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'{{About|the American actor|the British archaeologist|Mark Patton (archaeologist)}} {{Infobox person <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox person]]. --> | name = Mark Patton | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|9|22}} | birth_place = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], [[United States|U.S.]] | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | death_place = | occupation = Actor, interior designer | years_active = 1982–1986 | spouse = Hector Morales Mondragon | residence = [[Puerto Vallarta]], [[Jalisco]], [[Mexico]]<ref name = hiv/> | website = <!-- www.example.com --> }} '''Mark Patton''' (born September 22, 1958) is an American interior designer and former actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of 18, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the 1982 dramatic film ''[[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|Come back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]'' and as Jesse Walsh in the 1985 horror film ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge]]'', a role for which he is touted as the first male [[scream queen]] in modern cinema. == Career == Patton grew up in [[Riverside, Missouri]] and, after graduating high school, he moved to [[New York City]] to pursue an acting career. Within a few years he landed the role of Joe Qualley in the 1982 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''[[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (play)|Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean]]''. Patton reprised the role in the 1982 [[Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (film)|film of the same name]]. Although his character in the play and film was gay, Patton was not allowed to do an interview with the [[LGBT]]-interest magazine, ''[[The Advocate]]''. Patton identified this as an early indicator of the [[homophobia]] in Hollywood at that time.<ref name = hiv>[http://www.hivplusmag.com/people/cover-stories/2013/08/08/nightmare-hollywood-couldnt-kill-mark-patton A Nightmare in Hollywood Couldn't Kill Mark Patton]</ref> In 1985 Patton landed the lead role in the horror film ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge]]'' portraying [[List of characters in the Nightmare on Elm Street series#Jesse Walsh|Jesse Walsh]], a teen whose body becomes possessed by [[Freddy Krueger]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34384/never-sleep-again-twitterfeed-wednesday-edition-and-more|title=Never Sleep Again – Twitterfeed Wednesday Edition and MORE!|publisher=DreadCentral}}</ref> Critics and audiences noted the gay subtext of the film, something screenwriter [[David Chaskin]] initially attributed to Patton's portrayal of Jesse.<ref name = hiv /> However, in the 2010 documentary ''[[Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy]]'' Chaskin acknowledged that he, himself, was responsible for the film's deliberate gay subtext. Patton had a guest appearance on the television series ''[[Hotel (U.S. TV series)|Hotel]]''. He also starred in a [[television pilot]] with [[Chuck Connors]] entitled ''Kelsey's Son'', which was never picked up.<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19830821&id=prYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ltcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3017,4608996 Bobbin, Jay: "Kelsey's Son"]</ref> Other roles include ''[[General Hospital]]'' as Greg Collier, ''Misplaced'' with [[John Cameron Mitchell]], ''[[Anna to the Infinite Power]]'' with [[Dina Merrill]] and [[Martha Byrne]] and ''Have You Tried Talking to Patty'' with [[Heather Langenkamp]]. Patton says he gave up on his acting career following being cast in a planned CBS series in which he would have played a gay character. "They began to ask me if I would be comfortable playing a gay character and telling people I was straight if they began to question my sexuality?...All I could think about was how everyone I knew was dying from AIDS and we were having this bullshit conversation. My heart just broke and that was the line for me. I knew I would never be able to do what they were asking, so I walked away from Hollywood and decided to move on to a place where it was totally acceptable to be gay."<ref name = hiv /> In December of 2015, it was announced that Patton was cast in the independent paranormal horror film, "Family Possessions", which is written and directed by Tommy Faircloth of Horse Creek Productions. Mark will play the role of "Tyson", a male "Regina George" who torments a new girl in town with his best friend "Tristen". Filming will take place in March of 2016 in Greenville, North Carolina. == Personal life== Patton is openly gay. On his 40th birthday, he was diagnosed with [[HIV]] along with pneumonia, thrush and tuberculosis. His medications interacted badly and he was hospitalized. Upon recovering, he moved to Mexico, where he met and later married Hector Morales Mondragon. The couple owns and operates an art store in Puerto Vallarta.<ref name = hiv /> Patton appears in the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' documentary ''[[Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy]]'', directed by Dan Farrands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34479/never-sleep-again-after-decades-mark-patton-talks-elm-street-2|title=Never Sleep Again: After Decades ... Mark Patton Talks Elm Street 2|publisher=DreadCentral}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34501/never-sleep-again-a-talk-with-directors-daniel-farrands-and-andrew-kasch|title=Never Sleep Again: A Talk with Directors Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch|publisher=DreadCentral}}</ref> Following his appearance in the documentary Patton began touring horror conventions where he is lauded as mainstream cinema's first male "[[scream queen]]". He donates most of his appearance fees to HIV treatment groups and charities benefiting LGBT youth such as [[The Trevor Project]].<ref name = hiv /> == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{IMDb name|id=0666593|name=Mark Patton}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}} {{Authority control}} {{Persondata | NAME = Patton, Mark | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American actor | DATE OF BIRTH = 22 September 1958 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Riverside, Missouri]], [[United States|U.S.]] | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Mark}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Male actors from Missouri]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:Gay actors]] [[Category:LGBT entertainers from the United States]] [[Category:People from Platte County, Missouri]] [[Category:People with HIV/AIDS]] [[Category:1958 births]]'