| “ | You are going to crash, and burn my fat headed friend. | „ |
| ~ Ray Patterson |
Raymond "Ray" Patterson was a one-time character, who appeared in Trash of the Titans. He serves as Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner until Homer Simpson decides to run against him, leading to disastrous consequences.
Patterson was voiced by the actor Steve Martin.
Trash of the Titans[]
Elected Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner for 16 years in a row, Ray Patterson had a good track record. He was introduced when Homer came to reclaim the apology letter Marge wrote in his name. Homer had earlier got into a confrontation with two of Patterson's garbage-men when they refused to collect his rubbish (though, admittedly, he ran out with it just after they had driven past the house). Homer then angrily insulted the pair, which was heard, and, following an altercation, they refused to collect the Simpsons' rubbish from that point onwards until Homer apologized.
Homer refused to do so for several weeks, resulting in the Simpsons living in a house, literally, surrounded by filth. In the end, Marge wrote a fake letter to Patterson, using Homer's name and apologized. Homer was insulted when he found out and rushed down to City Hall to reclaim the letter.
Patterson was civil while returning the letter, but Homer immediately started to behave irresponsibly, going so far as to attack Patterson's pet bird hanging in a nearby cage. Instead of issuing a formal complaint against the garbagemen, stating that it was all their fault, Homer childishly acted as Patterson was the head of a major conspiracy against the common people. Vowing to stand up for the little man, (all the while rattling the innocent bird's cage), Homer eventually decided to run against Ray Patterson for the position of Sanitation Commissioner.
Initially, Homer appeared to be fighting a losing battle; thanks in part to Patterson's good reputation. Homer was able to turn the tide, however, thanks mostly to his new slogan "Can't someone else do it?" alongside several other slanderous, underhanded schemes and declarations. At a debate, towards the end of the campaign, Homer poked further fun at Patterson (who turned up late after "someone" sabotaged the brakes on his car), whilst making additional promises to what would happen if he won the election.
Patterson was one of, if not the only person in Springfield (Lisa included), to realize that Homer was making promises he could not keep. As such, Ray tried one final time to appeal to the crowd, reminding them of his good track record, but was ultimately defeated in a landslide. Homer was present whilst Ray cleared out his office, a clearly irate Patterson struggling to remain civil. After reminding the now amiable Homer of the slanderous things the later said about him during his campaign, Patterson left the office with a dire warning: -
"Simpson, the American people have never tolerated incompetence in their public officials. You are going to crash and burn my fat-headed friend!"
As it turned out, Homer was initially able to make good on his promises, but at the cost of spending the sanitation department's yearly budget ($4.6 million) in one month. Realizing that Patterson's statement was coming true, Homer eventually resorted to letting other towns dump their rubbish in an abandoned mine. This only led to further trouble as in no time at all, despite Homers reassurances to Lisa's warning, the entire town soon found itself practically buried in garbage.
An emergency town meeting was called, in which Homer was swiftly voted out of office. The angry citizens also agreed to subject him to a further punishment (a horsewhipping, which occurred off screen). Mayor Quimby then proposed immediately reinstating Ray Patterson, which was universally approved. Patterson walked onto the stage with a small band playing him on (to the theme of Sanford and Son). With the people of Springfield now looking to him for salvation, the flattered Patterson delivered a short direct speech, comprising of three sentences:-
"(Ray speaks in an unsure, overwhelmed voice) Oh gosh. You know, I'm not much on speeches, but it's so gratifying to ... (his voice becomes dismissive and hostile) leave you wallowing in the mess you've made. You're screwed, thank you, bye."
Ray deliberately left it ambiguous as to whether or not he accepted his job back, but made it clear that he had no intention of cleaning up the town in either case. As far as Patterson is concerned, the citizens of Springfield brought all of this upon themselves by not listening to his warnings in the first place. Content to let everybody suffer and sort their own mess out, Patterson walked off of the stage, with the confused band members playing him off as he left. Without Ray’s help, Mayor Quimby was forced to resort to Plan B, which involved moving the entire town five miles up the road from the affected area.
Personality[]
Compared to many of Springfield's residents, Ray Patterson is considered to be one of the more 'sane' characters; polite, hard-working and committed to his job.
When Homer ran against him for his position, Patterson was frustrated by Homer's crude tactics and insults, alongside the town's ignorance towards him. He turned up late for a debate with Homer, claiming that his brakes had been tampered with. The town became shocked, only to start laughing again when Homer joked about his lateness.
Ultimately however, Ray got the last laugh and a belated revenge upon the rest of the town. When the citizens turned to him for help, Patterson denied it to them content to leave everyone "wallowing in the mess (they had) made", effectively telling the residents of Springfield "I told you so!".
Behind The Laughter[]
In many ways, Ray Patterson is similar to the character Frank Grimes, a normal man who works hard at his job, but finds his efforts shown up by Homer.
Patterson's appearance on stage is heralded by the theme to Sanford and Son. This was because the scene of his appearing on stage was taken from Redd Foxx refusing to perform to a small audience.[1]
The character is also named after Disney/Hanna-Barbera animator Ray Patterson who worked on the Tom & Jerry cartoon shorts.
