Most people know Patrick Warburton from his epic four-decade career in Hollywood: as the voice of Joe Swanson on Family Guy, Lemony Snicket in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Elaine’s macho, face-painting boyfriend, Puddy, on Seinfeld. But to the patients and families of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — the pediatric cancer institute in Memphis, Tennessee — he occupies a much more important role: a one-man make-a-wish foundation who brings a little magic to those who need it most. Much of that financial backing comes from his Patrick Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament (aka The Warburton), which takes place every March in Palm Desert.
“Because of my position, I had an opportunity to do something that I felt inspired to do,” he says of his work with St. Jude. “Not everyone gets that.” The 15th annual Warburton event takes place March 6–9. While the tournament does not involve spectators, tickets are available for the entertainment portion — including a songwriters night spotlighting Nashville artists and a red carpet gala. Since its 2010 inception, The Warburton has raised $31.9 million for St. Jude, making it the hospital’s top golf fundraiser in the country.
Local cancer survivor Natalie Tanner with Patrick Warburton in 2020 during a fashion show fundraiser at Toscana Country Club.
photo by avra photography, courtesy the warburton
New Jersey–born Warburton dropped out of college to pursue acting and modeling and quickly began to book roles on sitcoms, landing Seinfeld in 1995. While Warburton is a commanding on-screen presence — 6-foot- 3-inches tall, with Burt Reynolds good looks and razor-sharp comedic timing — he is perhaps most recognizable for his voice, a deep, gravelly tenor that has made him a ubiquitous presence on animated films and TV commercials. In the intervening decades, he built the kind of steady entertainment career that most people in Hollywood would kill for, coupling major films and series with gigs as the voice of brands like M&Ms and Burger King. His latest adventure is stand-up comedy, and he has been relishing the opportunity to develop his own material after many years reading from scripts. “It’s been a total reinvention, and it’s just the funnest, most satisfying thing I’ve done in the industry, almost ever,” he says.
Warburton has never been content to rest on his laurels. While many might have been happy to sit back and enjoy the Seinfeld and Family Guy residuals, that’s not Warburton’s speed. Since he was a kid, watching his orthopedic surgeon father volunteer for Doctors Without Borders, he has felt a responsibility to give back and do good for the world. As a staunch family man, with four kids and deep commitment to his Catholic faith, raising money for St. Jude seemed like a natural choice. “If you’re not fortunate enough to have a healthy child, at least you’re fortunate enough to live in a world that has St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” he says, noting that they don’t charge patients a cent and make all their data and research accessible.
Though he and his family live in East Ventura, he gravitated to the Coachella Valley’s community spirit, pristine golf courses, and history of celebrity tournaments, including the Bob Hope Desert Classic and Frank Sinatra Invitational. “I just thought Palm Springs was the best environment to do an event like this,” Warburton shares. The fanfare of Hope and Sinatra’s events inspired him to start his own tournament, a star-studded weekend of music, sports, and philanthropy with all proceeds going to St. Jude. Luminaries like his Rules of Engagement co-star David Spade and actor Richard Kind have participated in the golf portion, while musicians such as Alice Cooper, Toby Keith, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Mike Mills from R.E.M., and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray have performed. “We’ll have a concert on Friday night, where we’ll have as many as eight or nine Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artists onstage in one night,” says Warburton, who has been known to take the stage and participate in the occasional tune.
The Warburton has raised $31.9 million for St. Jude, making it the hospital’s top golf fundraiser in the country.
Warburton is more than a figurehead for the event, forming lasting relationships with many St. Jude families he has met over the years in both the Coachella Valley and at the hospital in Tennessee. “You meet these kids, and you immediately have a connection,” he explains. “They become part of your life, so you want to do stuff with them.”
Warburton met Kristen Tanner, a Palm Springs–based nurse, 14 years ago when her daughter Natalie was 4 years old. Natalie had a brain tumor and was given less than a 20 percent chance of survival, but with help from St. Jude, she beat those odds. Warburton and his wife, Cathy, have stayed in touch with the Tanners over the years. “It’s like Natalie is their child too,” Kristen says. “As a mom, that just makes me feel so good that people love and care for her as much as I do.”
Jennie Garth of 90210 fame drives the ball at the 2022 event.
courtesy the warburton
This spring, he took Kristen and Natalie, now 18, to Disneyland along with his three sons. “It was just the loveliest little departure from reality,” Kristen shares. “They made us feel like part of their family the whole time.” A highlight: riding Soarin’ Over California with Warburton, who happened to voice the ride’s flight attendant character. The experience triggered memories for Kristen of watching Warburton on Seinfeld decades ago. “It was surreal to be going on this ride now, 20 years later, with Patrick Warburton and my daughter right there by his side,” she recalls, with tears welling up in her eyes. “You just never know how life is going to intersect with somebody like that.”
As for Natalie, she’ll always know Warburton as a friend and the ultimate Disneyland tour guide. She recently watched Seinfeld for the first time, which gave her a whole new perspective. “I go, ‘Do you know who that is?’ ” Kristen says, laughing. “I told her, ‘That’s Patrick Warburton!’ She’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, really?!’ She was cracking up.”
