Richard Culliton
Encyclopedia
Richard Culliton is an American television writer known for his work on soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

s. He has won four Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...

s, including one as a Head Writer
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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

, and two Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...

s. He is an alumnus of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

. His wife, Carolyn Culliton
Carolyn Culliton
Carolyn Culliton is an American daytime serial writer and an alumnus of Northwestern University. Her husband is acclaimed daytime serial writer Richard Culliton...

, is also a veteran writer for soap operas.

Early career

Culliton began his television career in the early 1980s writing for NBC Daytime
NBC Daytime
NBC Daytime is the schedule for the NBC television network's daytime television programming which consists of morning news program Today and soap opera Days of our Lives...

's Texas
Texas (TV series)
Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...

, and then serving as Co-Head Writer for CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...

's Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...

from 1983 - 1984.

After this, he served as Head Writer
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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

 of Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...

from 1984 - 1985. The characters of Marley Hudson and Wallingford were created during his tenure. He wrote for Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...

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
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...

 in 1990.

Culliton then joined the writing staff of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

; he was a script writer and story editor when the writing team won a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...

 in 1991. After this, he joined ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...

's All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

from 1991 - 1993 under the leadership of Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish is an American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.-Early career:...

 and Felicia Minei Behr
Felicia Minei Behr
Felicia Minei Behr is an American TV producer and network executive who has worked on three daytime serials. She was fired from All My Children in 1996 when ratings for the show began to decline.-Career: Executive Producer:...

.

Mid to late 1990s

He kept very busy in the late 1990s. He served as Head Writer of As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

in 1995, and received a Daytime Emmy nomination. A major storyline of his at that show was a medical malpractice storyline wherein Lisa Grimaldi
Lisa Grimaldi
Lisa Grimaldi is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. The daughter of Henry and Alma Miller, Lisa grew up in Rockford, Illinois, USA before moving to Oakdale...

 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
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

from October 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
Port Charles
Port Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...

along with his wife Carolyn
Carolyn Culliton
Carolyn Culliton is an American daytime serial writer and an alumnus of Northwestern University. Her husband is acclaimed daytime serial writer Richard Culliton...

, and served as Head Writer with her for the first few months of the show's run.

Culliton returned to Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...

as Head Writer from December 1997 to May 1998. From May 1998 to July 1998, he served as Co-Head Writer with Jean Passanante
Jean Passanante
Jean Passanante is an American television screenwriter best known for her work in daytime soap operas.Passanante got her start as an actress doing bit parts in the 1980s, including John Sayles's Return of the Secaucus 7. In 1985 she married writer Jack Shannon...

 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 the its cancellation in June 1999.

Culliton then joined the writing staff of Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...

. After taking a short break, he briefly joined the writing team of Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

as a script writer.

2000 and beyond

In September 2001, Culliton returned to All My Children, replacing Jean Passanante
Jean Passanante
Jean Passanante is an American television screenwriter best known for her work in daytime soap operas.Passanante got her start as an actress doing bit parts in the 1980s, including John Sayles's Return of the Secaucus 7. In 1985 she married writer Jack Shannon...

 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
Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson....

 (in 2001) and Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...

 (in January 2002) and bringing back character Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from 1993 to 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from 2002 to 2011....

 (originated by Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...

, and currently portrayed by Alicia Minshew
Alicia Minshew
Alicia Herschenfeld best known as Alicia Minshew is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Kendall Hart on the daytime drama All My Children.-Early life and career:...

) in January 2002. Culliton was fired in December 2002. Despite this, he was nominated for Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...

 in 2002 and 2003.

In 2006, Culliton rejoined the writing staff of As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

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
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

as a dialogue writer.

Writers Guild Awards

Culliton won the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...

 for Daytime Serials in 1998 for General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

, 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
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

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
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

to be judged for the award. He also won for As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

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
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...

the previous year, in 1994 as part of the writing staff of All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

the previous year, and in 2002 as part of the writing staff of Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

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
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

  • Head Writer
    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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

    : September 6, 2001 - December 10, 2002
  • Breakdown Writer: 1991 - 1993 (hired by Wisner Washam
    Wisner Washam
    Wisner Washam is an American soap opera writer, best known as the Head Writer of All My Children, from 1981 to 1987.-Early Life and Career:A native of North Carolina, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

    )


Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...

  • Head Writer
    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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

    : 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
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

  • Script Writer: August 11, 2006 - January 24, 2008, April 18, 2008 - July 22, 2008
  • Head Writer
    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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

    : Winter 1995 - 1996


Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

  • Script Writer: 2001, October 2008 - present


General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

  • Head Writer
    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, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

    : October 1996 - May 1997


Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...

  • Script Writer: 1987 - 1990
  • Co-Head Writer: 1983 - 1984


Port Charles
Port Charles
Port Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...

  • Head Writer: June 1, 1997 - December 1997


Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

  • Script Editor: 1990 - 1991
  • Script Writer: 1990 - 1991


Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...

  • Writer: 1986


Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...

(hired by Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett
Meg Bennett is an American television soap opera writer and occasional actress. She is married to General Hospital Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr.-Early life:...

)
  • Script Writer: 1999


Texas
Texas (TV series)
Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...

  • Script Writer: 1980-1982
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