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 prod ...

known for his work on

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

, 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 South ...

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 Signal ...

where he navigated

B-52 bombers The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

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 ...

. 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 1846 ...

. He earned a master's degree at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1970, where he was a classmate of ''The Sopranos'' creator

David Chase David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American filmmaker. He wrote and produced the HBO drama ''The Sopranos'' which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. Chase has also produced and written for such shows as ''The Rockford Files ...

. He was nominated for the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award in 2002 and 2003 for his work on ''The Sopranos'' and won The

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

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 Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. He directed episodes of ''The Sopranos'', ''

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...

'', ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate ...

'', ''

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: * Marriage, ...

'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' CSI'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'', ''

Magnum P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on th ...

'', ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 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 on ...

''. He also directed more than 12 television movies, usually thrillers and crime stories, including '' A Deadly Silence'' (1989) and ''

Seduced By Madness ''Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story'' is a 1996 American television film directed by John Patterson and starring Ann-Margret, Peter Coyote, Leslie Hope, Christian Campbell, Hedy Burress, Tobey Maguire, and Freddy Rodríguez. Based ro ...

'' (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 world' ...

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 sur ...

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

" **Episode 2.06 "

The Happy Wanderer "The Happy Wanderer" ("''Der fröhliche Wanderer''" or "''Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann''") is a popular song. The original text was written by Florenz Friedrich Sigismund (1791–1877).Bust Out "Bust Out" is the 23rd episode of the HBO original series ''The Sopranos'' and the 10th of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green, and Mitchell Burgess and directed by John Patterson, and originally aired on March ...

" **Episode 2.13 "

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, f ...

" **Episode 3.04 " Employee of the Month" **Episode 3.13 " Army of One" **Episode 4.02 "

No Show "No-Show" is the 41st episode of the HBO television series ''The Sopranos'' and the second episode of the show's fourth season. Written by David Chase and Terence Winter, it was directed by John Patterson (director), John Patterson and originally ...

" **Episode 4.07 " Watching Too Much Television" **Episode 4.13 " Whitecaps" **Episode 5.03 " Where's Johnny?" **Episode 5.08 "

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

" **Episode 5.13 " All Due Respect" *'' Six Feet Under'': **Episode 1.03 "The Foot" *''

'' 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 Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

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 lik ...

and

Heather Fairfield Heather may refer to: Plants *The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly: **Common heather or ling, ''Calluna'' **Various species of the genus ''Cassiope'' **Various species of the genus ''Erica (plant), Erica'' Name * Heather (given name) ...

* ''She Said No'' (1990 TV Movie) concerning

acquaintance rape Acquaintance rape is rape that is perpetrated by a person who knows the victim. Examples of acquaintances include someone the victim is dating, a classmate, co-worker, employer, family member, spouse, counselor, therapist, religious official, or m ...

and starring

Veronica Hamel Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama ''Hill Street Blues''. Biography The daughter of a Philade ...

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...

, Ray Baker, and

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...

*''

'' "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 Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

(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