Patrick Mulcahey(I)
- Writer
Born in Syracuse and raised in Oswego, New York state, Patrick Mulcahey is considered one of the finest script writers of daytime television. A graduate of prestigious Yale university, Mulcahey got his start as a writer in October 1979 when he joined the writing team to launch Procter&Gamble productions's latest soap opera Texas (1980). Following two Writer's Guild Awards nominations and the show's cancellation, Mulcahey switched from NBC over to CBS for Guiding Light (1952) where he - under acclaimed head writer Douglas Marland - received his first (of many) Daytime Emmy Award, co-wrote the pilot for ABC's Loving (1983) before finding home on Santa Barbara (1984). As part of the writing staff of the critically acclaimed, yet ratings-challenged drama from 1984 to 1991, Mulcahey made a name for himself with his sharp dialogue becoming a template of the series winning two Writers Guild Awards and his second Daytime Emmy Award. In 1992, Mulcahey returned to Guiding Light under head writer Nancy Curlee, eventually rising from script writer to associate head writer to co-head writer for a few months in 1994. This time period is often considered the last golden era of the show. The next stop was General Hospital (1963) where he alongside Wendy Riche and his former Santa Barbara colleague Robert Guza Jr. created the character of Carly Spencer played by Sarah Joy Brown. After leaving fictional Port Charles behind in 1999 with yet another Emmy and WGA win, it wasn't until 2005 that head writer and executive producer Bradley Bell managed to lure him out of retirement to join the writing staff of The Bold and the Beautiful (1987). Following the initial story-line pitch of Susan Flannery's Stephanie Forrester faking a heart attack, Mulcahey served as a regular script writer until he was additionally awarded the title of story-line consultant in 2008 and is now frequently consulting with the show's head writer. He is also often in charge of penning the dialogue for important story-line climaxes and wrote the show's milestone 5000th episode in 2007. All this resulted in 7 further Emmy nominations and an Emmy win in 2010. In addition to his work as a writer, Mulcahey is a very active civil rights spokesperson in the San Francisco area, a place which he has called home for the past 30+ years.