Patty Duke

Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946March 29, 2016) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She first became known as a teen star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), a role which she had originated on Broadway. The following year she was given her own show, The Patty Duke Show, in which she portrayed "identical cousins". She later progressed to more mature roles such as that of Neely O'Hara in the film Valley of the Dolls (1967). Over the course of her career, she received ten Emmy Award nominations and three Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Duke also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.
Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, after which she devoted much of her time to advocating for and educating the public on mental health issues.
==Early life==
Duke was born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, the youngest of three children of Frances Margaret ( McMahon; June 7, 1913April 6, 1993), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke (May 9, 1913February 6, 1964), a handyman and cab driver. She was of Irish, and more distant German, descent.
Duke, her brother Raymond, and her sister Carol experienced a difficult childhood. Their father was an alcoholic, and their mother suffered from clinical depression and was prone to violence. When Duke was six, her mother forced her father to leave the family home. When Duke was eight, her care was turned over to talent managers John and Ethel Ross, who, after promoting Patty's brother, were looking for a girl to add to their stable of child actors.
The Rosses' methods of managing Duke's career were often unscrupulous and exploitative. They consistently billed Duke as being two years younger than she actually was and padded her resume with false credits. They gave her alcohol and prescription drugs, took unreasonably high fees from her earnings and made sexual advances to her.
In addition, the Rosses ordered Duke to change her name—"Anna Marie is dead; you're Patty now." They hoped that "Patty Duke" would duplicate the success of tween actress Patty McCormack.
==Career==
===Acting===
====1950s–1990s====
One of Duke's earlier acting roles was in the late 1950s, on the soap opera The Brighter Day. She also appeared in print ads and in television commercials. In 1959, at the age of 12, Duke appeared on The $64,000 Question and won $32,000; her category of expertise was spelling. In 1962, it was revealed that the game show had been rigged, and she was called to testify before a panel of the United States Senate. Duke eventually testified to Congressional investigators – and broke to tears when she admitted she'd been coached to speak falsely, an incident Sonny Fox described when interviewed for the PBS program reviewing the quiz scandals.
thumb|left|180px|Duke in 1959
Also in 1959, Duke appeared in a television adaptation of Meet Me in St. Louis as Tootie Smith, the role that had been originated in the film version by Margaret O'Brien. Duke's first major starring role was playing Helen Keller (with Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan) in the Broadway play The Miracle Worker, which ran from October 1959 to July 1961. During the run, Duke's name was elevated to above the play's name on the theatre's billboard, believed to be the first time this had been done for such a young star. The play was subsequently made into a 1962 film, for which Duke received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At 16, Duke was the youngest person at that time to have received an Academy Award in a competitive category. Duke returned to television, this time starring with Laurence Olivier and George C. Scott in a television production of The Power and the Glory (1961).
Duke's own series, The Patty Duke Show, which Sidney Sheldon created especially for her, began airing in September 1963. At that time, it was not known that Duke, who was 16 when the series began, had bipolar disorder, but Sheldon did notice that she had two distinct sides to her personality and thus developed the concept of identical cousins with contrasting personalities. Duke portrayed both main characters: Patricia "Patty" Lane, a fun-loving American teenager who occasionally got into minor trouble at school and home and her "prim and proper" "identical cousin" from Scotland, Catherine "Cathy" Lane. William Schallert, who died six weeks after Duke, portrayed her father, Martin; Jean Byron, who died in 2006, portrayed her mother, Natalie; Paul O'Keefe portrayed her younger brother, Ross and Eddie Applegate, who died in October 2016, portrayed her boyfriend Richard Harrison. The show also featured such high-profile guest stars as Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Paul Lynde and Sal Mineo. The series lasted three seasons and earned Duke an Emmy Award nomination. In 1999, the program's characters were revisited and updated in The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' In Brooklyn Heights, with Cindy Williams taking on the villain role of Sue Ellen Turner when Kitty Sullivan was unable to reprise her role.
thumb|180px|Duke as Patty Lane on The Patty Duke Show, 1965
After the cancellation of The Patty Duke Show in 1966, Duke began her adult acting career by playing Neely O'Hara in Valley of the Dolls (1967). The film was a box-office success, but audiences and critics had a difficult time accepting all-American-teenager Duke as an alcoholic, drug-addicted singing star. While the film has since become a camp classic—thanks in large part to Duke's over-the-top performance—at the time, it almost ruined her career. In 1969, Duke starred in Me, Natalie, a film in which she played an "ugly duckling" Brooklyn teenager struggling to make a life for herself in the Bohemian world in Greenwich Village. Duke won the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) for the role.
