Frank Patterson

Frank Patterson (October 51938 – June 102000) was a world-famous Irish tenor. He was known as "Ireland's Golden Tenor." His albums include "Ireland in Song", "Ireland's Best Loved Ballads", "I Can Almost See Ireland From Here", "God Bless America: An Irish Salute", and "Sings Sacred Songs of Ireland".

Patterson's repertoire was wide, covering lieder, oratorio, hymns, ballads, and traditional songs, as well as a few popular songs such as "My Heart Will Go On" from the 1997 movie "Titanic" and "The Wind Beneath My Wings". His sincere way of expressing emotion through song revealed dedication to his music, and to the people who listened to it.

Patterson was born in Clonmel, County Tipperary. He appeared in two films: "Michael Collins" and a film based on James Joyce's short story, "The Dead".

The latter film was the last to be directed by John Huston. Patterson's character was named Bartell D'Arcy. Though the role was small it was significant given that the song "The Lass of Aughrim", which he sang in the film is critical to the plot of movie. This movie was widely praised and greatly contributed to Patterson's increased popularity in his later years.

Frank Patterson died in New York of brain cancer at the age of 61. He was married to the musician Eily O'Grady with whom he had a son, Eanan. ["The Irish Times", "It was said the whole world seemed still while he sang", June 17, 2000]

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666208/ Frank Patterson] at the Internet Movie Database

The death of Frank Patterson on June 10th, 2000, was a great loss to the world but it was not the end of his story. In fact, it was just the beginning of a new and unexpected but welcomed chapter in the life of an Irish Tenor who was beloved and revered around the world.

Surprisingly, Patterson's greatest contributions to our world would occur more than a year after he passed away in June of 2000. Because of the determined efforts of a man from Staten Island, New York, Frank Patterson was, in one sense, ressurected to help heal countless broken hearts, shattered lives and to offer hope to the thousands of families who were suddenly torn apart by unspeakable mass murder on the morning of September 11th, 2001.

After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Johnny Watts, who had previous experience producing cable TV programs, approached Frank Patterson's widow, Eily, to request permission to use some of Frank's songs and video concert clips for the production of a 9-11 memorial video, to be broadcast on Staten Island Community Television, a non profit public access TV station where Watts was a sometime volunteer producer.

Watts told Eily Patterson he wanted to help bring solace to the 9-11 families and felt that the best way to accomplish that was to use her late husband's songs, as well as video clips of Frank Patterson's live concert performances, music videos and excerpts of his long running television music program, which aired on the BBC in the United Kingdom for many years.

Watts assured Eily Patterson that he was not in it for the money. The cable TV station where Johnny Watts volunteered as a producer, Staten Island CTV, was not a commercial station and was a non profit company whose programs were created with the community good in mind.

Mrs.Patterson gave Johnny Watts her blessings on the project and Watts devoted the next two years of his life to the cause, donating well over $50,000 of his own money and time towards the production of the program, which turned into a labor of love for him. Watts had been a first responder at the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks and saw its aftermath firsthand.

"I helped out at ground zero for several days," stated Watts, "I passed out medical supplies, food, bottled water, whatever they needed. I felt that I didn't do enough to help out, however, that there was still something else I could do to help people who had been affected by September 11th"

A week after the collapse of the Twin Towers, Watts saw a video of Frank Patterson, filmed in the late 1990s, which showed Patterson strolling on a beach as he sang, MY HEART WILL GO ON, a song from the 1997 film, Titanic. It was at that moment that Johnny Watts knew exactly what he was going to do, create a 9-11 memorial video, using the beautiful, soul searching songs that defined Frank Patterson's style.

The project became Watts' life quest. "I felt that making this video was my destiny, maybe the reason for me being here" said Watts, adding, "I had never been possessed by such determination in all my life. I looked at this project as being my Holy Grail"

Between 2002 and 2004, Johnny Watts spent endless hours videotaping, editing, producing and directing what many 9-11 families have called the best tribute to their lost loved ones ever seen on television. The video memorial became known as TRIBUTE IN SONG, consisting of three one hour episodes. It has been aired on cable TV several times since it was first broadcast in 2004 in its final form on public access television.

