Ian Paterson

Published Tuesday 1 July 2008 at 11:20 by Gordon Irving

Actor and singer Ian Paterson was born in Calcutta on July 28, 1926. The cultured Scot might have been destined for a career as an electronics boffin, but he put his BSc honours degree behind him and chose the lifestyle of a singer and actor instead.

The Paterson family came home from India to be closer to their family roots on Tayside, to bring up young Ian and Margaret in the east of Scotland and to give their son the value of an education at Morrison’s Academy at Crieff in Perthshire.

Paterson became a singing star of the now legendary Scottish pantomime “Jamie” and was the singing lead in “A Love for Jamie” at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh and in Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the 1963-64 season.

Singer Fay Lenore, who starred with him in “Jamie” in Edinburgh, recalls “Ian was a very cultured actor with a fine voice and an engaging personality - an excellent choice for our Edinburgh season.”

Pantomime success apart, Paterson adopted a diversified career in drama and music and at one time was appointed director of opera studies at the Birmingham School of Music. He even ventured into soap opera by playing Andy Fraser in Crossroads. His other home screen work included guesting at Grampian Television in offbeat music programmes like Cairngorm Ski Night.

In theatre, mainly in England, he worked for the innovative producer Joan Littlewood in London, and at the Players Theatre. His visits home to Scotland, if not to play golf with his father on the hallowed turf at St Andrews, included a role in Rob Roy for Jimmy Logan and to join Stanley Baxter in revue at HM Theatre Aberdeen.

In addition to enjoying the life of sunshine and gracious living in the Portuguese Algarve, he found time to work as an entertainment manager on cruise liners visiting Scandinavia, the Med. (and calling in at Leith for the cultural delights of Edinburgh).

Paterson died on June 21. He is survived by his sister Margaret and his partner of 50 years, Matthew Russell. Theatreland was well served by this cultured man of music and drama.