Duke returned to television in 1970, starring in a made-for-TV movie, My Sweet Charlie. Her portrayal of a pregnant teenager on the run won Duke her first Emmy Award. Her acceptance speech was rambling, angry and disjointed, leading many in the industry to believe she was drunk or using drugs at the moment. In fact, Duke was experiencing a manic phase of her bipolar disorder, which would remain undiagnosed until 1982. She received her second Emmy in 1977 for the TV miniseries Captains and the Kings and her third in 1980 for a TV version of her 1979 stage revival of The Miracle Worker, this time playing Anne Sullivan to Melissa Gilbert's Helen Keller. Her turns in the made-for-TV movies The Women's Room (1980) and George Washington (1984) both garnered her Emmy nominations. In the 1980s, Duke was cast in a number of short-lived TV series: the ABC sitcom It Takes Two, from Soap and Benson creator Susan Harris—which was cancelled after one season—Hail To The Chief, in which she appeared as the first female President of the United States and a comedy, Karen's Song, which aired on the fledgling Fox network.
Duke's film roles in the 1980s included the Canadian film By Design (1981), which garnered her a Genie Award nomination for Best Foreign Actress, and the made-for-TV movie A Time to Triumph (1986), the true story of Concetta Hassan, a woman who struggles to support her family after her husband is injured but who eventually becomes a United States Army helicopter pilot. In 1990, Duke's autobiography, Call Me Anna, was adapted for television; she played herself from her mid-30s onward. In 1992, Duke portrayed the mother of Meg Ryan's character in the film adaptation of the play Prelude to a Kiss. Duke received an Emmy nomination in 1999 for her appearances in three episodes of Touched by an Angel.
In 1985, Duke was the second woman, after Kathleen Nolan, to be elected president of the Screen Actors Guild, a post she held until 1988. Her tenure as president was marked by factional in-fighting and controversy, however she gained respect for managing to maintain solidarity amongst members. During her term, she led industrial actions and contract negotiations and oversaw the relocation of the guild's headquarters.
====Later years====
Duke gradually reduced her work schedule in the 2000s, but took occasional TV roles, including guest appearances on shows such as Glee and the reboot of Hawaii Five-0. In 2015, Duke made her final TV appearance, guest-starring as Grandma Janice and Great-aunt Hilary, a pair of identical twins on Liv and Maddie. In 2011, she joined the cast of the drama The Protector. She also returned to the stage on occasion—in 2002 as Aunt Eller in a revival of Oklahoma! on Broadway and in 2009 as Madame Morrible in the San Francisco production of the musical Wicked. In May 2011, Duke directed the stage version of The Miracle Worker at Interplayers Theater in Spokane, Washington. In 2011, Duke appeared in public service announcements for the U.S. government, promoting the social security website. In several, she appeared as Patty and Cathy using split-screen effects. In others, she appeared with George Takei wearing a Star Trek-like costume.
===Singing===
Duke had a successful singing career, including two Top 40 hits in 1965, "Don't Just Stand There" (#8) and "Say Something Funny" (#22). She also performed on TV shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.
===Mental health advocacy===
In 1987, Duke revealed in her autobiography that she had been diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder) in 1982, becoming one of the first public figures to speak out about personal experience of mental health. Her treatment, which included lithium as a medication and therapy, stabilized her and she became an activist for numerous mental health causes. She lobbied the United States Congress and joined forces with the National Institute of Mental Health and National Alliance on Mental Illness in order to increase awareness, funding and research for people with mental illness. In 2007, Duke appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, talking about her bipolar disorder.
===Memoirs===
Duke wrote two books: her autobiography, Call Me Anna (ISBN 0-553-27205-5) in 1987 and Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness (ISBN 0-553-56072-7) in 1992.
==Recognition==
On August 17, 2004, Duke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the motion picture industry. On December 14, 2007, her 61st birthday, Duke was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters degree from the University of North Florida for her work in advancing awareness of mental health issues. On March 6, 2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
==Personal life==
Duke was married four times and had three children. In 1965, Duke married director Harry Falk, who was 13 years her senior. During their marriage, she had repeated mood swings, drank heavily, became anorexic and overdosed on pills a number of times. The couple divorced in 1969. In early 1970, at the age of 23, Duke dated then-Here's Lucy star, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz, Jr. The couple's relationship was widely publicised, due in part to the vocal and public opposition of Arnaz's mother, actress Lucille Ball. By late spring, Duke and Arnaz had broken off their relationship and she began dating actor John Astin, who was 16 years her senior. Around the same time, Duke developed an intimate relationship with rock promoter Michael Tell. In June 1970, Duke learned she was pregnant and married Michael Tell on June 26, 1970, in order to "give (her child) a name". Their marriage lasted 13 days before ending in an annulment on July 9, 1970; Duke said the marriage was never consummated. Duke's son, actor Sean Astin, was born on February 25, 1971. Though Duke said in her 1987 autobiography that Astin was the biological father, she later stated that she had always believed that Arnaz Jr. was his biological father. It turned out neither statement was correct; in 1994, Sean Astin underwent biological testing to determine his paternity and the results showed that Astin's father is actually Tell. Duke married John Astin in August 1972. Astin adopted Sean and the couple had another son, actor Mackenzie Astin, in 1973. Duke and Astin worked together extensively during their marriage and she took his name professionally, becoming "Patty Duke Astin". The couple divorced in 1985. Duke married her fourth husband, drill sergeant Michael Pearce, in 1986. Duke and Pearce had met during the production of A Time to Triumph, for which Pearce served as a consultant. The couple moved to Hayden, Idaho and adopted a son, Kevin, who was born in 1988. From her marriage to Pearce until her death in 2016, Duke occasionally used the name "Anna Duke-Pearce" in her writings and other professional work. Duke had three granddaughters by her eldest son Sean: actress Alexandra "Ali" Astin, Elizabeth, and Isabella.
