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J.P. Patches is a clown who appeared on the Seattle television station KIRO channel 7 from 1958 to 1981, after appearing for a few years on Minneapolis station WTCN channel 11 starting in 1953. He was hugely popular among viewers in the Puget Sound area and southwestern British Columbia, not only with children, but with their parents, too, who enjoyed J.P.'s frequent use of double entendre. The show was live. With intense barrage from off-camera crew, the show was unrehearsed, masterful improv.
Chris Wedes took up the character in 1955 when Daryl Laub, the character's creator, left WTCN for KSTP channel 5 in St. Paul.{{Citation needed}} Wedes (pronounced WEE-dus) played the character from that point on, bringing him along with his move to Seattle where he became the KIRO News floor director. He continues to make his living portraying J.P. at public events and private parties., and by licensing J.P. Patches merchandise.
The primary conceit of the program was that J.P. was the "Mayor of the City Dump", and he lived in a shack at the dump, surrounded by his cast of stock characters: Sturdley the Bookworm, Esmerelda (actually a Raggedy Ann doll), Ketchikan the Animal Man, Boris S. Wort (the second meanest man in the world), Ggoorrsstt the Friendly Frpl, 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. The city dump was the actual Montlake Landfill (1926-66), 1972-present the Union Bay Natural Area.
Fans were called "Patches Pals." Bill Gates was one of those kids. So was former Governor Gary Locke, NW comedian John Keister, and KOMO-TV anchor Kathi Goertzen. J.P. would celebrate birthdays of selected Patches Pals by "viewing" them on his "ICU2TV" set (actually a cardboard prop that created the appearance that J.P. was looking at you from inside your television). He would predict with amazing accuracy where a gift might be hidden in the child's house.
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, was a Patches Pal, having grown up in the Pacific Northwest. Along with Portland, Oregon clown Rusty Nails, J.P. was the partial inspiration for Groening's Krusty the Clown.{{Citation needed}}
Prior to moving to Seattle, Wedes appeared on multiple programs at WTCN-TV in Minneapolis. Other than playing J.P., he most notably played Joe the Cook on that station's Lunch with Casey program.
Further reading
See also University Slough for Union Bay Natural Area
References
- Stein, Alan J. (02 March 2003). "Patches, Julius Pierpont", HistoryLink.org Essay 5344. Retrieved 21 April 2006. Stein referenced Jack Broom, “The J.P. Generation,” Pacific Magazine, The Seattle Times, 4 April 1993, pp. 6-11,14-17;
Bill Cartmel, “Hi Ya, Patches Pals,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11 April 1971, pp. 6-7;
Erik Lacitis, “Patches Understands – and Survivies,” The Seattle Times, 23 February 1978, p. A15;
, The East Side Journal, 31 May 1962, p. 3; Ibid. 14 May 1969, p. 19. - stevenl (13 November 2005). "OlyBlog, Evergroove Trivia pt. 37". Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- Wedes, Chris; Johnston, Bryan; & Hobson, Tom (ed.) (2002). J.P. Patches, Northwest icon. Seattle: Peanut Butter Publishers, pp. 41–59. ISBN 0-89716-799-6.
- J.P. Patches.com.Co.Inc.Ltd.International (1647). "J.P.'s Appeareances" .
Bellevue Strawberry Festival June 25, 2005; Yakima Fruit Market October 15, 2005;
Seattle Aquarium October 29, 2005; . Retrieved 21 April 2006. - Channel 9 Corporation (2005). "Home > Pacific Northwest Shop > J.P. Patches". Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- J.P. Patches.com.Co.Inc.Ltd.International (1647). "Patches Pal News". Retrieved 21 April 2006. 2006 appearances, inclusive.
- Center for Urban Horticulture (n.d., 1999 per "Montlake Landfill Information Summary, January 1999" on page). "HISTORY @ UBNA" (Union Bay Natural Area). Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- Paynter, Susan (17 February 2006). "This clown truly deserves a statue", Seattle Post-intelligencer. Retrieved on 21 April 2006.
Bibliography
- Center for Urban Horticulture (n.d., 1999 per "Montlake Landfill Information Summary, January 1999" on page). "HISTORY @ UBNA" (Union Bay Natural Area). Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- Channel 9 Corporation (2005). "Home > Pacific Northwest Shop > J.P. Patches". Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- J.P. Patches.com.Co.Inc.Ltd.International (1647). "J.P.'s Appeareances" . Retrieved 21 April 2006.
- J.P. Patches.com.Co.Inc.Ltd.International (1647). "Patches Pal News". Retrieved 21 April 2006. 2006 appearances, inclusive.
- Paynter, Susan (17 February 2006). "This clown truly deserves a statue", Seattle Post-intelligencer. Retrieved on 21 April 2006.
- Stein, Alan J. (02 March 2003). "Patches, Julius Pierpont", HistoryLink.org Essay 5344. Retrieved 21 April 2006. Stein referenced Jack Broom, “The J.P. Generation,” Pacific Magazine, The Seattle Times, 4 April 1993, pp. 6-11,14-17;
Bill Cartmel, “Hi Ya, Patches Pals,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11 April 1971, pp. 6-7;
Erik Lacitis, “Patches Understands – and Survivies,” The Seattle Times, 23 February 1978, p. A15;
, The East Side Journal, 31 May 1962, p. 3; Ibid. 14 May 1969, p. 19. - Wedes, Chris; Johnston, Bryan; & Hobson, Tom (ed.) (2002). J.P. Patches, Northwest icon. Seattle: Peanut Butter Publishers. ISBN 0-89716-799-6.