Patrick Warburton has arguably one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, particularly for those who watched “Seinfeld” and remember him as “Puddy,” Elaine’s boyfriend.
Though “Puddy” might be his most iconic character, he’s also known for voicing paraplegic cop Joe Swanson on “Family Guy,” and he is the one who greets guests (on screen, of course) during the Soarin’ Around the World instructional video at Disney’s California Adventure. Thanks to those roles that have put him in front of tens of millions of Americans in an iconic way, his voice, face, and charm are all unmistakable.
And, predictably, he’s been attacked by the left for his roles. Particularly, he’s been attacked by the usual cancel culture suspects for his roles as the dimwitted “Puddy” on Seinfeld and the paraplegic Joe Swanson on Family Guy.
Yet, unlike many other actors, Warburton has refused to back down and apologize. Instead, he insists that the Puddy jokes have stood the test of time and that he thinks the Joe Swanson jokes in Family Guy are funny and provide needed humor.
Speaking about Puddy in a statement to Fox News Digital, Warburton said “I think that’s why the show’s in perpetual syndication and people love it. There’s always, you know, the way things change, and this and that… what would fly today? What flew yesterday can’t fly today.”
Continuing, he refused to apologize for the Joe Swanson role on Family Guy, saying that while he used to apologize for the insensitive jokes on the show he no longer does. In his words: “I used to apologize for being on ‘Family Guy,’ and I apologize no more because this world is a horrible native satire. Everybody takes themselves too seriously, and… I think in many ways become an overwhelming mess. But we need humor in our lives, and we need love and humor, acceptance. It’s all rather simple.”
Also unlike many in Hollywood, Warburton has used his fame for good, raising millions for St. Jude. Commenting on that, Fox News Digital reported that:
“Warburton recently marked another personal milestone by raising more than $4.7 million to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at his 13th annual celebrity golf tournament, The Warburton. Patrick has now raised over $26 million for St. Jude, which treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Warburton also joked that he avoided Jerry Seinfeld on the set of “Seinfeld” because he was worried about saying something dumb around him, saying:
“You know, it’s funny. You make a comment on something that was actually in an interview in Australia. I was working on a project down there, and they asked me about working on ‘Seinfeld.’ And I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I avoided Jerry like the plague,’ which is… that’s the story. It’s like, everybody’s curious, ‘Why? You’re such a horrible person?’ It was just simply because I knew how fortunate I was to be on that show and I wanted to hit my marks, get my laughs, get out of there and just not be an issue and just have ’em say, ‘Let’s bring that guy back.’ That’s what I wanted.”
Fortunately, that didn’t ruin his relationship with Jerry Seinfeld, who invited him to dinner years later. In Warburton’s words:
“It was a few years back. I was in New York doing press for ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ and I just bumped into Jerry in a diner… in a random diner,” Warburton recalled. “I got a tap on my shoulder, and you know how your brain microcomputes? I was thinking to myself, ‘I bet I know who this person is.’ This isn’t going to be just somebody going, ‘Hey, Puddy, can I have your autograph?’ I turn around and there is Jerry’s face, six inches away from mine.
“He goes, ‘You here by yourself?’ I go, ‘ya.’ He goes, ‘Come on and join me; I’m having breakfast with Colin Quinn. Then I had breakfast with them, and he says, ‘What are you doing tonight?’ I go, ‘I don’t know.’ He says, ‘Come on over for dinner.’ So I went over to his house. I had dinner with Jerry and his lovely wife and their kids, and it was just a great evening.”
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