Lee Patterson
Encyclopedia
Lee Patterson was a Canadian
film
and television
actor
.
After attending Ontario College of Art, Patterson moved to England
, where he specialized in playing virile American types in British films. He appeared in a number of movies during the 1950s and 1960s, including The Good Die Young
(1954), Above Us the Waves
(1955), Reach for the Sky
(1956), Time Lock
(1957), and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960). After moving to the United States
in the early 1960s, he worked mainly on television. With roles on shows such as Surfside 6
, he was one of the handful of primetime and movie performers to appear on daytime serials prior to 1970. His first soap opera role was that of Brad Kiernan on ABC's
The Nurses
. After that show's 1967 cancellation, he joined the original cast of One Life to Live
, reuniting him with Doris Quinlan, the producer of The Nurses.
Patterson remained on One Life to Live until 1970, when his character Joe Riley
was presumed dead; he returned to the show in 1972 and remained the romantic lead until 1979, when he left due to his unhappiness with the direction the show took after Doris Quinlan left to produce NBC's troubled serial The Doctors
. Patterson then joined the cast of Another World
and Texas
in the role of Dr. Kevin Cook. The character began on Another World, but moved to Texas when that show began on August 4, 1980. He stayed until 1981 when the show revamped to bring up its poor ratings against the number one daytime program, ABC's General Hospital
. Texas was cancelled in 1982. Patterson returned to One Life to Live as Joe's twin brother, Tom Dennison, from 1986 until 1988. Patterson continued to make guest appearances in other television shows such as Magnum, P.I.
and The A-Team
, and appeared in movies including Airplane II: The Sequel
(1982) and Death Wish 3
(1985). His last known role was Sergeant Gaylor in the 1994 movie, Healer. Patterson died on 14 February 2007 at age 77 in Texas
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
After attending Ontario College of Art, Patterson moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he specialized in playing virile American types in British films. He appeared in a number of movies during the 1950s and 1960s, including The Good Die Young
The Good Die Young
The Good Die Young is a crime thriller made in the United Kingdom by Remus Productions, featuring a number of American characters. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay was based on the book of the same name written by Richard Macaulay....
(1954), Above Us the Waves
Above Us the Waves (film)
Above Us the Waves is a 1955 war film directed by Ralph Thomas. It tells the story of human torpedo and midget submarine attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz. It is based on true-life attacks on the Tirpitz, first using manned torpedoes , and then the Royal Navy's midget X-Craft submarines in...
(1955), Reach for the Sky
Reach for the Sky
Reach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film of aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956.-Plot:In 1928, Douglas Bader, a...
(1956), Time Lock
Time Lock
Time Lock is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Gerald Thomas. The plot is about a six-year old boy who is accidentally locked in a bank vault. With less than 10 hours of oxygen left in the vault, it becomes a race to save the boy. The film features a young, pre-James Bond Sean Connery...
(1957), and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960). After moving to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early 1960s, he worked mainly on television. With roles on shows such as Surfside 6
Surfside 6
Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered around a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield, II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison ; and Lee Patterson as Dave Thorne...
, he was one of the handful of primetime and movie performers to appear on daytime serials prior to 1970. His first soap opera role was that of Brad Kiernan on ABC's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
The Nurses
The Nurses
The Nurses is a soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to March 31, 1967. The show was a continuation of a serialized primetime drama which aired on CBS originally called The Nurses when it premiered in 1962, later called The Doctors and the Nurses.The setting was Alden General...
. After that show's 1967 cancellation, he joined the original cast of One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, reuniting him with Doris Quinlan, the producer of The Nurses.
Patterson remained on One Life to Live until 1970, when his character Joe Riley
Joe Riley (One Life to Live)
Joseph Francis "Joe" Riley, Sr. is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. The role was portrayed by Lee Patterson from the inception of the serial in 1968 through 1970, returning from 1972 through 1979, and reappearing briefly in 1987.-Storylines:In 1968, reporter Joe Riley...
was presumed dead; he returned to the show in 1972 and remained the romantic lead until 1979, when he left due to his unhappiness with the direction the show took after Doris Quinlan left to produce NBC's troubled serial The Doctors
The Doctors
The Doctors is a soap opera which aired on NBC Daytime from April 1, 1963, to December 31, 1982. There were 5280 episodes produced, with the 5000th episode airing in November 1981...
. Patterson then joined the cast of Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
and Texas
Texas (TV series)
Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...
in the role of Dr. Kevin Cook. The character began on Another World, but moved to Texas when that show began on August 4, 1980. He stayed until 1981 when the show revamped to bring up its poor ratings against the number one daytime program, ABC's General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
. Texas was cancelled in 1982. Patterson returned to One Life to Live as Joe's twin brother, Tom Dennison, from 1986 until 1988. Patterson continued to make guest appearances in other television shows such as Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
and The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, and appeared in movies including Airplane II: The Sequel
Airplane II: The Sequel
Airplane II: The Sequel is an American comedy sequel to the 1980 film Airplane!. First released on December 10, 1982, the film was written and directed by Ken Finkleman and stars Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono.-Plot:In the near...
(1982) and Death Wish 3
Death Wish 3
Death Wish 3 is a 1985 action film starring Charles Bronson as vigilante killer Paul Kersey and is the second sequel to the 1974 film Death Wish. It was written by Don Jakoby...
(1985). His last known role was Sergeant Gaylor in the 1994 movie, Healer. Patterson died on 14 February 2007 at age 77 in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Selected filmography
- Dry RotDry Rot (film)Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount and Sid James.The story is an adaptation of a 1954 farce by John Roy Chapman who also wrote the screenplay, in which the sketchy story plays second fiddle to the quick-paced action and...
(1956) - Cat and Mouse (1958)
- BreakoutBreakout (1959 film)Breakout is a 1959 British drama film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Lee Patterson, Hazel Court, Terence Alexander. A government official organises a mass breakout from a prison.-Cast:* Lee Patterson ... George Munro...
(1959) - Jack the RipperJack the Ripper (1959 film)Jack the Ripper was a 1959 film produced and directed by Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker and is loosely based on Leonard Matters' theory that the Ripper was an avenging doctor. The black-and-white film starred Lee Patterson and Eddie Byrne and co-starred Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, and...
(1959)