Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/William Patterson Dunlop


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont)  19:46, 29 October 2021 (UTC)

William Patterson Dunlop

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This article was created in 2009 and the only reference given was IMDB. It was marked as unreferenced then. It remains marked as unreferenced and has no new references.

I have attempted to find sources but can only find Wikipedia mirrors and database built pages. The only news hits I get are for other people with the same name.

I do not believe there are sufficient reliable sources upon which to base an article on. When Wikipedia is the main source of information about a topic we have an original research problem.

Notability may be borderline as well, playing small roles in movies and appearing in a scattering of episodes on tv shows. The article claims the actor died in 2009, though I have not been able to confirm this with a reliable source. HighInBC Need help? Just ask. 00:31, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Actors and filmmakers-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 09:27, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Canada-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 09:27, 25 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Draftify - Evidence of notability is shaky. Unsourced. Gentleman wiki (talk) 19:24, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Keep. Passes criteria 1 WP:NACTOR. Notable stage actor with reviews in multiple significant publications, and a main cast member of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues; a TV show that ran for four seasons. I added reviews of his performances from The New York Times, Variety, Los Angeles Times, etc. See citations within the article. Articles were accessed through PROQUEST at my university so no urls are available. 4meter4 (talk) 06:44, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I am trying to determine if these reviews are about him or if there are just "mere mentions". I also am trying to determine if these references support the text of the article. I am having trouble because none of these references seem to be online. I don't see his name in any of the titles. May I ask where you are accessing these sources? HighInBC Need help? Just ask. 22:09, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I already explained above. ProQuest (https://www.proquest.com) which requires subscription access, which I have through the library at my university. Reviews of plays and films don’t typically have the names of actors in their titles. 4meter4 (talk) 23:02, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Both LA Times reviews just mentions his name in a cast list, and don't indicate a leading role. The New York Times review has a few details on his performance and background. I have ProQuest access and can check further. So far, I don't see anything sourcing the early life biographical details. 4meter4, did you find that in any ProQuest sources? Firefangledfeathers (talk) 03:35, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Nope, no biographical details. I have some potential leads on independent sources for cast lists for those productions but I can't access those until I get to the university drama library in person. I'll see what I can do to specify the exact roles in the shows later this week. The NYT review does have good details about his performance, and the Variety film review does as well.4meter4 (talk) 17:07, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Cast lists don't help to support notability. We require sources that single him and his performance out for dedicated attention, not just sources that glancingly mention his name in a list. Bearcat (talk) 13:16, 18 October 2021 (UTC)
 * NACTOR is not just automatically passed by every actor who's had acting roles, because every actor who exists at all has always had acting roles. NACTOR is passed by actors who can show media coverage about them and their performances, and not by actors who can't — notability under that criterion vests not in the list of roles per se, but in the quality of the reliable sources that can be shown to verify the significance of his performances. Bearcat (talk) 13:18, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, ✗  plicit  08:02, 2 October 2021 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus. Relisting comment: Do the sources consist of not substantial coverage, or trivial coverage? I.e. does the article pass WP:BASIC, or not? Note the WP:V issue as well.
 * Keep. Meets NACTOR with years as a regular on a TV series, and meets GNG as per WP:HEY. Nfitz (talk) 00:03, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Keep. Given the additional sources and roles that have been added, it seems like this should satisfy NACTOR. – wallyfromdilbert (talk) 08:14, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment Is the best sourcing that has been come up with basically simply a list of trivial mentions of "X played in Y" (judging by the actual content of the article, and by stuff like this, which indeed only has trivial mentions)? The only actually encyclopedic information (beyond the listing of which roles he played in theater, which seem unrelated to his main claim to notability) is a brief unsourced paragraph. If that's all that there is, then this should probably de deleted or redirected to Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 21:38, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
 * due to the challenges in meeting GNG. it's possible, maybe even likely, that reliable, secondary, in-depth coverage exists. The best source I can access is the 1986 NYT Shakespeare review, and I would describe it as falling just short of in-depth. I can't access the "Legit Chatter" Variety source; could you possibly pull a quote or two? Important and relevant, but a bit of a digression: most experienced, active editors can get free basic access to ProQuest using the Wikipedia Library, along with other helpful resources. Firefangledfeathers (talk) 16:58, 15 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete. The sources cited don't constitute WP:SIGCOV - like Firefangledfeathers said, "X played in Y" is hardly commentary. If that's the best available sourcing, this guy simply doesn't meet our standards for notability. &spades;PMC&spades; (talk) 07:03, 19 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Keep Thanks to sources added by 4meter4. MrsSnoozyTurtle 08:12, 19 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment WP:BASIC states that several sources that are not substantial may indicate notablity, but that several trivial mentions usually does not. I do not yet see consensus regarding whether the coverage is "not substantial" or "trivial".  Also, none of the biographical material is sourced at all, failing WP:V.  If this is accordinly removed, are we able to create a worthwhile article per WP:WHYN?  I think this should be re-listed and discussion focused on these questions.   78.26  (spin me / revolutions) 18:59, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, –– FormalDude  talk  06:06, 21 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Responding to 78.26, notability was never my primary concern. The complete lack of sourcing of biographical information is my main concern. We cannot verify his birthday, or if he is really dead, or really anything about him other than a filmography. I am concerned that most keep votes are only addressing notability. HighInBC Need help? Just ask. 09:22, 21 October 2021 (UTC)


 * Weak Keep based on Nactor, as he was a recurring character in Kung Fu, however I have already taken out some of the article as claims he was lead in two Stratford productions was incorrect (provided refs at removal where it says he was a cast member) and the only place I can his death is here, so possible drafty.Davidstewartharvey (talk) 13:33, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
 * for those !voting Keep and citing NACTOR. With the paucity of RS coverage, is this not a case of "Failing basic criteria but meeting additional criteria"? Is NACTOR typically used to support the retention of articles that fail GNG? Firefangledfeathers (talk) 15:24, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment. Just a note to those looking for refs, most sources do not use Patterson so searches should be for "William Dunlop". Here are a few more sources that can be used to improve the article:, (this one has lots of details on his performances in Stratford), . Best.4meter4 (talk) 14:54, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Also be aware that there are many William Dunlops that are not this actor. HighInBC</b> Need help? Just ask. 23:14, 27 October 2021 (UTC)


 * Keep I agree that the subject specific guideline for actors has been met.  D r e a m Focus  01:21, 28 October 2021 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.