---
name: "James Patterson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-patterson"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 June 1932"
died: "19 August 1972"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T04:53:02.720270+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James Patterson

Actor. Born 29 June 1932 in Derry - Pennsylvania - USA. Died 19 August 1972.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 June 1932, Derry - Pennsylvania - USA
- **Died:** 19 August 1972
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Patterson_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6141033, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666247/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/105049

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*In the Heat of the Night*](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

James Patterson was an American actor. Born in Derry, Pennsylvania, he studied acting at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began his career in radio before moving into stage and screen work.

His film roles include Dr. Lavrier in *Lilith* (1964), Mr. Purdy in *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), Elk in *Castle Keep* (1969) and Jeffrey Butler in *Silent Night, Bloody Night* (1972). He also appeared in numerous television series, among them *Mission: Impossible*, *Hawaii Five-O* and *The Big Valley*. On stage he received a Tony Award for his performance in Harold Pinter's *The Birthday Party* (1968).

Patterson died of cancer in New York City in 1972, aged 40.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), Fi1m 85, as Mr. Purdy — [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md)

## Complete filmography (15)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Night of the Dark Full Moon* (1972), as Jeffrey Butler
- *A Fable* (1971), as The Husband
- *The Chicago Conspiracy Trial* (1970), Actor
- *Castle Keep* (1969), as Elk
- *Hawaii Five-O* (1969), series, as Dave Barca
- *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), as Mr. Purdy — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md)
- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), series, as Johnny Costa, Victor Laszlo — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)
- *Felony Squad* (1966), series, Actor
- *The Big Valley* (1965), series, as Jamie Drumm
- *Lilith* (1964), as Dr. Lavrier
- *Flipper* (1964), series, as Scott Emson
- *Stoney Burke* (1962), series, Actor
- *The Defenders* (1961), series, as Barney LeMay, Don Franks
- *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor
- *Naked City* (1958), series, as Phil North

## Gallery

- ![James Patterson](https://film.one/media/person/1242802/gallery-aa81cb3311e2.jpg) James Patterson — film screenshot (Cannon Films-MGM), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/James_Patterson_in_Silent_Night%2C_Bloody_Night.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![James Patterson](https://film.one/media/person/1242802/gallery-adea7f7f5dfb.jpg) James Patterson — Image via TMDB
- ![James Patterson](https://film.one/media/person/1242802/gallery-7cdbf3f21d76.jpg) James Patterson — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play 1968: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-patterson