Jim Patton Has Died

[Richard Kaufman]

Sad to report that a good friend when I first went to LA, Jim Patton, died this morning of lung cancer. He'd had one lung removed a year ago.

[Will Jung]

My blessings go out towards his family and friends.

[Jon Racherbaumer]

To repeat what I briefly posted elsewhere when hearing the sad news of Jim's passing, let us remember and praise Jim's passion for magic. It was steadfast. He also had an uncanny gift for friendship and his promotion of goodwill was consistently exceptional. We often talk about six-degrees of separation, but in Jim's case, he was always one degree or less away from the Light and the Shadow, and from the Work and the Workers. He was also a congenial go-between and peace-maker when matters got heated and contentious. His participation and presence will indeed be missed and the loss is equally significant. RIP, JIm…it was a privilege to know you and share the gifts you offered. Onward...

[erdnasephile]

Oh, my--what a great loss. Through his writings, I always found he was an insightful (and very cool) guy. So sorry to hear of his passing.

[Evan Shuster]

Very sorry to hear of the loss. I never met the man, but certainly enjoyed his contributions to Apocalypse, and Penumbra. I'll have to go back and check his other work in The New York Magic Symposium, and Ultra Cervon.

My thoughts go out to his friends and family.

[Leonard Hevia]

Patton hosted the Magicana column for Genii back in the early 1990s. Some interesting stuff there for anyone interested. I also heard that that he was ill about a year ago. I considered him a part of I called the Magic Castle West Coast Inner Circle that consisted of Jennings, Cervon, Giorgio, and others.

RIP Jim.

[Diego]

Jim was a gracious, generous person who I always enjoyed talking with at The Castle. Very sad to know one of the good guys is gone. He liked learning about others and sharing what he knew.

Thanks Jim.

[Matthew Field]

Very sorry to hear this. I never met Jim, but his Magicana columns were always enjoyed. Aloha to a great magician.

Matt Field

[Tom Gilbert]

I never did meet Jim, but had a quick encounter buying some notes. He came across as a very nice, sincere person. RIP

[Steve Bryant]

Jim was too handsome to be a magician, but I'm glad he became one anyway. I'll treasure the brief moments I had with him over the years.

[Bob Farmer]

Very sad to hear this. I had a session once with Jim and Bruce Cervon. I'd never met either man before this and they were just great with an unknown card guy with a few weird ideas.

[Richard Stokes]

The March obituary by Michael Perovich contains that awkward line: "J M P was stylish, soothing and ingratiating."

Ingratiating is a pejorative expression in the UK, but I assume Michael did not mean to imply that J M P was sycophantic or insincere.

Perhaps in America you use the word differently?

In a tribute of this kind Michael could use another adjective which avoids any ambiguity.

[Jack Shalom]

From Merriam-Webster.com:

1
: capable of winning favor : pleasing <an ingratiating smile>

2
: intended or adopted in order to gain favor : flattering

So, no, not necessarily negative at all, given definition #1.

[Richard Kaufman]

Stokes: It's nothing but a compliment in the US. And it's okay to say, "fanny" over here, too, since it just means your posterior.

[Richard Stokes]

My Oxford Thesaurus of English provides 33 alternatives to 'ingratiating' and they are all negative.

This section in the Thesaurus almost reads like a John Cleese sketch where he bombards you with insults: "sycophantic,toadying,obsequious,servile,insincere, nauseating, sickening, smarmy, slimy, bootlicking, brown-nosing..."

Given that Genii has an international readership, I still think it would be wiser to eliminate this adjective from any tribute.

[Leonard Hevia]

A farewell to Patton posted by R.P. Wilson:

http://machinebreak.blogspot.co.uk/2016 ... ll-jp.html

Patton's Facebook page is still up for those who want to visit:

https://www.facebook.com/jamesmpatton