| the wearer | the origin | the impact |
|---|---|---|
 James Joyce |
Joyce never actually lost an eye—he claimed the patch aided his failing eyesight. | Affected? A little. But perhaps also symbolic—Joyce was enamored of a certain one-eyed giant of Greek mythology: Episode 12 of Ulysses was titled “The Cyclops.” |
 Dr. Daisuke Serizawa |
In the original Godzilla, the scientist’s eye patch is a vestige of WWII, driving home the film’s post-nuclear, antiwar theme. | The patch gave the scientist street cred, instantly tougher than your average movie egghead—and he was, defeating Godzilla with his Oxygen Destroyer. |
 Nadine Hurley |
Batty and briefly superhuman, Hurley—the weirdest weirdo on Twin Peaks—lost her eye in a hunting accident. | Peaks obsessives debated the meaning of the patch—but, like most things on that show, there probably wasn’t one. |
 Sammy Davis Jr. |
After a 1954 car accident, the Candyman made patches (plaid ones, even) part of his shtick. | Davis milked it for so many jokes, Humphrey Bogart finally growled at him, “How long you gonna trade on the goddamn patch?” Davis took it off. |
 John Ford |
Too soon after eye surgery, the director ripped off his bandages, blinding himself in one eye. | Ford’s next film, The Searchers, is considered his best. All in all, a brilliant career move! |
 Ziggy Stardust |
Conjunctivitis steered David Bowie toward the patch at the height of his Ziggy era. | Bowie, in one of his rare style missteps, went full-on pirate with a blousy shirt, earring, and crotch-huggers. Ziggy’s lightning-bolt eye makeup couldn’t come fast enough. |
 Slick Rick |
The rapper, convicted of attempted murder in 1991 (and pardoned by Governor Paterson in May) was wounded by glass as a child. | Rick pioneered the blinged-out eye patch: fake diamond encrusted and color coordinated (even chain link!). One of the rare instances of silly equaling cool. |
 Steve “Patch” Johnson |
On Days of Our Lives, the mercenary’s eye was gouged out by the brother of Kayla, his lover until his death in 1990. | The eye patch is the least ridiculous thing about him. We say “is” because he returned from the grave and was reunited with Kayla in 2006. |
 Snake Plissken |
When Tommy Lee Jones passed on Escape From New York, Kurt Russell brought along a prop. | An inspired choice: John Carpenter’s apocalyptic thriller is a camp classic, and the patch maintained the appropriate level of absurdity. |
 Elle Driver |
Daryl Hannah’s badass Kill Bill swordswoman had her eye plucked out for disrespecting her kung-fu teacher. | The patch was one of Tarantino’s many nods to a favorite film—in this case the Swedish cult flick Thriller, a.k.a. They Call Her One Eye. |
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