For the making of TRIBUTE IN SONG, Watts had videotaped hundreds of 9-11 victims' photographs which were displayed at ANGELS' CIRCLE, a beautiful 9-11 memorial garden in Staten Island, New York. Johnny Watts edited the video he shot at ANGELS' CIRCLE, with video he shot from photos of 9-11 victims he obtained from the internet and from 9-11 families themselves. Watts also videotaped the thousands of tributes, photos and other 9-11 related momentos, which were hung on the gates of St. Paul's Chapel on Broadway in lower Manhattan.

Johnny Watts recalled the countless times when he visited ANGELS' CIRCLE to videotape the hundreds of photographs of 9-11 victims. "I went there a hundred times over a two year period. I'd set up my tripod a thousand different ways to get all kinds of camera angles" said Watts, adding, "I shot a ton of video there at night, during the day, early in the morning. I shot video on sunny days, cloudy days, rainy days, even with snow on the ground. I shot sunsets and sunrises to give it more color. There are hundreds of candles at Angels' Circle, so the entire place glows at night, giving it a very spiritual atmosphere. There are many statues of angels in there as well, so it's a unique feeling"

Watts reflected, "There were often moments when 9-11 families would walk into the garden after I had already set up and begun filming. I tried to be as respectful to them as possible and give them their space. Many of them became my friends in the process. I stood with them, listened to their stories about their loved ones, I explained to them what I was trying to do by making Tribute In Song. I had their full support and was invited to quite a few homes to videotape additional photographs of their loved ones. They were all such good people, people who just didn't deserve to go through this"

Watts also videotaped a dramatic 9-11 poster called, The Sun, which was designed by Alex Spektor. It showed the faces of all the 9-11 victims, superimposed over the image of the Twin Towers as they looked prior to 9-11. "It was a beautiful poster" stated Watts. "I wanted to include that in Tribute In Song. Alex has a website where people can obtain a copy of the poster. It should hang in every home in the United States"

Watts videotaped images of beautiful cloud formations, picturesque seashores, lush garden scenery, nighttime stars, full moons, statues of angels and scenic landscapes. He then edited them all together with previously filmed clips of Frank Patterson singing songs about love, life, family and the sorrow we feel when we lose someone we love. In each of the three episodes of TRIBUTE IN SONG, Watts paid special tribute to the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was also plotted and carried out by arab islamic terrorists.

Johnny Watts made it a mission to include not just all the civilians who were killed on 9-11 but also all of the firefighters, emergency medical personnel and police officers. Watts also made it a point to show the photographs of the children who were killed aboard the hijacked jets. The photographs showed the kids smiling in happier times. Watts said, "I believe there were at least seven or eight kids on those jets who ranged in age from about 3 years old to about 12 years old. I doubt if anyone can comprehend the fear that gripped those poor kids when those planes were hijacked and then purposely crashed. Entire families were murdered on some of those planes"

Watts took note of some of the other passengers onboard the doomed jets. He added, "Some of the women who were on the jets were pregnant, others were senior citizens. It's hard to imagine that the arab islamic terrorists thought of themselves as heroes when, in fact, they were not. They were just the opposite. They were nothing more than foolish cowards. I also find it disgusting that many in the arab world would proclaim those hijackers to be role models for a younger generation of arabs. This is one reason why I made Tribute In Song, to fight against that twisted ideology"

In a cable TV interview several years ago, Johnny Watts stated, "When I made Tribute In Song, originally it was meant to be a one hour program. But how do you include all of the victims in just one hour? You can't do it. It took me a year to create part 1 in 2002. Then, in 2003, I made parts two and three. I wanted to show the victims the way they appeared in happier times of their lives. The way their loved ones would want to remember them"

It was important to Watts not to include in TRIBUTE IN SONG any negative images of the attacks or of the devastation that resulted. He felt that too many TV programs made the mistake of repeatedly showing video of the attacks and in his opinion, that only caused more grief for the 9-11 families, many of whom Watts came to know personally.

