MovieChat Forums > Airport (1970) Discussion > Joe Patroni's wife

Joe Patroni's wife

posted 13 years ago by kriegerg69
7 replies | jump to latest

Nothing official has ever been said about the character, however it is more than likely Mrs. Patroni...played in Airport by Jodean Lawrence...is the same character played in Airport 1975 by Susan Clark, although the first name of the character was changed for the sequel. In Airport 1975, there is no real reason to believe the characters are different, because Mrs. Patroni and Joe Jr. are on board the flight. He calls her "Mom", with no indication she could be a second wife or that Joe Jr. could be Patroni's son from a second marriage.

Anyway....any thoughts on this? Was it a simple lack of attention to continuity when Airport 1975 was written, and her name was simply changed without any thought as to what it was the first time around, or could it be something else?

[–] rorysa 13 years ago

The "Airport" series had only the following in common:

* the use of "Airport" in the titles;
* the involvement of a commercial flight; and
* a character named Joe Patroni, played by George Kennedy.

That's about it. The purpose of the titles was to cash in on the huge success of the original. That they all involved a commercial flight (completely unrelated to each other) just barely qualifies as an item of continuity. They included the name of one of the popular characters from the original film and novel, though almost everything about him changes from sequel to sequel, as another minimal item of continuity (they no doubt couldn't figure out how to work Ada Quonsett into the other films, and HH wasn't going to do them anyway). So I wouldn't spend a lot of time looking for any deep meaning in the sequels.

[–] eelb 10 years ago

Patroni's character evolved unrealistically throughout the series. The unbelievable aspect of his marital situation is minimal, when compared to his meteoric rise in the airline industry.

Joe became the star. And his personal and professional life were adjusted accordingly to fit the script. Never mind who he was in the previous film.

[–] jejozi 13 years ago

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=jodean-rowan-lawrence&pid=142581089

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

Alain Delon set Patroni up with a young miss in '79, then Patroni later learned she was a hooker.

I always wondered about Susan Clark crying over the radio in '75, now sitting back home wondering about her man, tho now I suspect the marriage had probably ended.

The same actor who played Joe Jr appeared in '75 and '77, mentioning mom in '77, tho she isn't seen (think granma had to be picked up at the hospital or something)

[–] markedjuan 12 years ago

In '79, Patroni tells the hooker (not exactly a young hooker), that his wife was killed in a car accident. And that his son is about to enter college. It couldn't have been the same son in '75 since the boy in that film was barely 9 or 10 years old. (So he's entering college at 14?).

Patroni also mentions that they only had one kid and that they had planned to adopt. In the first Airport, Patroni tells Mel that his KIDS are staying over at some other place for the night.

Same actor, but always a different Patroni. Now if only George Kennedy had been cast in Air Force One as second in command to Harrison Ford's Commander-in-Chief, instead of Glenn Close. Vice President Patroni!!!

[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

The same kid played Joe Jr in '75 and '77. He grew considerably in two years. He wasn't on the plane in '77, by the way. He did refer to picking up granma or mom or somebody.

Didn't know Miz Patroni was 'killed off'.

And no, even as grown as he was in '77, I don't think Joe Jr could have been the kid 'entering college' in '79, tho it could have been one of the soap opera time warps kids enter all the time.

[–] Eric-62-2 11 years ago

In "Airport '77" Joe, Jr. does indeed appear again and played by the same actor but he's only seen in the TV version. All of Kennedy's scenes prior to the crash were cut from the theatrical release and he isn't seen at all until the search is underway. It's established that Joe, Jr. has to pick up his mother at the hospital where she's had a broken arm or leg, and that Joe, Sr, by taking part in the rescue operation is going to miss his son's graduation.

The TV version of '79 has a scene (specially done for the TV showings) of Jessica Walter as Mrs. Patroni in flashback and how she was killed subsequently. Also, Patroni at one point does reference the "Salt Lake City" incident from "1975" marking the only time that specific events from a previous film were referenced in a subsequent one.