Who Is This Mandy Patinkin?

So, I already know what you are thinking.
What kind of person leaves a blog about Mandy Patinkin?
Some probably do not even know who he is, but to others, he might be considered a big star.
I just recently hung up the phone with a good friend of mine, Steve, (or Stiffy, if you will) and he said he was stuck in this hotel room watching the short lived Showtime series "Dead Like Me" played in syndication on the Sci-Fi channel apparently.
Now I am sure, with the last blog, you are thinking "well, with being a fan of science fiction shows and movies, this is why he is writing about this crap.". How wrong you are.
The reason I am writing about this "crap" is because of a memory. A teenage memory that is as funny to me as it was the first time ever spoken.
So, here it goes.
Mandy Patinkin does not bring thoughts of acting or television shows, it brings memories of performances at a theatre in Chicago with his name in lights.
I did not see the show, all I know it was a one man show for old men and old women of all ages.
At that time I was unclear of who this Mandy Patinkin was. So, with a little help from Stiffy, I was brought up to speed.
He was one of the great doctors on the, once again, short lived television series "Chicago Hope".

"Ahh, yeah, I know who you are talking about now".

But why would this T.V. actor be performing a one man show at this small Chicago Theatre.
We both had no clue.
But we did have some ideas.

Of course our idea was nowhere near what the truth actually was.
We imagined a one man singing show sprinkled with monologues about life as a great Hollywood actor.
We imagined a great comedy sketch that literally split sides of the geriatric crowd.
We imagined a great man with great stories that were only able to be told on a stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans.
Of course, this is only what we imagined.
But, our finest moment came when we walked past this theatre on a different day and saw an ambulance parked in front of the main entrance with lights flashing and sirens roaring.
So now, there we were imaging again.
Always a bad thing.
Now, we imagined an overwhelming crowd trying to gain access to a sold out show of Mandy Patinkin. Police barricades being swallowed up by manic fans. Old ladies and old men being trampled by fanatics trying to gain access for just one glimpse of the great Patinkin.
Oh, what a gruesome scene.
For us, at least.

So, I hang up the phone with Stiffy after reliving this forgotten memory (which should have stayed forgotten) and I became intrigued. So, naturally, I IMDBed Mandy Patinkin to see what other work he has done.
He was 88 keys in the "Dick Tracy" movie released in 1990.
He even did a voice over in a "Simpson's" episode.
What I did see that was interesting, he has spent a lot of his working career playing characters that had a lot of depth.
But here you go. His best parts, to me at least, were roles that cast him as a devil or as a grim reaper.
In a 2001 episode of "Touched By An Angel" he played satan.
In the series for Showtime, he played a grim reaper.
Maybe Mandy is not being upfront about his religious beliefs.
OK, that is a stretch. But what I am trying to get at is the reoccurring theme of life and death in his roles. He has sprinkled his career with roles of being a doctor, and, now, he is in a current role as a detective. In which he stops the evil from happening on the streets.
Interesting to only myself, I know. But this Patinkin guy is someone that should be known for much more than one man shows in a Chicago theater. He is a true patron of the arts and needs to be taken seriously.
So, to end this silly, pointless rant about a man that is not a big Hollywood player, I was just trying to start a trend.
Instead of saying things like damn it all to hell, or damn you, raise your fist up high and strong and give those people that piss you off one big MANDY PATINKIN.