episode was broadcast on September 25, 1981. After the show ended, Wedes continued to portray J.P. at many public and private charity events for another thirty years despite suffering in later years from incurable (but in remission) blood cancer. Wedes spent many hours visiting sick children at Seattle Children's Hospital in Laurelhurst, never asking to be paid. In 2011, due to declining health conditions, Wedes announced that he expected his final public appearance as J. P. to be on September 17, 2011, fifty-six years after first donning the face paint. On December 14, 2011, a prime time special was aired on KCTS-TV titled J. P. Patches: Last Night at the City Dump, which was meant to serve as a farewell to the character. On July 22, 2012, at 84 years old, Chris Wedes died after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. Premise The show was live, unrehearsed improv with rarely more than two live actors on screen (Wedes and Bob Newman) but with frequent contributions from the sound effects man and off-camera crew. J. P. was the "Mayor of the City Dump", where he lived in a shack, the inside of which was the appropriately rough but colorfully-furnished studio set. He welcomed frequent guests: Seattle boy scout and girl scout troops, various local and national celebrities (see below), and his cast of supporting characters: Sturdley the Bookworm (a puppet), Esmerelda (portrayed by a Raggedy Ann doll), Ketchikan the Animal Man (a sort of Jack Hanna character), Boris S. Wort (the "second meanest man in the world"), LeRoy Frump (a character obviously based on Art Carney's Ed Norton), Tikey Turkey (a rubber chicken), Grandpa Tick Tock (a grandfather clock with an elderly face where the pendulum would be), The Swami of Pastrami, Ggoorrsstt the Friendly Frpl (a one-eyed brown shag carpet), Miss Smith (a motorcycle riding delivery woman who told mostly awful jokes), Superclown (a JP like superhero), J. P.'s evil counterpart P. J. Scratches (per official site I.M. Rags), and J. P.'s girlfriend, Gertrude. The show's supporting cast, male and female, human or non-human, was played by the versatile actor Bob Newman. Bob Newman Bob Newman (born January 24, 1932, on Mercer Island, Washington) initially started at KIRO-TV as a film-editor and floor director in 1960, two years into J.P.'s run. He started hanging around the set, just to watch the fun. One of J.