Robert Patrick is a playwright and performer who was heavily involved in works at the Caffe Cino until it closed in 1968. His plays performed there include: THE HAUNTED HOST (1964), INDECENT EXPOSURE (1966), THREE MINI PLAYS: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION (1967), THE WARHOL MACHINE (1967), and CORNERED (1968). Following the closing of Caffe Cino, Patrick went on to have plays produced at the Old Reliable, La MaMa E.T.C., and throughout New York, earning him the title of New York’s most produced playwright. He was the 'go-to guy' of Off-Off-Broadway theatre, known around theatre circles as the “Up by Wednesday Guy” for his ability to quickly write and get a show “up by Wednesday” to fill empty theaters or no-show performances.

Robert Patrick was born Robert Patrick O’Conner in Kilgore, Texas. After a short-lived career in the Air Force, he stumbled onto Caffe Cino on September 14, 1961 and found it too irresistible to leave. He soon found himself working any and every odd job at the theater to assist in the productions. His name change occurred when he was performing in his own play, THE HAUNTED HOST, at Caffe Cino and did not want people to know he had also written the play. Marshall W. Mason, director of THE HAUNTED HOST, chose Robert Patrick as the name for the playwright, and it stuck. Patrick’s play KENNEDY’S CHILDREN (1975) went on to be widely produced, translated into 60 languages, and eventually made its way to Broadway. Some of his other plays include: JUDAS (1973), T-SHIRTS (1979), HELLO, BOB (1990), and WHAT DOESN’T KILL ME MAKES A GREAT STORY LATER (2014). Patrick moved to California in 1990.