James Patterson (June 29, 1932 – August 19, 1972) was an American actor who won a Tony Award for his role in the 1968

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

play '' The Birthday Party''. His best-known film role was in ''Lilith'' (1964), and he had numerous guest appearances on television through the early 1970s. He was also well known for his appearance as Jeffrey Butler in the

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

horror film ''

Silent Night, Bloody Night ''Silent Night, Bloody Night'' is a 1972 American slasher film directed by Theodore Gershuny and co-produced by Lloyd Kaufman. The film stars Patrick O'Neal and cult actress Mary Woronov in leading roles, with John Carradine in a supporting per ...

''.

Background

Born in Derry, Pennsylvania, Patterson was both a stage and screen actor. For his stage work, he won both Tony and Obie awards. His career started on a Pittsburgh radio show with "Starlets on Parade" as a boy soprano. For a time, he was a painter and later studied acting at the Carnegie Institute of Technology with Hebert Berghof. He met his future wife, actress,

Rochelle Oliver Rochelle Oliver (born April 15, 1937) is an American acting coach and former actress. Career Oliver studied acting with Uta Hagen. Her stage appearances include ''The Brothers Karamazov'', ''The Cave Dwellers'', ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' and ...

on the set of the off-Broadway production of ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

''. He was also a cast member. In 1960, they were living together in their small apartment on the upper East Side.

Career

In 1968, Patterson played the part of Dave Barca in ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'', episode "The Ways of Love". In 1972, Patterson was in the horror slasher film ''

'' that starred Patrick O’Neal, playing Jeffrey Butler, a man trying to sell a house with a terrible history that belonged to his grandfather Wilford Butler.

Death

Patterson died of cancer at age 40 in 1972 in New York City. He was survived by his wife Rochelle and son John.''The New York Times'', AUG. 21, 1972
''JAMES PATTERSON OF STAGE, 40, DIES''
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Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, James 1932 births 1972 deaths Male actors from Pennsylvania American male film actors American male stage actors Tony Award winners Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American male actors