Patrick Leahy - Personal Life

Personal Life

Leahy is a fan of the Grateful Dead. He has not only attended concerts, but has a collection of the band's tapes in his Senate Offices. Jerry Garcia visited him at his Senate offices, and Leahy gave a tie designed by Garcia to Senator Orrin Hatch (who responded by giving Leahy a Rush Limbaugh tie). Surviving band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart have participated in fundraisers for Leahy and his Political Action Committee, the Green Mountain Victory Fund. Leahy appeared in a videotaped tribute to the Dead when they received a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Jammys. His Senate website notes this response to a question from seventh grade students from Vermont's Thetford Academy who asked Leahy which Dead song was his favorite, he replied: "... my favorite is "Black Muddy River" but we always play "Truckin'" on election night at my headquarters."

In a 1994 interview on ABC News, Leahy claimed that, while attending Georgetown Law School, he obtained tickets to see The Beatles' first full U.S. concert, at the Washington Coliseum, inviting a classmate, who declined, saying that the Beatles were a fad. Leahy declined to identify the classmate, but added, "He hasn't gone on to become a very good lawyer, either".

A fan of U2, Leahy has a picture mounted on the wall of his office of himself, his wife, President Bill Clinton and Bono. On it, Bono drew an arrow pointed to himself, with the caption, "Would you trust this man with your children?"

Leahy is quoted on Loung Ung's website: "In this gripping narrative Loung Ung describes the unfathomable evil that engulfed Cambodia during her childhood, the courage that enabled her family to survive, and the determination that has made her an eloquent voice for peace and justice in Cambodia. It is a tour de force that strengthens our resolve to prevent and punish crimes against humanities." The book he is referring to is Lucky Child.

Leahy is a published photographer.

A big fan of Batman comics, Leahy lent his voice in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Showdown" as the Governor of the Utah territory. He appeared in cameo roles in the 1997 film Batman and Robin, the 2008 film The Dark Knight, and the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.

Leahy wrote the introduction to the collected edition of Green Arrow: the Archer's Quest and the foreword to the first volume of The Dark Knight Archives, a hardcover reprinting of the first four issues of the Batman comic book.

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