"Go Jumbos!" shouted actor-singer Peter Gallagher (A '77) yesterday from the stage of the Cohen auditorium, where he received the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's 2006-2007 Light on the Hill Award.
According to TCU Senate President Mitch Robinson, the award recognizes Tufts alumni who have demonstrated "ambition, achievement and active citizenship in their personal careers." Former winners include actor Hank Azaria (LA '85), former NBC News President Neal Shapiro (LA '80) and current New Mexico Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Bill Richardson (A '70, F '71).
Before receiving the award, Gallagher took advantage of his return to the Hill to perform once again with the Beelzebubs, the a capella group of which he was a member of during his undergraduate years.
The musical introduction to the ceremony included a performance by the current Bubs, followed by two songs performed with Gallagher as well as many other Bubs alumni who came to show their support.
Next, Gallagher was introduced by Pamela Goldberg (J '77), a classmate of Gallagher's and the director of Tufts' Entrepreneurial Leadership Program at Tufts, which was one of the event's sponsors.
Other sponsors were the TCU Senate, the Alumni Association, the Beelzebubs, the drama and dance department and the Communications and Media Studies Program.
The introductions continued with Robinson, who said that Gallagher's personal success goes well beyond his recent role as Sandy Cohen, in the popular TV drama "The OC." Achievement certainly characterizes Gallagher, who has been in over 50 films, Robinson said.
Gallagher then delivered a speech to the packed auditorium. "Thank you everyone for giving me a chance to talk about myself," he joked. "It's the first time I've been back in 30 years ... but you guys haven't aged a bit!"
Gallagher began his speech with some inspirational words. "Ninety percent of life is showing up," he said. "If you continue to show up, you might just find yourself somewhere you want to be."
Though Gallagher is now where he wants to be, the road there wasn't so straight and certain. He spoke of his time at Tufts as one of self-discovery. At the time uncertain of his future, Gallagher graduated from Tufts as an economics major.
"I had absolutely no aptitude for economics," he said. "But I [had] never heard of anyone doing what they loved."
Even so, an increased interest in his extracurricular activities, which included singing with the Bubs and performing with Torn Ticket II, led him to pursue a career in acting.
He thanked Tufts for providing him the environment in which to make this discovery. "Tufts gave me a safe place to start practicing my stumble in the dark," he said.
This process, however, has not reached an end for Gallagher, who said that for him the stumbling continues. "You only get into trouble when you think you have it all figured out," he said.
As a result, he said that the trick is to embrace the stumbling. "I've recognized it as a personal little dance step," he said. This means that it can be important to make mistakes. "So don't screw it up, or go ahead and screw it up," Gallagher said.
"[You have to] find a way to do what you love ... If you don't know what that is, keep looking and keep showing up," he said.
Following his brief speech, Gallagher agreed to "shut up" and answer some questions from the audience. After deeming one student's comment that she was "dying" for him to attend her Sarabande concert a little "extreme," Gallagher went on to answer questions about his acting career.
He said that now more than ever a career in acting is similar to one as a CEO. "Nothing is certain but change," he said.
Gallagher said that he gave himself a seven-year timeline to start a career in theater after graduation. "Movies never crossed my mind," he said. "I thought if I could make it in theater, I'd die a happy man."
Gallagher's career, however, far exceeded his aspirations, as he went on to act on Broadway, in television and in movies.
Making decisions about what to act in, he said, is primarily a factor of gut instinct. "Success is a miracle," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time no one properly attributes the reason for that success."
Gallagher also emphasized the uncertainty of it all. "You just have to trust yourself," he said.
Speaking about his role in the academy award winning film "American Beauty" (1999), Gallagher expressed the anxiety that accompanies this uncertainty. "There was this silent dread that we knew it could be great," he said.
In addition to Gallagher's words of wisdom on life and his career, the audience left the event with a few personal details about Gallagher and his time at Tufts.
Besides serving as the site from where Gallagher was able to discover his talent and passion for acting, Tufts was the place where he and his wife of 24 years first met. "It was the first week of freshman year in Bush Hall," he said.
Though in response to one student's question Gallagher claimed to be unfamiliar with the Naked Quad Run, he said, "I ran around naked a little, but it wasn't an organized thing .... This was the early '70s!"
Gallagher's talk was also interspersed with political humor and critiques, coupled with some Tufts pride.
He praised the notion of entrepreneurship, paraphrasing President George W. Bush. "The thing that's wrong with the French is they don't have a word for entrepreneurship," he said.
"If only he had gone to Tufts," Gallagher said of Bush to the audience's cheers.
Recalling his very last economics paper before graduation, Gallagher said that he
learned that when one country imposes itself on another, the results can be disastrous.
"Who knew?" he joked. "G.W. should have been [a] Jumbo!"
The audience members, who welcomed Gallagher with a standing ovation, felt that they had really received a taste of the actor's charisma.
Junior Doug Terry, a current member of the Bubs, said it was a pleasure working with Gallagher to prepare for the ceremony. "He's really down to earth," he said.
"You can tell he's a perfectionist," he said, referring to Gallagher's work ethic while practicing for the ceremony.
At the end of the event, Gallagher left the students with a hope for their future success. "I wish you the best in all your journeys, stumbles, dances, whatever it is," Gallagher said.
"This may be the smartest you'll ever feel in your life," he said. "But that's okay, you'll get over it."
The ceremony was followed by a closed reception attended by Gallagher, the Bubs alums, TCU senators and other event sponsors.
