It was a role as Tom Sawyer in the made-for-TV movie “Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn” at the age of 14 that Patrick Creadon, the son of Carol and Patrick Creadon of Riverside, first became part of filmdom, or should we say he first got bitten by the bug.
Now he’s a budding documentary film maker getting set for a trip to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
A student at St. Mary’s School, Fenwick High School and the University of Notre Dame, “the business” was not the career path Creadon seemed to be on, at least not with a major in government. While his mother hoped he would become a doctor and follow in the steps of his maternal grandfather, Creadon took a detour and began to study for the law school entrance exam.
But it was a film editing elective course in college that heightened his enthusiasm once again for the business. A call to L.A. to audition for a role took his classmates by surprise. Seems Creadon’s files had caught the attention of a casting director. And while he didn’t get the part, he was now more interested in the industry, but not in front of the cameras. Rather Creadon’s experience as a teenager sparked an interest in the technical aspects of film making which included editing and producing.
A PBS documentary motivated him to contact the film’s producers for information and the next thing he knew he was an intern. A four-month internship gave him the opportunity to learn editing hands-on.
His next move was to apply to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, where was accepted and eventually earned his associate’s degree. While at the Institute, his project was to work on a documentary, which got him more immersed in the area of documentary film making and fed the desire to make his own film. He cites documentary film maker Ken Burns (who has produced lengthy and acclaimed documentaries on the Civil War baseball and the history of jazz, among others) as the person he admires in the field. Burns, according to Carol Creadon is probably the most respected in his field today.
Patrick Creadon has made his documentary after a year of hard work and interviews which included Bill Clinton. The subject matter? Crossword puzzles! But you will learn more about the film maker, his movie and a future trip to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the next column so be sure to read the paper next week.
Creadon’s wife, Christine O’Malley, shares her husband’s interest and is a film producer. A graduate of Columbia College in Chicago she was originally from Barrington before making her move to Los Angeles where she and Creadon met while taking a class.
To be continued …
Condolences: Sympathies go out to the family of Dr. Roseanne Proteau of Riverside. Dr. Proteau was a lifelong resident of Riverside and married to Paul, a former Riverside trustee.
The good doctor was a pediatrician at Misericordia Home for many years, a devoted mother and grandmother and had many friends; some of her childhood friends still live in town. Roseanne, while she had many accomplishments, was also remembered by many for her portrayal of the Saturday Night Live character Roseanne Roseannadanna (“Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it’s always something”).
Those who saw her “act” say it still gives them a chuckle. A nice way to be remembered.
