Richard Culliton is an American television writer known for his work on
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...
s. He has won four
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility ...
s, including one as a
head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
, and three
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
s. He is an alumnus of
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. His wife,
Carolyn Culliton, is also a veteran writer for soap operas.
Early career
Culliton began his television career in the early 1980s writing for
NBC Daytime's ''
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
'', and then serving as co-head writer for
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a division within CBS that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the CBS' late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game shows.
Schedule
NOTE: All tim ...
's ''
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'' from 1983–1984.
After this, he served as
head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
of ''
Another World'' from 1984–1985. The characters of Marley Hudson and Wallingford were created during his tenure. He wrote for ''
Search for Tomorrow
''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...
'' under Addie Walsh in 1986. In the late 1980s, Culliton returned to the writing staff of ''Guiding Light''. He was part of the team that won a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
in 1990.
Culliton then joined the writing staff of ''
Santa Barbara''; he was a script writer and story editor when the writing team won a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
in 1991. After this, he joined
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.
Histor ...
's ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
'' from 1991–1993 under the leadership of
Megan McTavish and
Felicia Minei Behr
Felicia Minei Behr is an American television producer and network executive who has worked on three daytime serials. She helped launch ''All My Children'' and won 2 Emmys for Best Drama Series as Executive Producer of the show, in 1992 and 1994.
C ...
.
Mid to late 1990s
He served as head writer of ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' in 1995, and received a Daytime Emmy nomination. A major storyline of his at that show was a medical malpractice storyline wherein
Lisa Grimaldi blamed Dr. John Dixon for her husband Eduardo Grimaldi's death. The storyline received considerable critical acclaim.
He moved on as head writer of ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'' from September 1996 to May 1997. He received a Daytime Emmy nomination for his time on ''GH''. At the behest of ABC Daytime, he created the ''General Hospital'' spin-off ''
Port Charles'' along with his wife
Carolyn
Carolyn is a female given name, a variant of Caroline. Other spellings include Karolyn, Carolyne, Carolynn or Carolynne. Caroline itself is one of the feminine forms of Charles.
List of Notable People
*Carolyn Bennett (born 1950), Canadian po ...
, and served as head writer with her for the first few months of the show's run.
Culliton returned to ''
Another World'' as head writer from December 1997 to May 1998. From May 1998 to July 1998, he served as co-head writer with
Jean Passanante on ''AW''. This was a period of turmoil for the show, with the NBC network demanding significant cast firings. However, Culliton still successfully returned longtime character Cass Winthrop to the frontburner, and brought back the character Marley Love. Culliton stayed with the show as a breakdown writer until its cancellation in June 1999.
Culliton then joined the writing staff of ''
Sunset Beach''. After taking a short break, he briefly joined the writing team of ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' as a script writer.
2000 and beyond
In September 2001, Culliton returned to ''All My Children'', replacing
Jean Passanante as head writer. After a drug pushing storyline (which was actually started by Passanante) dragged on too long, some fans became frustrated at the show's slow pace. His more popular decisions were creating characters
Frankie Stone
Frankie Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama ''All My Children''. Portrayed by Elizabeth Hendrickson from September 27 to November 28, 2001, the character was one of the more popular additions to the series, having gaine ...
(in 2001) and
Maggie Stone (in January 2002)
and bringing back character
Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart is a fictional character from ''All My Children'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from February 24, 1993, to July 3, 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from January 2002 unti ...
(originated by
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...
, and currently portrayed by
Alicia Minshew) in January 2002. Culliton was fired in December 2002.
Despite this, he was nominated for
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
in 2002 and 2003.
In 2006, Culliton rejoined the writing staff of ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' as a dialogue writer. He was recently fired from ''ATWT''. He has since joined the writing team of ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' as a dialogue writer. In 2012, he won a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
as part of the ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' writing team, for work in 2011.
Writers Guild awards
Culliton won the
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility ...
for Daytime Serials in 1998 for ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'', where he served as head writer the previous year. Previously, he had also won this award in 1992 as part of the writing staff when ''Santa Barbara'' won. In 2007, he won the award again, as part of the writing staff of ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' the previous year; indeed, he didn't just happen to be on the staff, but had been the credited script writer for one of the three scripts submitted by ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' to be judged for the award. He also won for ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' in 2009 when he was nominated as part of the writing staff the previous year.
He was also nominated for this award in 1989 as part of the writing staff of ''
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
'' the previous year, in 1994 as part of the writing staff of ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
'' the previous year, and in 2002 as part of the writing staff of ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' the previous year.
Acting
Culliton played a salesman in a Chicago-area theater production of Glengarry Glen Ross in 2009.
Positions held
''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
''
*
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
: September 6, 2001 – December 10, 2002
*Breakdown Writer: 1991–1993 (hired by
Wisner Washam)
''
Another World''
*
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
: March 1984 – June 1984, December 1997 – May 1998
*co-head writer: July 1984 – January 1985, May 1998 – July 1998
*Breakdown Writer: 1985, July 1998 – June 25, 1999
*Script Writer: 1986
''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
''
*Script Writer: August 11, 2006 – January 24, 2008, April 18, 2008 – July 22, 2008
*
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
: Winter 1995–1996
''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
''
*Script Writer: 2001, October 2008 – March 2018, 2019-present
''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
''
* Writer: Summer 1996
*
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
: October 1996 – May 1997
''
Guiding Light
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...
''
*Script Writer: 1987–1990
*co-head writer: 1983–1984
''
Port Charles''
*head writer: June 1, 1997 – December 1997
''
Santa Barbara''
*Script Editor: 1990–1991
*Script Writer: 1990–1991
''
Search for Tomorrow
''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...
''
*Writer: 1986
''
Sunset Beach'' (hired by
Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett is an American television soap opera writer and occasional actress. She is married to ex-''General Hospital'' head writer Robert Guza Jr.
Early life
Born Helen Bennett on October 4, 1948, Meg is the eldest daughter of a printing compa ...
)
*Script Writer: 1999
''
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
''
*Script Writer: 1980-1982
Awards and nominations
Daytime Emmy Awards
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...
WINS
*(1990; Best Writing; ''Guiding Light'')
*(1991; Best Writing; ''Santa Barbara'')
*(2012; Best Writing; ''Days of Our Lives'')
NOMINATIONS
*(1985; Best Writing; ''Another World'')
*(1989; Best Writing; ''Guiding Light'')
*(1992, 1993, 2002 & 2003; Best Writing; ''All My Children'')
*(1996; Best Writing; ''As the World Turns'')
*(1998; Best Writing; ''General Hospital'')
*(2011 & 2014; Best Writing; ''Days of Our Lives'')
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility ...
WINS
*(1992 season; ''Santa Barbara'')
*(1998 season; ''General Hospital'')
*(2007 & 2009 seasons; ''As the World Turns'')
*(2014 season; ''Days of Our Lives'')
NOMINATIONS
*(1989 season; ''Guiding Light'')
*(1994 season; ''All My Children'')
*(2002, 2013 & 2015 seasons; ''Days of Our Lives'')
*(2008 season; ''As the World Turns'')
HW history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culliton, Richard
Living people
American soap opera writers
American male television writers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Writers Guild of America Award winners