Said Watts, "One thing I strived for when I made Trbute In Song was in the way I filmed the victims' photographs. Rather than just have stationary camera angles,which were still and unmoving, I tried different things to give many of the pictures a more fluid look, so that they would look a bit animated. I wanted to instill some life in the victims' photographs" said Watts, adding, "I would slowly zoom in or slowly zoom out, slowly tilt up or tilt down and slowly pan left or right, things like that"

As Watts labored to complete the three hour-long episodes of Trbute In Song, he admiited, "Sometimes I wondered if I knew what I was really doing but there wasn't one major TV network who had tried to do the same thing I was attempting, so I figured the show would end up becoming something that was unique and worthwhile"

Another thing Watts did was to add bits of information whenever photos of the victims were on the screen, so that the public would see not just a name and a face but perhaps what that person did in their life or what they meant to others they knew. "They weren't just numbers," said Watts, "These were people with lives and homes and families, people whose lives had meaning and value"

"My heart went out to the families" Watts said, adding. "I know Eily (Patterson) felt the same way. In fact, she even visited ANGELS' CIRCLE in 2003 during a 9-11 memorial ceremony in which some of Frank's songs were played for hundreds of 9-11 families who had gathered together in rememberence of their lost loved ones"

A handsome photograph of Frank Patterson was displayed at ANGELS' CIRCLE because 9-11 families wanted to thank Eily Patterson for her contribution in permitting Watts to use her husband's recordings for TRIBUTE IN SONG. Several members of 9-11 families personally thanked Mrs. Patterson as she toured the 9-11 memorial garden that evening. Watts applauded Fred Ariemma, a local landscaper on Staten Island who has turned ANGELS' CIRCLE into a visually stunning garden, at Ariemma's own cost.

Watts noted, "The beauty of Angels' Circle can be attributed to Fred Ariemma, and his crew of landscapers who have worked, year in and year out, to make this place beautiful" Watts also noted the efforts of the caretaker of ANGELS' CIRCLE, Wendy Pellegrino, "Wendy is the pulse of this place. She's been the heartbeat here. Without her and Fred, this garden would not be here. People should only know the time, money, sweat and tears that they've put into this place"

Watts used some of the most beautiful songs ever recorded by Frank Patterson for the production of TRIBUTE IN SONG, as well as numerous video clips of Patterson singing in concert. For the credits in TRIBUTE IN SONG, Watts made it a point to credit the men who had produced and directed the original video of Frank Patterson's concerts and TV shows. "I couldn't take credit for the work of others," stated Watts, who added, "Those people did such a fantastic job of filming Frank's concerts and televison shows. I had to give credit where credit was due. There wouldn't be a Tribute In Song without all that prior video that had been shot a few years earlier. The public is fortunate that they can still purchase those original Frank Patterson videos and music CDs today on the internet and elsewhere"

Some cable TV viewers, who were unaware that Frank Patterson passed away in June of 2000, had mistakenly assumed Patterson was alive to host TRIBUTE IN SONG. In one episode of TRIBUTE IN SONG, during a concert that was filmed at Dublin's POINT THEATRE in the late 1990s, the background setting on the stage where Patterson sang eerily resembled the outer facade of the World Trade Center towers, which was unintentional, though ironic. It was not until the closing credits of TRIBUTE IN SONG that Watts made viewers aware of Patterson's death prior to 9-11.

