Patch Adams
Patch Adams
Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adamsis an American physician, comedian, social activist, clown, and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he organizes a group of volunteers from around the world to travel to various countries where they dress as clowns in an effort to bring humor to orphans, patients, and other people...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth28 May 1945
CountryUnited States of America
camps clowning clowns elevator none subway taken war
I've taken clowns into the war in Bosnia, the refugee camps of Kosovo, and none of those are any more important than clowning in a subway or an elevator or just walking down the street.
bring came clowns interest music russia russians spirit wonderful
I first came to Russia because of the culture, literature and music... and my interest in the 19th-century revolutionary spirit of Herzen, Bakunin and Kropotkin. Russia is a wonderful place to bring new clowns because Russians give back a wonderful response.
assumes clown clowning contact hug love people percent second trauma trick whatever
Clowning is a trick to get love close. I can hug 99 percent of people in the first second of contact if I'm in my clown character. The clown assumes your humanity. It assumes that, whatever trauma you've had, you can still love yourself.
bring harmony work
My work is to end violence, and to bring harmony to people,
love patients sue
We love our patients and our patients love us. You don't sue someone you love.
brilliant people rules
You have a brilliant mind, and like many brilliant people you don't necessarily think the rules apply,
adult influence pain paradigm serious shouting
And yet the influence of the adult world--this is the pain paradigm shouting -- serious is what you want to be taken,
belonged owed
they owed something; we wanted them to feel they belonged to something.
engaging giving instantly people reason sad
They had every reason to be sad and angry, yet people were instantly friendly, engaging and giving.
kids giving messages
All the messages our kids are getting is money-taking, not giving.
helping-others giving people
We have to end the capitalist system. We have to make love our value. You are rich when you love and you are rich when you are giving away your time and what you have to help other people.
spiritual political rage
I'm a raging leftist political activist. I've never had a spiritual thought in my life related to God. I'm clear that that's a human invention.
encouragement writing healthy
No one ever writes me and says, 'We have a happy hospital'. Nowhere is doing it in a healthy way. That's encouragement for me.
health healing lasts
It's such a paradox for them to say, "Oh, my God, I've thrown away my life," and continue to do that for the last month of their life. I shake them, physically shake them, and say, "What about now? What about now?"