Wow! I interviewed Joe earlier this year and am about to post the audio interview. This piece is so well done and truly captures the magic of how important Joe Patten is to the history of the Fox. Really great job! If it's okay, I'd love to link up this video to my post. It's fantastic-
Without Joe there would be no Fox Theatre! What an incredible guy, what an amazing story. He deserves the best, the support and love of the entire Atlanta community.
I have known Joe Patten for nearly fifty years and worked as his assistant in maintaining the Fox's outstanding pipe organ long before the inception of Atlanta Landmarks. I served as a staff organist at the Fox until 1988 and worked in every department of the theatre at one time or another for a quarter of a century.
To say that he is undoubtedly the most brilliant indivudal I have ever had the good fortune to know would be an enormous understatement. The man is capable of understanding anything and one always gets the impression when he speaks to you that he unquestionably knows what he is talking about, regardless of the topic. Everything he ever predicted about the future of the Fox from 1965 onward has untimately come to pass.
My favorite expression of his is that, "No one is indispensible." This is somewhat of an irony, because in no uncertain terms. there is not a person anywhere who could have provided the combination of knowledge and multi-varied cross section of skills needed to transform the theatre into the extraordinary venue it is today. The perhaps millions of visitors who have passed through its doors since Joe Patten first arrived in early 1963 have but one person to truly thank. Many contributed loyally to the cause over the years, but without this genuis. . . this talented, visionary of a great man steering the course, it is absolutely impossible that the protracted project of the Fox's preservation and restoration would have been a sucess. The action to attempt displacing Joe from his rightfully and legitimately earned home speaks a lot about what is wrong with America today. The word that comes to mind is a little thing called "integrity" and it is a quality becoming harder to find with every day that passes. Joe Patten is the very defintion of the word.
This is an outstanding video for anyone who loves the Fox Theater to watch. Many of us had no idea that the saving of the Fox could attributed to one very unassuming person. It truly is a great testament to the human spirit. As an Atlanta resident, I am truly grateful to Joe Patten. Now that Joe is in need of help, I am trying to step up an provide that help. I am the CTO of an Aging in Place integration company and want to give Joe and the Fox Theater one of our solutions to allow him to stay in his home for as long as possible. No one has earned that right more than Joe Patten. If anyone is reading this wants to help us to help Joe, let me know--Shawn Lemley 770-552-7777 office. We are in contact with the Fox and Atlanta Landmarks and just want to give Joe and his family the opportunity to see if we can meet their needs. In any case, I hope that the Fox and Atlanta Landmarks do the right thing(s) for Joe and he remains the Phantom of the Fox. Good Luck and Good Health Joe!
Joe has been like a grandfather to my two boys. We credit Joe for saving the Fox. Everyone I know or I have introduced to Joe think he is a special person. Their is no one like him. The Fox is his home. When people talk about the Fox, Joe's name is always mentioned. He deserves to live the rest of his life in this building.
Jan 21, 2010
Reader Comments (8)
You did a great job of highlighting my brother's life at the Fox.
To say that he is undoubtedly the most brilliant indivudal I have ever had the good fortune to know would be an enormous understatement. The man is capable of understanding anything and one always gets the impression when he speaks to you that he unquestionably knows what he is talking about, regardless of the topic. Everything he ever predicted about the future of the Fox from 1965 onward has untimately come to pass.
My favorite expression of his is that, "No one is indispensible."
This is somewhat of an irony, because in no uncertain terms. there is not a person anywhere who could have provided the combination of knowledge and multi-varied cross section of skills needed to transform the theatre into the extraordinary venue it is today. The perhaps millions of visitors who have passed through its doors since Joe Patten first arrived in early 1963 have but one person to truly thank. Many contributed loyally to the cause over the years, but without this genuis. . . this talented, visionary of a great man steering the course, it is absolutely impossible that the protracted project of the Fox's preservation and restoration would have been a sucess. The action to attempt displacing Joe from his rightfully and legitimately earned home speaks a lot about what is wrong with America today. The word that comes to mind is a little thing called "integrity" and it is a quality becoming harder to find with every day that passes. Joe Patten is the very defintion of the word.
Now that Joe is in need of help, I am trying to step up an provide that help. I am the CTO of an Aging in Place integration company and want to give Joe and the Fox Theater one of our solutions to allow him to stay in his home for as long as possible. No one has earned that right more than Joe Patten.
If anyone is reading this wants to help us to help Joe, let me know--Shawn Lemley 770-552-7777 office. We are in contact with the Fox and Atlanta Landmarks and just want to give Joe and his family the opportunity to see if we can meet their needs.
In any case, I hope that the Fox and Atlanta Landmarks do the right thing(s) for Joe and he remains the Phantom of the Fox.
Good Luck and Good Health Joe!