Personal Life
Patinkin married actress and writer Kathryn Grody in 1980. They have two sons, Isaac and Gideon. Gideon joined his father onstage in Dress Casual in 2011. Patinkin has described himself as "Jewish with a dash of Buddhist" belief, and "spiritual, but not religious".
Patinkin suffered from keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease, in the mid-1990s. This led to two corneal transplants, his right cornea in 1997 and his left in 1998. He also was diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer in 2004. He celebrated his first year of recovery in 2005 by doing a 280-mile charity bike ride with his son, Isaac — the Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride: Cycling for Peace, Partnership & Environmental Protection. In 2005 he also became a vegan.
Patinkin has been involved in a variety of Jewish causes and cultural activities. He sings in Yiddish, often in concert, and on his album Mamaloshen. He also wrote introductions for two books on Jewish culture, The Jewish American Family Album, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, and Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Holiday Cookbook: A Jewish Family's Celebrations, by his mother, Doralee Patinkin Rubin.
In May 2012, Patinkin delivered the opening speech at the "Annual Convention of the Israeli Left", where he recounted his experiences during a visit to the West Bank with members of the "breaking the silence" organization.
Patinkin contributed to the children's book Dewey Doo-it Helps Owlie Fly Again: A Musical Storybook inspired by Christopher Reeve prior to Christopher and Dana Reeve's deaths. The award-winning book, published in 2005, benefits the Christopher Reeve Foundation and includes an audio CD with Patinkin singing and reading the story as well as Dana Reeve and Bernadette Peters singing.
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