Bart Patton, born Phillip Bardwell on July 11, 1939, in Culver City, California, is a multi-talented American individual who has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry as an actor, producer, and director.
Patton's journey in acting began at a young age, when he landed his first role as Scampy the Clown in Super Circus, credited as "Bardy Patton". He continued to make appearances in television shows, including 77 Sunset Strip, while still in high school, and even replaced Burt Reynolds on Riverboat.
After attending UCLA, where he met his future wife, Mary Mitchel, and Francis Ford Coppola, Patton dropped out of college after one semester to pursue a career in film. He married Mitchel in 1961, following the completion of the film "Gidget Goes Hawaiian".
Patton's personal life took a turn in 1980, when he divorced Mitchel, with whom he had two children. However, his professional life continued to flourish, thanks to his association with Coppola, who cast him in his film Dementia 13. This introduction led to Patton working with producer Roger Corman and director Jack Hill, and he soon found himself behind the camera, serving as production manager and assistant director on Hill's "Spider Baby", in which his wife, Mary Mitchel, also co-starred.
Corman went on to finance Patton's first film, Beach Ball, and the success of the film earned Patton a contract with Universal Pictures and MCA in 1965. As part of the contract, Patton and director Lennie Weinrib were tasked with producing 14 rock and roll films over a two-year period. Although only two of the proposed films, Wild Wild Winter and Out of Sight, were ultimately produced, Patton's experience in the film industry continued to grow.
Patton's association with Coppola also led to him producing the director's film, The Rain People. He went on to make his directorial debut with Unshackled in 2000, marking the culmination of his long and varied career in the entertainment industry.
