L. Craig Patton

Craig is survived by his loving father; Doug Patton, brother; Rod Patton, nephews; Corky Patton, Dustin Patton, niece; Hannah Patton, step-father; John Reiss and many friends. He will be greatly missed.

In Remembrance of a Friend

By Melody Stewart (09-02-2015)

An Actor, a Friend, Some Kind of a Man

“He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?” This famous line from “A Touch of Evil” conveys the hopelessness we often feel when someone we love dies. When faced with a bitter reality we neither planned for or can control, we often feel as though we have no words to express the hollowness in our hearts. To the departed it does not matter what we say about them, but to the living, the ones left behind, it does. The story still has to be told once more, and again and again. To Craig Patton's friends and family the story matters a great deal.

Born Lee Craig Patton in Denver Colorado, January 7th, 1957, Craig showed early signs of being, well, noticeable. Having an eye, and some would say disposition, for trouble, Craig's early antics involved playfully strangling his younger brother Rod (as evidenced in the family photo albums) and according to childhood friend, Andy Wagner, testing the patience of the local police for riding his bike on the sidewalk (among other things). It's great that “trouble” meant riding your bike on the sidewalk! These early antics foreshadowed his talent for getting noticed and eventually getting noticed as an actor.

Like many of you out there, early in his career, Craig frequented the Casting Director showcases like AIA (still going strong) and The Actor's Group. He worked at his craft and enjoyed the “work” as a kind of “play”. A close friend and “brother from another mother”, Jeff Stein said of Craig, “(He) served as a reminder for why we performer types do what we do: For the love of it. He just wanted to be in the game and he stayed to cheer other actors for all four quarters.” Wouldn't we all love to work with someone like that? Someone, as Jeff put it, “...who expected nothing except to be there, immersed in it, as an equal, a colleague to all.”

Craig was well known for theatre as well as film/television. Much like his beloved game of football, he loved acting on stage because he loved the ensemble experience. He was, after all a team player. Jeff Stein remembers a time when he joked that Craig reminded him of the scene in the movie, “Remember the Titans” when Ethan Suplee's character says, “Someone said football, so I come running”. Jeff reminisces that, “To Craig, someone said 'acting' and he came running”. Some of his favorite theatrical experiences included many roles at the Glendale Center Theatre and one of his favorite roles as the double-speaking Vice President Burden in the genius political satire MasterGate by Larry Gelbart (The Actors Group Theater).

Craig's “do it for the love of it” attitude spilled over to film and television. When asked by a casting director if he would mind showing up to the set for just one line Craig laughed and said, “Mind?”. Of course he would show up. Of course he would do his best. That's who he was, and casting directors, writers, directors, and fellow actors took notice and appreciated his attitude. And so it's not surprising that Craig lived the nowcasting.com motto of taking charge of your own career, even before it was our call to action. Craig's most recent film, “American Bred”, is set to be released some time in 2016. Other films some of you may have seen include, the critically acclaimed, “Taylor's Way” and the comedy, “Poor White Trash”. His television roles include guest starring roles in, The Shield, Criminal Minds, Jericho and Dexter, among others.

While Craig had a long and successful career, like most actors, Craig occasionally suffered from the ego based fear of being seen as a failure. Questions like, “Should I really be doing this?” “When/how will I get a break?” or my personal favorite from the television series “Party Down”, when Lizzie Caplin's character says, “If I get this part then every decision I've ever made will make sense.” For Craig, quitting was unthinkable, and he ignored the judgment from others about the art of acting. Jeff recalls someone asking Craig why actors did plays for practically no money. He and Craig responded by asking the naysayer, "Do you get paid to be in your softball league? And by the way, when was the last time senior citizens lined up to buy season tickets to your games?" Craig would never quit because, as Jeff says, “...when you've cultivated as much desire to the core of your soul to creatively express as Craig did, looking at the possible absence of that feels so horrible!”

Now his friends and family must look at the absence of Craig from their lives and it does feel horrible. But he lives eternally in their memories and the stories they tell. For them, it matters what they say about Craig, what anyone says, because he was not just “...some kind of a man”. He was the best kind.

Craig Patton died in Colorado visiting family, August 11th, 2015, of sudden cardiac arrest.