Kit Culkin | |
|---|---|
 Culkin in 1991 | |
| Born | Christopher Cornelius Culkin December 6, 1944 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Partner | Patricia Brentrup (1974–1995) |
| Children | 8, including Macaulay, Kieran and Rory [a] |
| Relatives | Bonnie Bedelia (sister) |
Christopher Cornelius Culkin (born December 6, 1944) [1] is an American former stage actor. He is the father of actors Macaulay Culkin, Rory Culkin and Kieran Culkin, and the older brother of actress Bonnie Bedelia.
Culkin was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Philip Harley Culkin (1898–1977), who was in public relations, [2] and Marian Ethel (née Wagner; 1914–1964), a writer and editor.[ citation needed ] He and his sisters Candice and Bonnie [3] and his brother Terry were raised in New York City. [2] The family experienced financial hardship when his father's firm went bankrupt, and the family lived in a cold water flat. [4]
For middle school, Culkin attended Saint Thomas Choir School in Midtown Manhattan. He and his sister Bonnie took classes at School of American Ballet [2] (as did his son Macaulay in the late 1980s). [5]
Culkin's early career involved working on Broadway in theater productions with actors such as Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn. His brother Terry and sisters Bonnie and Candace also worked in theater and television. Culkin credits his mother, who was their manager, for these early successes.[ citation needed ]
Three of his sons — Macaulay, Rory, and Kieran — are professional actors whose careers he managed from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Macaulay became popular due to his starring roles in the Home Alone films, and he was the first child in Hollywood to receive a million-dollar salary (for My Girl in 1991). From 1995 to 1997, Kit was part of a bitter child custody trial.[ citation needed ]
Culkin has eight children; his oldest, Jennifer Adamson, was with Adeena VanWagoner. His other children, Shane, Dakota, Macaulay, Kieran, Quinn, Christian, and Rory, were with Patricia Brentrup. Culkin and Brentrup were together for 21 years (from 1974 to 1995), but never married.[ citation needed ]
Kit and VanWagoner's daughter, Jennifer Adamson, died in 2000 from a drug overdose. [6] On December 9, 2008, Kit and Patricia's daughter Dakota was struck by a vehicle when she stepped off a curb into its path. She was taken to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where she died of her injuries the following afternoon, at the age of 29. [7]
Culkin resided in Grants Pass, Oregon. After his long-time friend and partner Jeanette Krylowski died, on May 31, 2017, Culkin left his Grants Pass residence. [8]
Kit Culkin has been almost entirely estranged from his children since 1997. [9] In 2021, Kieran Culkin stated that while Kit did not abuse him, he was neither a good person nor any kind of parent; Kieran added he had not seen or spoken to Kit since 2014, when Kit went to NYC and they briefly talked at a theatre where Kieran was performing in a play. [10]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | West Side Story | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Hamlet | Player Queen |
The year 1944 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1944.
Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received a Golden Globe Award nomination and other accolades. In 2005, he was ranked second on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". In 2023, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Good Son is a 1993 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben, produced and released by 20th Century Fox. It was written by English novelist Ian McEwan. Its story follows a 12-year-old boy named Mark who, after the death of his mother, is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle while his father is away on a business trip. While there, he meets his cousin Henry, who shows signs of violent and evil behavior. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and Jacqueline Brookes.
Music of the Heart is a 1999 American biographical musical drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary Small Wonders. A dramatization of the true story of Roberta Guaspari, portrayed by Meryl Streep, who co-founded the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and fought for music education funding in New York City public schools, the film also stars Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Gloria Estefan in her film debut, Jane Leeves, Kieran Culkin and Jay O. Sanders. It was Craven's sole mainstream cinematic film not in the horror or thriller genre, and also his only film to receive Oscar nominations.
Home Alone 3 is a 1997 American crime comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, and written and produced by John Hughes. It is the third film in the Home Alone franchise, and the first not to feature the primary cast, nor director Chris Columbus, from previous installments. Starring Alex D. Linz and Haviland Morris, the story follows Alex Pruitt, an 8-year-old boy who defends his home from a dangerous group of international criminals working for a North Korean terrorist organization.
