Earl H. Hulsey

Earl Henry Hulsey (September 13, 1880[1] - January 10, 1961[2]) was a Dallas business man and former owner and operator of the Circle Theatre, where Vitaphone made its debut in Texas.[3] The Circle Theatre opened on December 25, 1923.[4]

Hulsey began construction on a building currently known as the Waco Hippodrome Theatre in 1913.[5] 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.[6] Hulsey and J.P. Harrison operated the Hippodrome from its opening until 1928.[7] In the mid-1920s, Hulsey sold his downtown Dallas theater interests to Karl Hoblitzelle.[8]

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.