Paterson, William, 1919-2003

William Paterson, born on July 7, 1919, in Buffalo, New York, graduated from Brown University in 1941, with honors in English Literature. While at Brown University, he joined the Sock and Buskin Drama Club and spent his summer breaks acting in productions at the Pine Grove Playhouse in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he joined the United States Army for four years, including nine months of active combat in Europe. He earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service and a Purple Heart after being wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. He was also awarded five Campaign Stars. During this period, Paterson was briefly married to Patricia Best.

After his return home from military service, Paterson joined the Cleveland Playhouse. During his fourth year there he married Cora Beams, a hair stylist who sometimes worked on Playhouse productions. In addition to performing in various Playhouse productions, he took time out to act in four national tours of his own one-man biographical shows, portraying Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Benjamin Franklin, among others.

In 1967, Paterson joined the American Conservatory Theatre during its inaugural season, at the request of its founder and then artistic director, William Ball. He performed in works ranging from William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw to Harold Pinter and Sam Shepard. For 14 years, he played the part of Ebenezer Scrooge in the theatre's holiday production of A Christmas Carol which was broadcast on television in 1981.

Paterson received numerous awards during his acting career. He also served on both the San Francisco Arts Commission and the American Conservatory Theatre Commission. He died of lung cancer on September 3, 2003, at his home in San Francisco.

From the guide to the William Paterson papers, Paterson (William) papers, 1919-2003, (bulk 1940-1992), 1919-2003, 1940-1992, (Brown University Library Special Collections)