Thursday, February 27, 2014

RIP Thom Fuller

Just got word from my brother that one of my mom's best friends, a man by the name of Thom Fuller, died yesterday.



Thom was significant in my life for several reasons. 

He was not just one of my mom's best friends, but her partner in several joint theatrical ventures. When our local community theatre denied my mom and Thom permission to put on the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" and bring in Broadway caliber stars to lead the cast in a community theatre production, those two took matters in their own hands.

They ended up producing the show themselves and found enough backers to support the production. Thom and she turned it into one of the most successful theatrical productions our small town had and has ever seen. All proceeds to that show benefitted the local children's therapy center. 

I was a child actor, and Thom directed me in many, many productions as a kid and teenager. I was the Charlie in his "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I was his Benjamin in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and I was thrilled to be cast in the chorus of "Little Shop of Horrors".

Thom was a fantastic, visionary artist of a director, and perhaps the most creative  theatrical person I ever worked with in my 20 years of doing theatre and stage productions.

I was involved in more than 10 shows that he was a part of- be it him starring in, directing, set design, or what have you. I will always be inspired by his artistry and his fierce commitment to his craft. He was a talented sculptor, painter, designer and could imagine an entire production- the lights, sets, costumes, songs, EVERYTHING- before he had even begun auditions.

Thom was one of my inspirations for moving to California immediately after I graduated high school. He had gone to college out here, and something inside my head told me that if someone like Thom could pick up and leave everything he knew in his small town in Missouri and move to the big city of Hollywood, that I could too.

Growing up as a closeted homosexual of divorced parents in rural, conservative Missouri, I could count on my one hand the amount of male role models that I had around me to support me and that actually guided me.

Thom was one such person. Though I didn't realize it then, it was important for my development to see, for the first time in my life, an out gay man who was fearless and uncompromising in who he was and what he stood for. He knew people openly talked about him and down at him and he didn't care. He knew his artistic abilities and he knew his strengths. It didn't matter that he was different because he knew that he had gifts that those hating on him would never possess. He was unafraid to challenge the mold of society and in my mind, he succeeded.

Thom gave me theatrical opportunities I never would have received anywhere else because he believed in me and my talent. Something that very few would help me foster before him and since. Perhaps he knew that I also was gay and wanted to help out his brethren. Perhaps he just appreciated my strengths and artistic abilities. Whatever his motivation, I will be forever in his debt for the opportunities he gave me and the role model he was for me. 

In a day and age where being gay was still not very accepted, Thom was unwavering. He didn't care what people thought of him. He was bold, brash, hilarious, and extremely clever. He used his strengths to counter the gossip and rumor mills surrounding his "lifestyle" and never once compromised who he was to try and assimilate. 

The biggest single lesson I learned from Thom Fuller was this: 

It is ok to be different. It is ok to not fit in. It is those of us who fight to stay different that will challenge and change the world.

Thom Fuller- you changed my world. You inspired several generations of kids: gay and straight to want to be artists. You inspired gay kids to not be afraid of who they are. You inspired me to be the independent person I am today and inspired me to never give in to the harsh words critics can say about you.

And I will never compromise. I will never change. 

Thom wouldn't want me to.



RIP Thom Fuller- one of my heroes.