Donovan Patton
The TV host and actor Donovan Patton was born on 1st March, 1978, on Naval Air Station Agana, Guam, USA. Although the Interlochen Arts Academy alum is best-known for being the host of the long-running children’s show “Blue’s Clues”, his first acting gigs were in Shakespearean plays such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Much Ado About Nothing”.
When “Blue’s Clues” ended in 2006, Donovan soon found voiceover work on various Netflix and Nickelodeon shows. He has perhaps surprisingly also appeared in a handful of video games, TV shows, and independent films, including “Psycho Escort”, “Black Wine”, and “Awake”.
Early Years
Donovan was born on a US military base in Guam; his father, Michael, was a US Air Force meteorologist, whereas his mother, Darlene, worked for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Donovan has An older brother and a younger half-sister; at just three years old, he moved with his mother and brother to Colorado, following his parents’ divorce.
Aged 12, Donovan and his small family moved to Las Vegas. He transferred to Interlochen Arts Academy in his junior year and matriculated in 1996.
Acting Career
As mentioned, Donovan’s first acting roles were in Shakespeare plays. After graduating from Interlochen, the aspiring thespian took acting classes in Manhattan while working as a video deliveryman and booking clerk to pay the bills. Although it took the actor a few years to get his big break, his luck changed when he replaced Steve Burns in “Blue’s Clues” in autumn 2000.
At the time, Donovan was living in Brooklyn, New York, and working as a part-time actor. His unexpected “Blue’s Clues” hosting gigs put his other projects, including a role in “Blair Witch Project 2”, on the backburner; however, his work on the Nickelodeon show would turn out to be much more rewarding in the long run.
Steve Burns was involved in Donovan’s selection and helped train him for the role. Despite being selected out of 1,500 auditionees, Donovan had never seen the show before; nevertheless, Steve helped him take over the host spot, advising him to not think of the show as children’s TV, but rather as “acting and telling the truth”. Steve officially left the show in January 2001.
Traci Paige Johnson, one of the creators and producers of “Blue’s Clues”, previously described Donovan’s character as more innocent than Steve. Donovan enjoyed working on “Blue’s Clues” and even called the crew of the show “a real fun little family”. After the actor had appeared in 50 episodes and a spin-off entitled “Blue’s Room”, the show came to an end in 2006.
Donovan and Steve appeared in the first episode of “Blue’s Clues & You!”, the 2019 revival. Their characters, Joe and Steve, had to help their cousin Josh, played by Joshua Dela Cruz, learn how to take care of Blue.
In a rare interview, Donovan once described his career as “an odd experience” due to its mixture of obscure roles in independent films and feel-good children’s television jobs. In 2009, he was cast as a robot superhero named Bot on the children’s show “Team Umizoomi” thanks to the working relationships he made on the set of “Blue’s Clues”. Working on “Team Umizoomi” was comforting for Donovan, as the show and “Blue’s Clues” shared many creators, producers and crew members.
Donovan especially enjoyed working on “Team Umizoomi” because he was able to participate in the show from its inception. The actor reportedly modelled his voice performance of Bot on Brent Spiner’s performance as an android in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. As his role required him to sing, Donovan was pushed out of his comfort zone, as he didn’t consider himself a natural singer. The TV host was the only main cast member of the show to remain throughout its four seasons.
Happy 41st Birthday to Donovan Patton! The actor who played Joe in Blue’s Clues and voiced Bot in Team Umizoomi (Ugh), Jim Reese in Clarence, and provided additional voices in Monsters University. #DonovanPatton pic.twitter.com/seVaxiovxi
— Alec Behan (@alec_behan) March 1, 2019
In 2012, Donovan appeared in “Pharmboy” and “Awake”, two short films directed by Mark Finguerra and his longtime friend Lawrence Feeney respectively. Having been impressed by the actor’s audition for an earlier feature film, Mark took a gamble and cast Donovan in a darker role, later describing him as a “complete professional” and a “tremendous actor”.
Later, Donovan appeared in the soap opera “One Life to Live”, small movie “Lies I Told My Little Sister”, and film “Four for Fun” amongst other projects.
Personal Life
Donovan, his wife Jackie, and their two children reside in Los Angeles. The actor is an active philanthropist who works with charities in the New York City area, including but not limited to the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, the Make-a-Wish foundation, and Literacy Inc.
Although Jackie isn’t one to give interviews or seek out the limelight, we can confirm that she is a talented photographer with her own business. With a love for houseplants, sushi, and travelling, Jackie is a free spirit who graduated from New York University in 2000 and set off to Madrid with a one-way ticket and no real plans. A year later, she returned to New York and started a band, eventually landing an executive position at a Manhattan marketing agency.
“After about a year and a half into my corporate career of moving up in the world and dreading Monday mornings, every raise I got felt like a nail in my creative coffin,” Jackie writes on her website. Quitting out of the blue after being promoted, Jackie decided to pursue photography while working for a bridal designer in the garment district.
After falling in love with fashion and the bridal world, Jackie officially became a wedding photographer in 2011. However, the photographer also has an impressive portfolio of commercial stills and has worked with John Legend, Courtney Cox, and other celebrities. These days, Jackie travels between Los Angeles and New York City for shoots.
Donovan and Jackie’s combined net worth is $2 million. Fans who are interested in knowing what the actor is up to these days can head over to his Instagram profile, which boasts over 40,000 followers. It appears that Donovan, who uses social media sparingly, is taking things easy right now, and enjoying spending time with his family; however, we’ll be sure to post an update if he announces a new project soon.
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