biography
Born Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson on March 31, 1929, in Vancouver, British Columbia, actor Lee Patterson attended Ontario College of Art,
aiming to be a cartoonist. He soon abandoned his art career in favor of acting. Patterson found work as a stage actor in Canada and,
following a trip to London, decided to stay in Britain. He quickly found work as a stage manager on British TV programs and as a stage
actor before getting his break in films. By 1953 he was landing small roles, until he signed a contract with Romulus Films in 1954.
Throughout the early phase of Patterson's career, he most often portrayed Americans in a number of British B movies. His breakthrough
role came in the crime drama The Good Die Young (1954; with Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, and
Joan Collins). Soon, he was starring in British noir including The Passing Stranger (1954; with
Diane Cilento), Spin a Dark Web (1956; with Faith Domergue), and The Counterfeit
Plan (1957; with Zachary Scott and Peggie Castle). Patterson's career in the late 1950s was going well, as he starred in five films in 1959 alone, including Jack the Ripper (1959; with Eddie Byrne) and the Disney family film Third Man on the Mountain (1959; with Michael Rennie, Janet Munro, and James MacArthur). He was supporting his mother and putting his brother through college back in Canada. Needing to be closer to home, in 1959 Patterson landed a contract with Warner Bros. and left Britain, as his mother was ill. The studio cast him as Dave Thorne on the ABC detective series Surfside 6 (1960-1962; with Troy Donahue, Diane McBain, and Van Williams). 
Stardom eluded Patterson, despite being cast on ABC's hit series Surfside 6. When the series was canceled in 1962, Patterson found himself without a contract, and film and television roles were few and far between. After some guest shots on such series as Perry Mason and Bonanza, he was cast as Joe Riley on the then-new ABC daytime drama One Life to Live, starting in July 1968. This began a 20-year association with the series, but Patterson also was a regular on the NBC daytime dramas Another World and the short-lived Texas. |
the films of lee pattersonThe Good Die Young (1954)
Patterson had a supporting role in the Romulus noir thriller The Good Die YoungSpin a Dark Web (1956)Assignment Foreign Legion (1956-1957 CBS TV Series)
With Norah Gorsen in an episode of the British anthology series Assignment Foreign Legion titled The Man Who Found FreedomThe Counterfeit Plan (1957)
From the Warner Bros. crime drama The Counterfeit Plan with Robert ArdenThe Story of Esther Costello (1957)
With Heather Sears in the Joan Crawford vehicle The Story of Esther Costello, produced by Romulus and released by ColumbiaThe Inbetween Age (1958)
Patterson stars with British pop star Terry Dene in the rock and roll flick The Inbetween Age, released in the U.S. by Allied ArtistsJack the Ripper (1959)
As Sam Lowry in the mystery/thriller Jack the RipperThe 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
As Reldresal in the Columbia adventure The Three Worlds of GulliverSurfside 6 (1960-1962 ABC TV Series)   
From the ABC series Surfside 6, produced by Warner Bros. LEFT: As Dave Thorne. CENTER A: With costars Troy Donahue and Van Williams. CENTER B: With Margarita Sierra, Troy Donahue, Diane McBain, and Van Williams. RIGHT: With Leslie Parrish in a 1961 episode titled Circumstantial Evidencelater yearsPatterson put the wraps on his acting career in the early 1990s and later retired to Galveston, Texas, completely stepping out of the limelight and losing touch with others in the industry. A heavy smoker, Patterson passed away from multiple causes (congestive heart failure, cancer, and emphysema) on February 14, 2007, at age 77. Sadly, his death went unnoticed in the press for months. A lifelong bachelor, Patterson left no immediate survivors. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered May 24, 2017.
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