In a modest apartment building in Northeast DC lives the Soviet Union’s most famous child star: James Lloydovich Patterson.
James Lloydovich Patterson’s dad moved to Russia in the ’30s. Photograph by Katya Chiligiri Balaban.
In a modest apartment building in Northeast DC, across from a Home Depot parking lot, lives the Soviet Union’s most famous child star: James Lloydovich Patterson. Recently, the 88-year-old Mr. Patterson—his friends always refer to him, somewhat reverentially, as “Mr. Patterson”—was holding court from his armchair, entertaining several friends with stories from his past. “I was extremely favored in Russia,” he explained.
Patterson talks like a native Russian speaker, but his appearance isn’t what you’d expect if you aren’t familiar with his story. Born in Moscow, he’s the son of an African American father and a Russian mother. His dad—the grandson of enslaved people in Virginia—emigrated with other Black intellectuals in the 1930s, drawn by the promise of supposed Soviet racial equality. In Russia, he met and married Patterson’s mother, a prominent artist and designer.
From his apartment in DC, Patterson still feels connected to the country of his birth. However, recent events have been hard to watch. Vladimir Putin, he says, “doesn’t support Russian [interests]. He supports his own interests.” Patterson has never stopped writing, but at almost 90 and in poor health, he has slowed down considerably. Ballard recently helped gethis paternal grandmother translated and published. Mostly, though, he likes to sip his Russian water and occasionally visit with friends. Reflecting on his life, he said, “I’m a naval [officer]. I’m a poet. I’m an actor.” He gave a distinctive Russian-style shrug of his slight shoulders. “Enough for me.
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