Michael Jeter was an American actor and comedian. Known for his career on stage and screen Jeter played diverse characters taking on roles ranging from eccentric, pretentious, and wimpy characters. He won a Tony Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He portrayed Herman Stiles on the sitcom Evening Shade from 1990 until 1994.

Patch Adams is a 1998 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton, Daniel London and Peter Coyote. Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it is loosely based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health Is a Laughing Matter by Dr. Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, with criticism for the sentimentality and direction, but was a box-office success and grossed $202.3 million against a $50–90 million budget.