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"I wish he could be around forever," said Steve Wooding, 53, of Mountlake Terrace, who got J.P.'s autograph on a T-shirt after the show. "He's one of a kind."
Chris Wedes, 83, of Edmonds, who played J.P. Patches on KIRO-TV from 1958 to 1981, and at many community events since, has said four years with a blood-borne cancer and the treatment accompanying it have sapped his stamina.
His fans at the Fishermen's Fall Festival Saturday were not eager to let him go, lining up by the hundreds after his stage appearance to get an autograph, a snapshot or to buy a piece of Patches memorabilia.
One measure of their commitment: After J.P. signed autographs for an hour, nearly 200 people were still lined up to see him. After a second hour of autograph-signing, a visibly exhausted J.P. finally rose to leave, begging the forgiveness of several dozen still in the line.
"Thank you all for coming. Thank you so much," he said, slowly turning to go.
Among the many who did get an autograph was Jessie Johnson, 46, of Poulsbo, who told J.P., "You helped me get to school every day."
Every weekday, she said, when J.P.'s morning show ended at 7:30, she knew it was time to go outside and catch her school bus. "And in the afternoon," she said, "his show was our baby-sitter."
Aaron Dixon, of Lake Stevens, and his wife, Tracey, brought sons Chase, 13, and Deano, 7 months, to see the clown that Aaron, 35, remembers so well from childhood. "He gives a smile to everyone, young and old," Dixon said, recounting that he got to appear on the show once in a group of kids from the mobile-home park where he grew up in Tacoma.
On the long-running children's show, J.P. — full name Julius Pierpont Patches — told viewers he was mayor of the city dump.
The show ran for some 10,000 episodes and never relied on a script. It tapped a creative chemistry between Wedes and Bob Newman, of Seattle, who played J.P's girlfriend, Gertrude, and a half-dozen other characters. Newman, 79, who has multiple sclerosis, stopped making appearances as Gertrude several years ago, due to health.
A bronze statue in Fremont named "Late for the Interurban," by Kevin Pettelle, depicts J.P. and Gertrude rushing in opposite directions, arms locked.
J.P.'s appearance Saturday came at an event he has attended for more than 20 years, a benefit for the Seattle Fishermen's Memorial. The nonprofit group promotes fishing-industry safety and helps families who've lost loved ones at sea.
During Wedes' lengthy autograph session Saturday, his wife of 55 years, Joanie, peddled J.P. T-shirts, photos, action figures, bobbleheads and more. "Now he's all mine," she said, adding with a wink, "But then again ... ."
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