Rory Hugh Culkin is an American actor known for his roles in You Can Count on Me (2000), Signs (2002), Scream 4 (2011), and Columbus (2017). He has also appeared on television series such as Waco (2018), Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), and the Black Mirror (2023) episode "Beyond the Sea".
Getting Even with Dad is a 1994 American comedy film starring Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson.
The Pagemaster is a 1994 American live-action/animated fantasy adventure film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Welker, Ed Begley Jr., and Mel Harris. The film was produced by Turner Pictures and Hanna-Barbera and released by 20th Century Fox on November 23, 1994. Culkin stars as a timid boy who uses statistics as an excuse to avoid anything he finds uncomfortable in life. But after reluctantly undertaking an errand for his father, he gets caught in a storm, which forces him to seek refuge in a library. He then finds himself trapped inside the library, where he must battle his way through literary classics come to life if he is to find his way home.
Richie Rich is a 1994 American children's adventure comedy film directed by Donald Petrie. The film is loosely based on the comic character of the same name created by Alfred Harvey and Warren Kremer. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. The film stars Macaulay Culkin, John Larroquette, Edward Herrmann, Jonathan Hyde, and Christine Ebersole, while Reggie Jackson, Claudia Schiffer, and Ben Stein appear in cameo roles. Culkin's younger brother, Rory Culkin, played the part of Young Richie Rich. In theaters, the film was shown with a Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoon called Chariots of Fur, and was followed by the 1998 direct-to-video Stand-alone sequel Richie Rich's Christmas Wish.
Kieran Kyle Culkin is an American actor. Known for portraying distasteful yet sympathetic characters across stage and screen, his accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award.
The Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college-preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades four through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an academic education to young people working on the New York stage, in vaudeville, or "on the road".
Bonnie Bedelia is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera Love of Life and made her film debut in The Gypsy Moths. Bedelia subsequently appeared in the films They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Lovers and Other Strangers, Heart Like a Wheel, The Prince of Pennsylvania, Die Hard, Presumed Innocent, Sordid Lives, and Needful Things.
In the performing arts, a stage mother is the mother of a child actor. The term stage mother sometimes has a negative connotation, suggesting that the individual is prone to obnoxiously demanding special treatment for her child, or suggesting that the individual has placed inappropriate pressure on her child to succeed, perhaps for reasons of vicariously living out her own dreams through the child. Entitled and grandiose demands have sometimes led to reportedly veiled threats from a stage parent.
Culkin is an Irish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Only the Lonely is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Chris Columbus, produced by John Hughes, and stars John Candy, Maureen O'Hara, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Quinn, and James Belushi. The film is a comedic take on the premise established in the 1953 television play Marty and the 1955 film Marty, while the title comes from the song "Only the Lonely" by Roy Orbison. The story follows a bachelor police officer who is looking to settle down and start a family with a mortuary beautician, while coping with his controlling mother who wants him all to herself.
Lymelife is a 2008 American comedy-drama film written by brothers Derick Martini and Steven Martini, and directed by Derick Martini, depicting aspects of their life in 1970s Long Island from a teenager's perspective. It stars Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin and Emma Roberts. Martin Scorsese served as an executive producer. The film debuted at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008, and won the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI). After its theatrical release in 2009, writer director Derick Martini was nominated for a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director.
Steven Martini is a writer, actor, composer, editor, and singer/songwriter. His first break as an actor was as Cadet Alex J. Stone in Major Payne. He and his brother Derick Martini wrote the films Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire and Lymelife. Based on experiences from the Martinis' childhood, Lymelife won the FIPRESCI award at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Martini is also known for being the singer/songwriter for the Los Angeles–based band The Spaceship Martini.
The Nutcracker, also known as George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, is a 1993 American Christmas ballet film based on Peter Martins's stage production and directed by Emile Ardolino. It stars Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, Wendy Whelan, Margaret Tracey, Gen Horiuchi, Tom Gold, and the New York City Ballet.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