Johnny Watts stated, in a 2003 cable TV interview, that he could not have completed TRIBUTE IN SONG without the encouragement of Eily Patterson. Watts stated that he was sure, had Frank Patterson lived to see 9-11, Patterson would have surely performed benefit concerts for the victims of 9-11 and their families. Watts stated, "I never had the pleasure of knowing Frank but I felt as though his spirit was my inspiration and my guiding light in getting this project done. When Eily met me at the cable TV station in 2002, I told her that I was sorry I never got the chance to know her husband while he was alive. Eily told me that I could get to know Frank by simply listening to his songs. She was right. Frank's warmth, his honesty, his wisdom, his religious beliefs and his sense of humor are all evident in his music"

There were many times during the production of TRIBUTE IN SONG that Watts felt like he wanted to quit because he was tired and worn down. It took him two years to complete TRIBUTE IN SONG."It became a monumental task", admitted Watts. "I was doing the work of a dozen people. Whenever I felt like giving up, I would think of the many 9-11 families who had lost their loved ones. And I would feel as though Frank Patterson's spirit was reassuring me I was on the right track, that he was encouraging me because it was what he would have liked, to be a part of trying to bring comfort to so many of the 9-11 families who were hurting"

An unexpected thing happened, though, which Watts did not foresee. "Although I created Tribute In Song to be a tribute to the victims of 9-11," he said, "it also became, in another sense, a secondary tribute to Frank Patterson himself, to a man whose gifted talents reached from beyond the stars of Heaven, to our world, in a time of desperation and unimaginable anguish" Watts said he came to believe that the world needed to hear Patterson's songs because of the calming effect that Patterson's voice offered. "It's no wonder he was often called, Ireland's Golden Tenor", nodded Watts with approval.

Watts proclaimed, "When you listen to Frank sing, it stirs something in your heart. His voice has a confident tone of reassuring us in troubled times"

Watts took note of the reaction on the part of 9-11 families to Patterson's melodies, "I have been told by many 9-11 families that they became fans of Frank Patterson because of Tribute In Song. I don't know if that's true, although I'd like to think so. Many of the 9-11 families had never heard of Frank prior to seeing Tribute In Song, so maybe the video played a small part in helping to further the public's awareness of Frank's music"

Johnny Watts did not gain financially from the production of TRIBUTE IN SONG. He vowed he would never make money from the 9-11 tragedy. A 9-11 support group called, WHERE TO TURN, donated enough money to allow Watts to make dvd copies of TRIBUTE IN SONG so that they could be given out to many 9-11 families at an ANGELS' CIRCLE 9-11 ceremony in 2004.

Eily Patterson called TRIBUTE IN SONG one of the most beautiful productions she has ever seen. Even New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, a longtime fan of Frank Patterson, personally contacted Watts to thank him for producing TRIBUTE IN SONG, calling it a beautiful gift and a wonderful way to remember those we lost on September 11th.

At a 2005 ANGELS' CIRCLE ceremony on 9-11, Johnny Watts told the assembled crowd that there were many times, while editing the three episodes that comprised TRIBUTE IN SONG, that tears came to his eyes on numerous occasions as he sat in a darkened editing room at the cable TV station in Staten Island during the two years it took him to complete the project. He said, "I think anyone who watches Tribute In Song for more than a few minutes will end up with tears streaming down their face. You didn't have to know the victims personally to feel for them when you watch this show"

In the candle-light ceremony that year at ANGELS' CIRCLE, Johnny Watts looked into the faces of the 9-11 families who had gathered that night. The families stood before photographs of their lost loved ones as flames from candles they held illuminated the night air. Watts assured them, "We're not alone here by ourselves. We can't see them but we can feel their presence. They're standing here with us now," said Watts.

Watts pointed to the nighttime sky and said, "There is a portal to Heaven in this ANGELS' CIRCLE. It's a gateway to the beyond. Your loved ones who passed on 9-11 are standing beside you right now as I speak. They're holding onto you, they're hugging you, kissing you. I know they're here with us now"

"Believe me when I tell you," said Watts, "Whenever you're thinking of them, they are also thinking of you at the same time. Your loved ones survived their deaths on 9-11. They're no longer in the physical world as we know it but they're very much alive in the spiritual world and their pain and suffering is long past. They are happy again and they want very much for all of you to be happy again. Your loved ones want you to know they are safe, despite what they went through on September 11th. They are alive!"

