dallas entrepreneur who liberated friend from Brazilian prison, dies at 88 | Dallasnews.com - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News". Archived from the original on 2013-05-05.