In addition to his stage duties, Patton was one of several amateur performers who would warm up and entertain the audience during commercial breaks.
Host Chuck Barris found him so entertaining that he had him dance on the show on-air, and he proved so popular that he soon became a recurring act, then an occasional judge.
Patton usually wore the same outfit each time he appeared, which consisted of a green sweater jacket, a flat cap, bell-bottomed slacks, and sneakers.
[citation needed] After Barris would finish with a certain act, the piano player in Milton DeLugg's band would begin to play in octaves the familiar bass line of the first few bars of "Jumpin' at the Woodside," a popular Count Basie tune,[1] and the proceedings would come to an immediate halt once Barris heard the music.
[1] DeLugg's arrangement morphed perfectly into Basie's "One O'Clock Jump," at which time Gene showed off his trademark "armspread" move, along with everyone else in the house.