Eric Cullen
Eric Cullen | |
---|---|
Born | Eric Robertson Cullen 12 July 1965 |
Died | 16 August 1996 East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland | (aged 31)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1978–1996 |
Eric Robertson Cullen (12 July 1965 – 16 August 1996) was a Scottish actor, who was famous for his role as Wee Burney in BBC's Rab C. Nesbitt.[1] Cullen was born with achondroplasia—a type of dwarfism.[1][2]
Early life
He was born to a single mother and was adopted by a family from Hamilton. He was diagnosed with achondroplasia[1][2] at the age of seven.
Acting career
Cullen began acting when he was at school. He started to find roles appearing in several theatre groups before appearing in several Scottish TV programmes in the 1980s, particularly A Kick Up the Eighties.[3] Cullen eventually found lasting fame playing the youngest son, Wee Burney, in the first three series of Rab C. Nesbitt.[3] However, he left the programme in December 1993; owing to personal problems[3] and citing ill health.[4]
Victim of abuse
Cullen was
Child campaigner
Cullen was arrested in 1993 for possession of child pornography,
Once the court case was out of the way Cullen dedicated himself to campaigning against child pornography, and to trying to bring his abusers to justice.[6] Of the three men he named as his principal abusers one, Francis Currens, was jailed during Cullen's lifetime; one, Cullen's uncle Jack Williams, was jailed after his death (both of them for sexual offences including the repeated rape of young boys);[7] and as of summer 2006 one, whom Cullen named as the ringleader, has never been prosecuted.[2]
Death
Only a day or two before his fatal
Acting career
- Huntingtower
- Playfair
- The Camerons
- Govan Ghost Story
- Deathwatch
- A Kick Up the Eighties
- Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee
- Scotch & Wry
- Out With the Old (1993) (STV's Hogmanay Show)
- Rab C Nesbitt
References
- ^ a b c d Saturday 17 August 1996 (17 August 1996). "Double curse on tragic life . Actor Eric Cullen's illegitimacy and his size tormented him throughout his career". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e 2003 Memorandum submitted by Claire M Jordan: on behalf of the late Eric Cullen, criticising the role of certain papers in reporting the story, including the Sunday Mail article below.
- ^ a b c d e f Anthony Hayward (17 August 1996). "Obituary:Eric Cullen - Obituaries - News". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ a b Friday 30 June 1995 (30 June 1995). "I know what it is to scream for mercy but never to receive any". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ The Herald 30 June 1995 The Eric Cullen case revealed the actor's disturbing history. A victim of abuse and success
- Herald Scotland. 30 June 1995. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- Herald Scotland. 13 March 1998. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
External links
- Eric Cullen at IMDb
- "Wee Burney - The Vile Truth" - 2000 Sunday Mail article which reports a claim that although Eric Cullen "was the victim of horrific and sustained abuse" he "crossed the line and became an abuser himself".