John Cullum
John Cullum
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#1John Cullum
Posted: 11/23/15 at 10:20pm
Why did John Cullum never get his own tv show? It seems like they gave tv shows to everyone from Stockard Channing to Nathan Lane to Dorothy Loudon.
Cullum had certainly built respectability on Broadway. From "On A Clear Day" to "1776" to "Shenandoah" to "On The Twentieth Century." It seems like in the 1970s or 1980s, they would try him in a series where he was a country preacher fighting racism or a gentle father in a Waltons ripoff. He finally hit it big in the 90s with Northern Exposure, but even that was an ensemble piece. Why wasn't he ever given his own show?
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#2John Cullum
Posted: 11/23/15 at 10:31pm
Maybe he did not want one and preferred Broadway
MarkBearSF
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/25/11
#3John Cullum
Posted: 11/23/15 at 10:32pm
..and did any of those shows even last a single season??
John Cullum did a marvelous job as the straight man surrounded by eccentrics in Northern Exposure. A wonderful role for his talents for, what was it - about 6 years?
Updated On: 11/23/15 at 10:32 PM
#4John Cullum
Posted: 11/24/15 at 12:06am
That sounds right, Mark. And it was basically an ensemble show, so he had plenty of screen time.
#5John Cullum
Posted: 11/24/15 at 6:32am
He probably either wasn't interested or they never found a good vehicle for him. Broadway stars don't always do well on TV, I remember Lila Kaye from 'Nicholas Nickleby' got her own show that was cancelled pretty quickly. She played a TV chef with her own cooking show.
He did do some other TV work. He was in an episode of Quantum Leap called 'Catch a Falling Star' in which he played a drunken stage actor performing in a production of 'Man of La Mancha' (one of their best episodes, Scott Bakula also got to show off his singing chops), and he was in an episode of the series "The Magnificent Seven" playing a Wild West preacher.
#6John Cullum
Posted: 11/24/15 at 8:58am
You guy probably already know this but just in case you don't. There is a very nice series of videos on YouTube with john and his wife discussing various topics related to his career. Pretty interesting stuff. Seems like a good start on a book. http://youtu.be/OyVwPfWl2PE
#7John Cullum
Posted: 11/25/15 at 4:38amCullum also had a recurring role in one (or more?) of the Law & Orders as a defense attorney who specialized in First Amendment cases.
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