Remembering Huf
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| Author | Elizabeth W. Pankey |
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| Subject | Tom "Huf" Hofstedt |
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| Published | EF Issue 2018.2 |
Publication date | Spring 2018 |
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| Pages | 13-14 |
| Website |
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Contents
Article Transcript
Fastest Pen Alive… no more
The Fastest Pen Alive, and a long time NCN/ISCA member, passed away on Thursday, May 3, 2018 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Tom “Huf” Hofstedt, born July 14, 1935, was a legend in the world of caricaturists for his speed. My first contact with Huf was maybe at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 when I was 12. I got to know him better through Cartoonists Northwest in the 1990s. Huf encouraged many young caricaturists to join the National Caricaturists Network. He won the speed competition so many times that NCN eventually retired him as undefeated champion so others had a chance to win.
Tom introduced me to his events booking agent, Terry Quick, who has helped promote many caricaturists in the Northwest. Terry supplied many insights into Huf’s career.
Though starting his career as a sign painter, Tom was given the opportunity to draw caricatures part time near the Space Needle during the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. He found his passion and the secret to being a successful street (live) caricaturist was speed and entertainment. Huf’s trademark method was drawing on acetate while using an overhead projector to display his work on a large screen behind him. Of course this was long before our present digital age.
Later in his career, Tom had to wear dark glasses because the glare from the projector hurt his eyes. Tom also wore a white cotton glove with three tips cut off to insulate his drawing hand and keep oils off the acetate.
Huf moved to Southern California after the Seattle World’s Fair. The next six years were spent drawing caricatures at Disneyland. He only earned 33.3 cents per caricature out of $1 per drawing. (This must have inspired him to work fast.) The next 12 years were in Honolulu at the International Marketplace. Terry Quick said “Half of the residents on the island today have caricatures drawn by Huf when they were kids!”
As newlyweds honeymooning in Hawaii in 1971, my husband and I may have seen Huf at the Marketplace and not known him. On recent trips to the islands, I didn’t see any caricaturists.
“Tom returned to Tacoma in the 1980s with a new wife, Susie and stepdaughter, Laura. He continued drawing for fairs and festivals, but branched out into corporate tradeshows. By the time he was 70, Tom had drawn well over 1 million caricatures by his estimation,” Terry Quick said. Huf made his final stint as guest speaker at the February 21, 2015 Cartoonists NW meeting. He drew everyone in attendance. 80 years old and he was still drawing and driving. My husband and I had our caricatures drawn by Huf at that meeting.
Special appearances by Huf around the world include Tokyo, Montreal, Switzerland, Australia and Canada. He worked at fairs across the USA as well and was most well known in this area for setting up caricature stands at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. Huf could draw 40 ($7) caricatures per hour. Nolan Harris and his gang have taken over that set up now.
An avid golfer and pool hustler, Tom went on to make custom pool cues in his spare time. Huf was also a singer and pianist and was a member of the Elks Lodge for years. His passion for drawing passed on to several of his children who went on to become Disney artists and prominent caricaturists. Terry Quick represented Huf for over 25 years. The funeral service for Tom Hofstedt was May 18th in Tacoma, WA. Huf is survived by his wife Susie, 4 children, 1 stepdaughter, 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
You can read more about Huf Enterprises on Linkedin, in the archives of the Seattle Times, the old Seattle Post Intelligencer, the Tacoma News Tribune or Penstuff (Jan2015) the CNW newsletter.
Bonus ISCA YouTube Video
See Also
External Links
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