Cullum, John 1930-

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CULLUM, John 1930-

PERSONAL:

Born March 2, 1930, in Knoxville, TN; son of E. V. (a banker) Cullum, Jr.; married Emily Frankel (a dancer, choreographer, playwright, and novelist), 1959; children: John David. Education: University of Tennessee, B.A.; graduate studies in finance at the University of Tennessee.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Jeff Berger, Writers and Artists Agency, 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024-6095.

CAREER:

Actor, director, and screenwriter. Actor in television series, including (as Pa Thatcher) The Doctors, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1963; (as David Gideon) The Edge of Night, 1966-1967; (as Artie Duncan) One Life to Live, 1969; (as Henry Carliner) Buck James (also known as Heart of Texas), American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1987; (as Holling Gustaf Vincoeur) Northern Exposure, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1990; (as Judge Barnes) All My Children, ABC, 1997; (as Robert McGrail) To Have and to Hold, CBS, 1998; and (as David Greene) ER, NBC, 1999-2000. Actor in television movies, including (as Aaron Burr) The Man without a Country, ABC, 1973; (as Jamison) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, ABC, 1978; Summer, 1980; (as Jim Dahlberg) The Day After, ABC, 1984; (as Robert Allardyce) Shootdown, NBC, 1988; (as Reverend Eugene Endicott) Money, Power, Murder (also known as Dead Air), CBS, 1989; (as Fred Mitchell) With a Vengeance, CBS, 1992; and (as Judge Merle Coffey) Inherit the Wind, Showtime, 1999. Appeared in television specials, including (as Roman captain) Androcles and the Lion, NBC, 1976; (as title role and himself) Carl Sandburg: Echoes and Silences, 1981; and "An Evening with Alan Jay Lerner," Great Performances, PBS, 1989. Also appeared in Looking Back, 1981. Guest star on television series, including The Defenders, The Equalizer, Quantum Leap, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Touched by an Angel, and Roswell. Director of the episode "All American," Quantum Leap, NBC, 1990.

Actor in films, including (as Andrew) All the Way Home, Paramount, 1963; (as Laertes) Hamlet, 1964; (as Reverend Immanuel Quigley) Hawaii, United Artists, 1966; (as Edward Rutledge) 1776, Columbia, 1972; (as the president) The Act, 1982; (as Elton Stuart) The Prodigal, 1983; (as deputy attorney general) Marie: A True Story (also known as Marie), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1985; (as Ben Willing) Sweet Country, Cinema Group, 1986; (as Algernon Pendleton) The Secret Life of Algernon, Marano Productions/Phare-Est Productions, 1997; (as Link Curren) Ricochet River, Dee Gee Entertainment, 1998; and (as Jack) Held Up, Trimark Pictures, 1999.

