John Tiffin Patterson (April 4, 1940 – February 7, 2005) was a

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the pro ...

known for his work on drama series, who also made

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s. He directed thirteen episodes of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'', including the first five season finales. Patterson was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

Biography

Aged 19, Patterson joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

where he navigated B-52 bombers for the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...

. He resumed his college studies while a reservist and graduated from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1 ...

. He earned a master's degree at Stanford University in 1970, where he was a classmate of ''The Sopranos'' creator David Chase. He was nominated for the Emmy award in 2002 and 2003 for his work on ''The Sopranos'' and won The Directors Guild of America award for the show in 2002. As a director, Patterson worked for several television

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

s, including HBO and CBS. He directed episodes of ''The Sopranos'', '' Providence'', '' The Practice'', '' Carnivàle'', ''

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marri ...

'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' CSI'', '' CHiPs'', '' Magnum P.I.'', '' Hill Street Blues'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', and the pilot episode of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

''. He also directed more than 12 television movies, usually thrillers and crime stories, including ''

A Deadly Silence A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1989) and '' Seduced By Madness'' (1996). He was married to Casey Kelley, but they later divorced; they had two children. Patterson died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

at the age of 64. Season 6 episode 12 of ''The Sopranos'', titled "

Kaisha "Kaisha" is the 77th episode of the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' and the 12th episode of the sixth season. It served as the midseason finale to the first part of Season 6, which HBO broadcast in two parts. The episode was written ...

", was dedicated to him.

Selected filmography

*''

'', 13 episodes directed by John Tiffin Patterson **Episode 1.04 " Meadowlands" **Episode 1.13 "

I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" is the 13th episode of the HBO original series ''The Sopranos'' and the finale of the show's first season. Written by David Chase and directed by John Patterson, it originally aired on April 4, 1999. Starring * Jame ...

" **Episode 2.06 " The Happy Wanderer" **Episode 2.10 " Bust Out" **Episode 2.13 " Funhouse" **Episode 3.04 " Employee of the Month" **Episode 3.13 " Army of One" **Episode 4.02 " No Show" **Episode 4.07 "

Watching Too Much Television "Watching Too Much Television" is the 46th episode of the HBO original series, ''The Sopranos'' and the seventh episode of the show's fourth season. Its teleplay was written by Nick Santora and Terence Winter from a story by Robin Green, Mitchell B ...

" **Episode 4.13 " Whitecaps" **Episode 5.03 " Where's Johnny?" **Episode 5.08 " Marco Polo" **Episode 5.13 " All Due Respect" *'' Six Feet Under'': **Episode 1.03 "The Foot" *'' Providence'' episodes: **"The Birthday Party" **"The Honeymoon's Over" **"Runaway Sydney" **"Saint Syd" * '' Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive'' (1992) * '' Sins of the Mother'' (1991 TV movie) starring Elizabeth Montgomery,

Dale Midkiff Dale Alan Midkiff (born July 1, 1959) is an American actor, best known for playing Louis Creed in the horror film '' Pet Sematary'' (1989) and Captain Darien Lambert in the TV series '' Time Trax''. Career Midkiff acted in off-Broadway plays li ...

and Heather Fairfield * ''She Said No'' (1990 TV Movie) concerning acquaintance rape and starring Veronica Hamel, Lee Grant, Ray Baker, and Judd Hirsch *'' Hill Street Blues'' "A Wasted Weekend" Episode 7.12 - written by

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

(1987)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, John 1940 births 2005 deaths American television directors Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer University at Buffalo alumni Directors Guild of America Award winners Stanford University alumni United States Air Force officers