Some 9-11 family members in the audience began to cry as Watts wavered momentarily, taking a deep breath as he choked back his own tears. He thanked them as his eyes lowered to the ground and then he turned away, hugging Sam and Rose Esposito who lost a son to 9-11, Captain Michael Esposito of the New York City Fire Department. Watts then disappeared into the night as shouts of thanks from 9-11 families echoed from the audience, amid tears.

In 2006, at a 9-11 memorial ceremony at Angels' Circle in Staten Island, Johnny Watts was presented with a beautilful plaque in recognition for having produced TRIBUTE IN SONG. Watts told a crowd of several hundred 9-11 families, "Thank you very much but I feel I don't deserve this. If it wasn't for Frank Patterson and his wife, Eily, I wouldn't be standing here now. I also want to thank the staff at Staten Island CTV, without whose help, Tribute In Song would not have been possible"

Wendy Pellegrino, caretaker of ANGELS' CIRCLE, presented the beautiful plaque to Johnny Watts, on behalf of 9-11 families everywhere, countless numbers of whom have since opened their hearts to the wonderful music of Ireland's Golden Tenor, the late, great Frank Patterson, who was often quoted as saying, "The world has no better a friend than the United States of America"

On September 11, 2008, more than eight years after his death, Frank Patterson was honored posthumously during a memorial service for 9-11 victims at Angels' Circle. Johnny Watts was on hand to make the presentation to the memory of Ireland's Golden Tenor. Watts displayed a beautiful plaque for all the 9-11 families to see, stating that the plaque was being awarded to Frank Patterson in appreciation of Patterson's musical contributions to Tribute In Song.

Johnny Watts reflected, "Frank Patterson died the year before 9-11. He could not have known that one day his many wonderful songs would be used to help console thousands of hurting hearts but that's just what we did, for you and your loved ones, with Tribute In Song. If Frank could be here now, I know he would be honored to sing a song or two for you folks", he told the audience.

Watts held high the plaque being awarded to Patterson. It was graced by ornate etchings of musical notes at all four corners and a handsome four-leaf clover at the top. The beautifully engraved inspiration read:

Angels' Circle, a circle of love, presents posthumously to Frank Patterson, Ireland's Golden Tenor, in appreciation for the video, Tribute In Song, which brought comfort, hope and solace to countless families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, presented to the people of Ireland, 09/11/08.

Representatives of the Patterson family did not attend the ceremony but on September 19, 2008, the handsome plaque was quietly presented by Johnny Watts to the office of Irish Consul General Niall Burgess in New York City, near the United Nations Building. Burgess vowed to find an appropriate place of honor for the plaque, perhaps possibly sending it to Frank Patterson's hometown of Clonmel,near Tipperary, Ireland, where it would be welcomed with open arms and appreciated by all who see it.

As far as ANGELS' CIRCLE is concerned, it is open to the public all year round, seven days a week. Every September 11th, there is a nighttime memorial for the victims, which lasts several hours. ANGELS' CIRCLE is located in Staten Island, New York, just a few blocks from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, at the intersection of Hylan Blvd. and Fingerboard Road.

ANGELS' CIRCLE is a serene place where people gather to pay their respects, where friends and relatives of 9-11 victims bring flowers and tributes to place before the hundreds of photographs on display in the garden.

ANGELS' CIRCLE is a place where parents who lost sons and daughters come to meditate and where spouses who lost the love of their lives on 9-11, come to pray.

A peaceful garden, ANGELS' CIRCLE is also a place where the children who lost parents on 9-11 come to reflect on what might have been, had 9-11 never happened.

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