Actor in stage productions, including (multiple roles) Saint Joan, Phoenix Theatre, New York, NY, 1956, then Coronet Theatre, New York, 1956-1957; (as citizen, cobbler, and servant) Julius Caesar, Shakes-pearewrights Theatre, New York, 1957; (as Grimaldi) 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Players Theatre, New York, 1959; (as Mastax, general manager, and judges) The Jackass, Barbizon-Plaza Theatre, New York, 1960; (as Duke of Orleans) King Henry V, New York Shakespeare Festival, Belvedere Lake Theatre, New York, 1960; (as first gentleman) Measure for Measure, New York Shakespeare Festival, Belvedere Lake Theatre, 1960; (as lord) The Taming of the Shrew, New York Shakespeare Festival, Belvedere Lake Theatre, 1960; (as Sir Dinadan) Camelot, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, then Majestic Theatre, New York, 1960; (as Johnny Sykes) We Take the Town, Shubert Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1962; (as Cassius) Infidel Caesar, Music Box Theatre, New York, 1962; (as King of France) King Lear, New York Shakespeare Festival, New York, 1963; (as Cyril Bellamy) The Saving Grace, Writer's Stage, New York, 1963; (as Timothy) Thistle in My Bed, Gramercy Arts Theatre, New York, 1963; (as count) The Rehearsal, Royale Theatre, New York, 1963; (as Exasper T. S. Deeter) Come to the Palace of Sin, Theatre de Lys, New York, 1963; (as Laertes) Hamlet, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York, 1964; (as title role) Hamlet, Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI, 1964; (as Dr. Mark Bruckner) On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York, 1965; (as Don Quixote) Man of La Mancha, American National Theatre and Academy Theatre, New York, 1966; (as Father Jerome Fogarty) "The Frying Pan," (as Tom Dorgan) "Eternal Triangle," and (as Denis Sullivan) "The Bridal Night," Three Hand Reel (triple-bill), Renata Theatre, New York, 1966; (as Edward Rutledge) 1776, 46th Street Theatre, New York, 1969; (as Lord Bothwell) Vivat! Vivat Regina!, Broadhurst Theatre, New York, 1972; (as the king) The King and I, Jones Beach Theatre, Long Island, NY, 1972; (as Thomas Mendip) The Lady's Not for Burning, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1973; (as Billy Bigelow) Carousel, Jones Beach Theatre, 1973; (as Don Medigua) El Capitan, Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC, 1973; (as Charlie Anderson) Shenandoah, Alvin Theatre, New York, 1975; (as Bobby Horvath) The Trip Back Down, Longacre Theatre, New York, 1977; (as Sigmund) The Archbishop's Ceiling, Eisenhower Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 1977; (as Oscar Jaffe) On the Twentieth Century, St. James Theatre, New York, 1978; (as Sidney Bruhl) Death Trap, Music Box Theatre, 1980; (as Ebenezer Scrooge) A Christmas Carol, Ford's Theatre, 1980; Hey, Look Me Over, Theatre at Avery Fisher Hall, New York, 1981; Whistler (solo show), Hartford, CT, 1981, then Provincetown Playhouse, New York, 1981-82; The Magistrate, Hartman Theatre, Stamford, CT, 1982; The Portage of San Cristobal of A. H., Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT, 1983; (as Victor Prynne) Private Lives, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1983; (as title role) Cyrano de Bergerac, Syracuse Stage, Syracuse, NY, then with Alliance Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA, both 1984; (as Guy) Doubles, Ritz Theatre, New York, 1985; The Yearling, Alliance Theatre, 1985; (as Tom Sawyer [some sources cite Thomas Gray]), The Boys in Autumn, Circle in the Square, New York, 1986; (as waiter) You Can Never Tell, Circle in the Square, 1986-1987; Heathen Valley, Philadelphia Festival Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, 1987; Woman in Mind, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, 1988; (as W. O. Gant) Look Homeward, Asia, Syracuse Stage, 1988-89; (as Charlie Anderson) Shenandoah, Broadway, 1990; (as Sir George Dillingham) Aspects of Love, Broadway, 1996; (as Joe Keller) All My Sons, Criterion Theatre, New York, 1997; (as Cap'n Andy) Show Boat, Broadway production, 1997; (as Tobias Vivian Pfeiffer III/Schuyler Lynch) Old Money, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, New York, 2000; and (as Caldwell B. Cladwell) Urinetown, American Theatre of Actors, New York, 2001; also appeared in The Elizabethans, In the Voodoo Parlor of Marie Lebeau, and Kings. Appeared (as Mr. Peters) in the touring production Mr. Peter's Connections, British cities, 2000.

Stage manager for King Lear, Players Theatre, 1959. Director of stage productions, including The Red Blue Grass Western Flyer Show, Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT, 1977; Zinnia, Colonnades Theatre, New York, 1977; and People in Show Business Make Long Goodbyes, Orpheum Theatre, New York, 1979. Appeared in the radio program Of Thee I Sing, 1984. Military service: Served in Korea with the U.S. Army.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award nomination (best actor in a musical), American Theatre Wing, 1965, for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; Tony Award (best actor in a musical), Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award, all 1975, all for Shenandoah; Tony Award (best actor in a musical), 1978, for On the Twentieth Century; Drama Desk Award for "unique theatrical experience," 1981-82, for Whistler; "Q" Award, Viewers for Quality Television, 1992, and Emmy Award nomination, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1993, both for Northern Exposure; First Place Jury Award, Film Fest-New Haven, 1998, for The Secret Life of Algernon; Founders Day Medal, University of Tennessee, 1998; best actor in a musical nomination, Outer Critics Circle, 2002; Tony Award nomination (best performance by leading actor in a musical), American Theatre Wing, 2002.

WRITINGS:

(With John Gray and Charles Jarrott) The Secret Life of Algernon (screenplay), based on a novel by Russell H. Grennan, Marano Productions/Phare-Est Productions, 1997.

SIDELIGHTS:

Veteran actor John Cullum has appeared in some of the hottest Broadway plays of the latter half of the twentieth century, as well as holding down roles in such hit television shows as Northern Exposure and ER. His first foray into writing came in 1997, when he collaborated with director Charles Jarrott and John Gray to write the award-winning film The Secret Life of Algernon. Cullum stars as Algernon Pendleton, the great-grandson of an archeologist who may have hidden a precious Egyptian artifact on his property before he died. Pendleton, who now inhabits his great-grandfather's old house, is prodded to search for this treasure by Madge Clerisy (played by actress Carrie-Anne Moss of the Matrix trilogy), a woman who claims also to be an archeologist but may not be. "Each plot twist is more far-fetched than the one before, which is actually one of the more charming aspects of this quirky" film, Brendan Kelly wrote in Variety.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Film, November, 1986, review of Sweet Country, p. 16.

American Record Guide, July-August, 1989, Richard Traubner, review of the Shenandoah soundtrack, pp. 130-132.

American Theatre, John Cullum, "Twenty Questions," p. 88.

