Sullivan Out as Sponsor of 10-K Race : Charity: The entertainer is withdrawing his name and participation from the Torrance fund-raiser.

Tom Sullivan, founder of a popular Torrance-based 10-K race, has announced that he is withdrawing his name and participation from the annual March rite in an apparent disagreement over philosophy with the chief organizing group.

The news has startled supporters of the Mobil Tom Sullivan 10-K Run/Dash/Stride, which attracted thousands of runners to Torrance on March 17 and has been an annual event for 13 years.

Sullivan announced his decision in a May 3 letter to Vistas for Blind Children Inc., a South Bay philanthropic group that he helped found, and could not be reached since the letter was made public late Thursday.

In his brief, six-sentence letter, Sullivan criticized Vistas, saying the group “has chosen to be a ‘self-governing’ organization without either board participation by my wife, Patty, or consultation with me on issues of direction and philosophy.”

The race was created “to make the lives of blind children and their families easier, and it’s ironic that our disagreement is over philosophic vision,” he wrote, without further explanation.

Nan Harman of Palos Verdes Estates, president of Vistas, said the organization has written to Sullivan asking him to reconsider.

“It was very confusing for us to receive this letter,” Harman said. Members are “very, very baffled” why Sullivan has withdrawn, she said.

Vistas was started by Sullivan and his wife in 1979 and has raised about $1.5 million for blind children and their families, Harman said. The race raised $278,000 this year. Vistas’ other annual fund-raising event, a fall fashion show, raised $40,000 last year.

Vistas is contributing $240,000 of that money to the Institute for Families of Blind Children of Los Angeles. Another $30,000 is going to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles for a fellowship in pediatric eye research, and about $50,000 is reserved for South Bay projects involving blind children, Harman said.

Sullivan, blind since infancy, is an actor, singer, author and lecturer.

Torrance officials said they are puzzled over Sullivan’s decision.

“I think Tom, because of his reputation, lends a great deal of prestige and opens a lot of doors for the fund-raising effort that is really the crux of that event,” said Gene G. Barnett, city director of parks and recreation. “So it would be a significant loss to the event if they cannot reach a meeting of the minds.”

Mobil Oil Corp., which became the race’s main sponsor this year, released a statement saying: “We have been evaluating our options in connection with sponsoring this premier event for 1992. Obviously we are dismayed with this recent development and hope that a satisfactory resolution can be made.”