Patrick Layton Paulsen (July 6, 1927 – April 25, 1997) was an American comedian and satirist notable for his roles on several of the Smothers Brothers television shows, and for his satirical campaigns for President of the United States between 1968 and 1996.

Paulsen was born July 6, 1927, in South Bend, Washington, a small fishing town in Pacific County.

[1] He was the son of Beulah Inez (née Fadden) and Norman Inge Paulsen, a Norwegian immigrant who worked for the Coast Guard.

Paulsen joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school, when World War II was still being waged, but it ended before he was shipped overseas.

[2] He returned home after the war and worked as a posting clerk, a truck driver, a hod carrier, a Fuller Brush salesman, and a gypsum miner.

He attended San Francisco City College, then joined an acting group called "The Ric-y-tic Players," and he formed a comedy trio that included his brother Lorin.

Paulsen developed a solo act, appearing as a comedic guitarist in various clubs on the West Coast and in New York City.

[1] The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour premiered in 1967, and Paulsen said that he was hired because he sold them inexpensive songs and would run errands.

He enjoyed this professional summer-stock theater so much that he became business partners in 1976 with television writer and producer Neil Rosen and bought Cherry County Playhouse.

CBS refused to air the bit, but the incident became the impetus for the Smothers Brothers writers launching a Pat Paulsen presidential campaign.

[11] He sought alternative medicine treatment for his cancer in Tijuana, Mexico and died there from complications of pneumonia and kidney failure on April 25, 1997.