Eric Cullen
Eric Cullen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eric Robertson Cullen 12 July 1965 |
| Died | 16 August 1996 (aged 31) East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]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 ill health.[4]
Victim of abuse
[edit]Cullen was sexually abused by a violent paedophile ring from the age of thirteen,[citation needed] and since his condition meant that he looked much younger than he was, this abuse continued into his twenties. Once he became a successful actor, his abusers returned to extort money with menaces. As a result, he developed clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.[4]
Court case
[edit]Cullen was arrested in 1993 for possession of child pornography. In 1995, Cullen was convicted of child pornography offences, and his own history of being sexually abused since the age of 13 - and throughout his 20s - was revealed. He explained he been blackmailed into storing child pornography at his home by his abusers—a claim accepted by the Crown. He pled guilty in 1995 to a number of minor charges to avoid a potentially harrowing trial. Another adult victim of the same paedophile ring informed Strathclyde Police that the gang had stored extreme child pornography in the houses of various terrorized victims, including himself and Eric.[1][2][5]
The subsequent police investigation and press coverage resulted in clinical depression when he "finally cracked under a load which had become unbearable".[6] His nine-month prison sentence was reduced to three years' probation on appeal.[3]
Cullen later said: "At no time was I ever accused of child abuse. Yes, I did have those indecent videos in my house. But what was never clearly explained to the public was that I was being blackmailed into keeping them by one of my abusers, and my lawyer advised me to plead guilty to these charges because physically and mentally I couldn't have stood up to a long intense court case. The only time I ever saw those horrific videos was in Hamilton police station, when I was identifying my abuser."[citation needed]
As soon as his prison sentence had been quashed on appeal, he began to be offered acting parts again, but he was still too ill with severe PTSD to resume work.[citation needed]
Child campaigner
[edit]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.[7] 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);[8] and as of summer 2006 one, whom Cullen named as the ringleader, has never been prosecuted.[2]
In an interview with the Big Issues, given a week before his death, Linda McGarvie writes: "If I die tomorrow," he said, "I want to be remembered not for being a professional victim, but for standing up against my abusers."[citation needed]
"When I'm gone," he joked, adopting a high theatrical accent, "all the luvvies who dropped me so quickly will come out and say what a darling I was."[citation needed]
Death
[edit]Only a day or two before his fatal heart attack, which followed on from surgery for a twisted bowel,[2] he had been asked to take up the role of Wee Burney again.[3] He was however in two minds as to whether to resume his acting career or become a clinical psychologist specialising in the treatment of abuse victims; he already had a BA in psychology, and had been accepted to begin a more advanced course in forensic psychology that autumn.[3]
Acting career
[edit]- 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
[edit]- ^ 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) - ^ "APPENDIX 125 Memorandum submitted by Claire M Jordan: on behalf of the late Eric Cullen". UK House of Commons. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
Text was copied from this source, which is available under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. © UK Parliament.
- ^ The Herald 30 June 1995 The Eric Cullen case revealed the actor's disturbing history. A victim of abuse and success
- ^ "More sinned against than sinner". Herald Scotland. 30 June 1995. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- ^ "Wee Burney's uncle awaits sentence after pleading guilty to assaults on three boys Sex crimes admission". Herald Scotland. 13 March 1998. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
External links
[edit]- 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".