J.P. Patches (full name: Julius Pierpont Patches) was a clown portrayed by Seattle entertainer Chris Wedes (April 3, 1928 – July 22, 2012). The J.P. Patches Show was one of the longer-running locally-produced childrens television programs in the United States, having appeared on Seattle TV station KIRO channel 7 from 1958 to 1981. [1] [2] The show was live, unrehearsed improv with rarely more than two live actors on screen (Wedes and Bob Newman) but with frequent contributions from the sound effects man and off-camera crew. [3] J.P. Patches hosted his show twice a day every weekday for 13 years (plus Saturdays), then for the next 8 years did the morning show only, and finally for the last 2 years appeared on Saturday mornings only—for a total of over 10,000 hours of on-air time. The show premiered on April 5, 1958, as the second program ever broadcast by KIRO-TV, the first being a telecast of the explosion of Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows, British Columbia, Canada. The show was immensely popular in the Puget Sound area and southwestern British Columbia, with children as well as their parents, who enjoyed J.P.s frequent use of double entendre and sly subversiveness. [4] Two generations of viewers grew up as Patches Pals, sharing the joyful zany antics of J.P. with their kids. At the peak of its run, the Emmy-winning program had a viewership of over 100,000 in its local markets. After the TV show stopped airing, Wedes continued to portray J.P. at many public and private events over the years [5] despite suffering in later years from incurable (but in remission) blood cancer. [6] [7] In 2011, citing poor health, Wedes announced that he expected his final public appearance to be September 17, 2011. [8] On July 22, 2012, Chris Wedes died after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He was 84. [9] J.P. was the Mayor of the City Dump, where he lived in a shack and welcomed frequent guests: Seattle boy scout and girl scout troops, various local and national celebrities, and his cast of supporting characters: Sturdley the Bookworm, Esmerelda (portrayed by a Raggedy Ann doll), Ketchikan the Animal Man (a sort of Jack Hanna character), Boris S. Wort (the second meanest man in the world), LeRoy Frump (a character obviously based on Art Carneys Ed Norton), Tikey Turkey (a rubber chicken), Grandpa Tick Tock (a grandfather clock with an elderly face where the pendulum would be), The Swami of Pastrami, Ggoorrsstt the Friendly Frpl (a one-eyed brown shag carpet), Miss Smith (a motorcycle riding delivery woman who told mostly awful jokes), Superclown (a JP like superhero), J.P.s evil counterpart P. J. Scratches (per official site I.M. Rags), and J.P.s girlfriend, Gertrude. Virtually the entire supporting cast, male and female, human or non-human, was played by the versatile Bob Newman. [4] The city dump where J.P. lived is thought to be the Montlake Landfill, which was a real city dump from 1926 to 1966, but since 1972 has been athletic fields, a parking lot, and the Union Bay Natural Area of the University of Washington in the University District. [10] J.P. announced the birthdays of selected Patches Pals by viewing them on his ICU2TV set (a cardboard prop that created the appearance that J.P. was looking at you from inside your television). He predicted where a gift might be hidden in the childs house with amazing accuracy (perhaps with the never-mentioned assistance of a postcard from a parent). [4] The sound effect used was the same, distinctive ringtone of Cramdens presidential hotline telephone in Our Man Flint. Steve Allen & Jayne Meadows Al Capp Jacques Cousteau Beverly Garland (of My Three Sons) The Harlem Globetrotters Jack LaLanne Clayton Moore Jesse Owens Slim Pickens Dixy Lee Ray Debbie Reynolds Merrilee Rush Colonel Harland Sanders Danny Thomas Tiny Tim Burt Ward Broadcaster Daryl Laub created the J.P. Patches character in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but when he left WTCN (now KARE) in 1955 for KSTP-TV channel 5, Chris Wedes (pronounced WEE-dus) [1] took over the character from that point on. Wedes appeared on several WTCN programs. Besides J.P., his most notable character was Joe the Cook on WTCNs Lunch with Casey. [4] Wedes brought J.P. with him when he moved to Seattle in 1958 to become KIRO News first floor director. [4] In addition to the long-running TV show, J.P. Patches made frequent fundraising appearances for local charities. He was a common sight at Childrens Hospital, visiting sick kids and promoting the work of the hospital. JP was listed as one of Krusty the Clowns birthday buddies in the animated television show The Simpsons (episode Radio Bart) along with Bart. This was similar to JPs I.C.U.2-TV segment. Matt Groening, the creator, drew a lot of inspiration from his former home in the Pacific Northwest such as naming the streets. JP and fellow Pacific NW clown Rusty Nails are considered the inspiration for Krusty
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 05:53:05 +0000
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