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16 Facts About Mark Patton

1.

Mark Patton was born on September 22,1959 and is an American interior designer and actor.

2.

Mark Patton grew up in Riverside, Missouri, and, after graduating high school, moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.

3.

Mark Patton reprised the role in the 1982 film of the same name.

4.

Mark Patton's character in the play and film was a pre-transition teen transgender woman.

5.

However, Mark Patton was not allowed "by those guiding his career" to do an interview with the LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate.

6.

Mark Patton identified this as indicative of homophobia in Hollywood at that time.

7.

In 1985, Mark Patton landed the lead role in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, portraying Jesse Walsh, a teen whose body becomes possessed by Freddy Krueger.

8.

The emotional stress of the film led Mark Patton to leave acting shortly afterwards for a career in interior decorating.

9.

Mark Patton made a guest appearance on the television series Hotel and had scenes alongside George Clooney and Maud Adams.

10.

Mark Patton starred in a television pilot with Chuck Connors entitled Kelsey's Son, which was never picked up.

11.

Mark 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.

12.

Mark Patton returned to acting for the first time since A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge with his appearance in the 2016 horror film Family Possessions.

13.

Mark Patton was diagnosed with HIV in 1999, on his 40th birthday, after falling ill and initially being tested for bronchitis; he was hospitalized for pneumonia, thrush, and tuberculosis.

14.

Mark Patton appears in the A Nightmare on Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, directed by Dan Farrands.

15.

Mark Patton donates most of his appearance fees to HIV treatment groups and charities benefiting LGBT youth such as The Trevor Project.

16.

In January 2023, Mark Patton was forced to cancel several scheduled appearances in Chicago after he was hospitalized in Mexico.