Patrick Culliton

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.