With the death of Tom Middleton Sept. 20, 2010, we have lost an original. Tom had a different drummer to march to in his careers as screen and television actor, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and Saturday Review of Literature, and, for many years, creator of Double Crostic puzzles for The New York Times.
Born in Charleston, S.C., Tom grew up in Bronxville, N.Y., where he graduated from Bronxville High School. After a sojourn in the Army Air Corps, he majored in philosophy at Princeton, dined at Cottage, and was active in Triangle Club. After graduation in 1949, he took up his career in acting. From 1952 to 1955 he divided his time between Paris and Rome, acting in films and theater in English, French, and Italian.
In Going Back, our 50-year book, Tom delineated his many credits. He wrote: “Judging from a good many conversations I’ve had with friends — senior citizens, gentlemen-at-ease, and (enough of those euphemisms) old farts — I am by no means alone in finding retirement a rat race,” and, “We should be grateful that our years of lechery, carnal sin, and general depravity antedated these dreadful times.”
Tom is survived by his widow, Jeannie, and his cousin, Jenks Middleton ’48.