Back Stage, December 18, 1981, Jennie Schulman, review of Whistler, p. 69; May 20, 1983, Victor Gluck, review of Private Lives, p. 79; June 6, 1997, David Sheward, review of All My Sons, p. 48; May 11, 2001, Simi Horwitz, review of Urine-town, p. 23.

Back Stage West, July 1, 1999, David-Edward Hughes, profile of Cullum, p. 10.

Birmingham Post (Birmingham, England), September 19, 2000, Alison Jones, interview with Cullum.

Christian Science Monitor, August 15, 1989, John Beaufort, review of Shenandoah, p. 10.

Los Angeles Magazine, May, 1989, Dick Lochte, review of Shenandoah, p. 303.

Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1984, Kevin Thomas, review of The Prodigal, p. 7; October 19, 1985, Don Shirley, review of Cyrano de Bergerac, p. 3.

Mademoiselle, September, 1991, James Kaplan, review of Northern Exposure, pp. 160-161.

New Leader, May 30, 1983, Leo Sauvage, review of Private Lives, pp. 21-22.

Newsweek, November 2, 1981, Harry F. Waters, review of Summer, p. 93; May 16, 1983, Jack Kroll, review of Private Lives, p. 98.

New York, May 23, 1983, John Simon, review of Private Lives, pp. 93-94; May 20, 1985, John Simon, review of Doubles, p. 113; August 21, 1989, John Simon, review of Shenandoah, pp. 134-135; May 19, 1997, John Simon, review of All My Sons, pp. 67-68; April 30, 2001, Logan Hill, review of Urinetown, p. 88.

New Yorker, May 16, 1983, Brendan Gill, review of Private Lives, p. 102; May 12, 1986, Brendan Gill, review of The Boys in Autumn, pp. 84-85; June 2, 1997, Nancy Franklin, review of All My Sons, pp. 93-94.

New York Times, August 6, 1980, Carol Lawson, "News of the Theater," p. C20; March 26, 1981, Herbert Mitgang, "Sandburg Film: Documentary or Drama?," pp. 21, C22; November 16, 1981, John J. O'Connor, "Edith Wharton: Looking Back," pp. 18, C20; December 7, 1981, Frank Rich, review of Whistler, pp. 18, C17; February 28, 1982, Leslie Garisto, review of Carl Sandburg: Echoes and Silences, p. D25; March 2, 1982, John J. O'Connor, review of Carl Sandburg, pp. 21, C11; January 7, 1983, Mel Gussow, review ofThe Portage to San Cristobal of A.H., pp. 13, C5; May 9, 1983, Frank Rich, review of Private Lives, pp. 14, C12; May 9, 1985, Frank Rich, review of Doubles, pp. 22, C22; September 27, 1985, Janet Maslin, review of Marie, pp. 20, C5; March 21, 1986, Nan Robertson, "George C. Scott Taking on a Legend: Huckleberry Finn," pp. 21, C2; May 1, 1986, Frank Rich, review of The Boys in Autumn, pp. 24, C19; May 7, 2001, Bruce Weber, review of Urinetown, pp. B1, E1; November 18, 2001, Margo Jefferson, review of Urinetown, p. AR5.

People, July 16, 1990, David Hiltbrand, review of Northern Exposure, p. 7.

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), March 30, 1997, Valerie Bladstone, interview with Cullum, p. 9.

Time, May 12, 1986, William A. Henry III, review of The Boys in Autumn, p. 98.

Times Literary Supplement, August 11, 2000, Paul Binding, review of Mr. Peters' Connections, p. 20.

TV Guide, November 25, 1983, Robert MacKenzie, review of The Day After, p. 56; June 12, 1993, review of Northern Exposure, p. 6.

Variety, June 10, 1981, review of Whistler, p. 76; October 21, 1984, review of Of Thee I Sing, p. 74; May 15, 1985, review of Doubles, p. 96; August 28, 1985, review of The Yearling, pp. 102-103; September 25, 1985, review of Marie, p. 14; May 7, 1986, review of The Boys in Autumn p. 546; January 21, 1987, review of Sweet Country, p. 16; August 16, 1989, review of Shenandoah, p. 74; July 11, 1990, review of Northern Exposure, p. 68; April 15, 1991, review of Northern Exposure, p. 206; February 26, 1996, Jeremy Gerard, review of Show Boat, pp. 179-180; May 12, 1997, Greg Evans, review of All My Sons, p. 71; September 29, 1997, Brendan Kelly, review of The Secret Life of Algernon, p. 66; December 11, 2000, Charles Isherwood, review of Old Money, p. 29; May 14, 2001, Charles Isherwood, review of Urinetown, p. 31.

Wall Street Journal, May 21, 1985, Edwin Wilson, review of Doubles, p. 28; May 20, 1986, Edwin Wilson, review of The Boys in Autumn, pp. 26, 28.