James Patterson
A deadpan comic who treats absurd premises like math problems.
1 special · 2003
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James Scott Patterson speaks with a flat, weary cadence. He will take the stage and start picking apart the unwritten rules of a wet t-shirt contest, or detail the formal letters he writes to billionaires asking for cash. The humor stems from the massive gap between his dry tone and the subjects he chooses. He stands relatively still, looking and sounding like a guy who is mildly annoyed that no one else has bothered to run the numbers on how ridiculous the world is.
Specials
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Premium Blend: D.L. Hughley host (S7E3) with D.L. Hughley, Lisa Gopman & 2 more
A 2003 television showcase of emerging club comics.
Comedy Central · 25 min
On stage
He is a club veteran who has settled into a highly specific geographic groove. Patterson came up in Boston, filmed a set for Comedy Central’s Premium Blend in 2003, and spent years working rooms in Los Angeles and Denver. His hour-long special Superior Design was released by 800 Pound Gorilla Media. He lives in Key West, where he performs a heavily researched weekly standup show exclusively about Ernest Hemingway. He uses the author’s outsized mythos to build an hour of dark jokes about historical posturing, complete with visual aids and factual citations.
His material leans entirely on this kind of stubborn logic. Patterson does not do big physical outs or rely on energy to sell a punchline. If a bit involves pretending to be possessed by the devil, he approaches the possession from a logistical angle rather than a theatrical one. This low-energy approach forces the audience to lean in and catch the quiet shifts in his argument, though it means his sets can drag if a room isn’t willing to follow his dense, methodical train of thought.
At a glance
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