Patrick Culliton
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Visual Effects
Patrick Culliton was born in Los Angeles in 1944. He spent his early
years in Massachusetts, then, moved to Hollywood, California with his
family in 1953. He grew up around the motion picture industry. The
actor Wallace Ford was an uncle as was Ted Haworth, the Oscar-winning
art director. Rita Hayworth was a cousin. He graduated from Hollywood
High in 1963. A year later, Patrick got his SAG card acting on an
episode of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" for producer Irwin Allen.
The role got him other jobs from Irwin Allen, and Patrick became a
member of the Irwin Allen "stock company." He was attending UCLA in
1968, when his reserve unit was called to active duty. He served with
the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta, Republic of Vietnam,
from November, 1968 to September, 1969. For his service, he was awarded
the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Returning to civilian life,
Patrick acted both on stage and on screen for the next thirty years. At
the same time, Patrick established himself as the leading authority on
mystery man Harry Houdini and has worked or consulted on many media
projects about him. Patrick has always been grateful to have had the
support of Irwin Allen, who went out of his way to put him back to work
after his tour in Vietnam. He is also very proud to have been a friend
and a student of pioneer African/American actor James Edwards. Patrick
has one child, Kieran Culliton, born in 1991. Patrick is fondly
remembered by fans of the Starman TV series for his portrayal of
Federal Agent Ben Wylie. Had Wylie not been George Fox's (Michael
Cavanaugh's) assistant, Fox would have rounded up the Starman (Robert
Hays) and his son (Christopher Daniel Barnes) by the Christmas episode.