===Death===
Duke died on the morning of March 29, 2016 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho of sepsis from a ruptured intestine at the age of 69. Sean invited the public to contribute to a mental health foundation in his mother's name, the Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative.
== Filmography ==
=== Films ===
Year	Film 	Role 	Notes
1958	Country Music Holiday	Sis Brand 	
1958	 	Emily Ann Faulkner, age 8	
1959	4D Man 	Marjorie Sutherland 	
1959	Happy Anniversary 	Debbie Walters 	
1962	 	Helen Keller 	Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressGolden Globe for New Star of the Year – ActressNominated – Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress
1965	Billie 	Billie Carol 	
1966	 	Thumbelina 	Voice
1967	Think Twentieth 	Herself 	Short subject
1967	Valley of the Dolls 	Neely O'Hara 	
1969	Me, Natalie 	Natalie Miller 	Golden Globe for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1972	You'll Like My Mother	Francesca Kinsolving 	
1978	 	Rita 	
1982	By Design 	Helen 	Nominated–Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress
1986	Willy/Milly 	Doris Niceman 	Alternative titles: I Was a Teenage Boy, Something Special
1992	Prelude to a Kiss 	Mrs. Boyle 	
1999	Kimberly 	Dr. Feinstenberger 	Alternate title: Daddy Who?
2005	Bigger Than the Sky 	Mrs. Keene/Earlene 	
2005	Jungle Junction Movie	Other Voice 	
2008	 	Susan Metler 	
2009	Jungle Junction 2 	Other Voice 	
2012	Amazing Love 	Helen 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1963–66 	 	Patty Lane/Cathy Lane 	104 episodesNominated–Emmy Award; Nominated–Golden Globe
1967 	 	Sue Ann MacRae 	"Sue Ann" Season 5, Episode 16
1969 	Journey to the Unknown 	Barbara King 	Episode: "The Last Visitor"
1970 	My Sweet Charlie 	Marlene Chambers 	TV movieLimited theatrical release after television premierePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1971 	If Tomorrow Comes 	Eileen Phillips 	TV movie
1971 	She Waits 	Laura Wilson 	TV movie
1971 	Night Gallery 	Holly Schaeffer 	Season 2, Episode 8, Segment 1 "The Diary"
1972 	Deadly Harvest 	Jenny 	TV movie
1973 	Hawaii Five-O 	Toni 	Season 5, Episode 15 "Thanks for the Honeymoon"
1974 	Nightmare 	Jan 	TV movie
1975 	Police Woman 	LaRue Collins 	Guest-starred with then-husband John Astin in Season 1 / Episode 18 "Nothing Left to Lose"
1976 	Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby 	Rosemary Woodhouse 	TV movie (alternate title: Rosemary's Baby II)
1976 	Captains and the Kings 	Bernadette Hennessey Armagh 	MiniseriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1977 	Curse of the Black Widow 	Laura Lockwood/Valerie Steffan 	TV movie
1978 	 	Wendy 	TV movieNominated–Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special
1978 	Having Babies III 	Leslee Wexler 	Primetime series, 3rd installmentNominated–Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series
1979 	Before and After 	Carole Matthews 	TV movie
1979 	Women in White 	Cathy Payson 	TV movie
1979 	The Miracle Worker 	Annie Sullivan 	TV moviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1980 	The Babysitter 	Liz Benedict 	TV movie
1980 	 	Lily 	TV movieNominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
1981 	 	Martha 	TV movieNominated–Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Children's Programming
1981 	 	Sarah McDavid 	TV movie
1981 	Please Don't Hit Me, Mom 	Barbara Reynolds 	TV movie (appearing with her son, Sean Astin)
1982 	It Takes Two 	Molly Quinn 	TV series
1983 	September Gun 	Sister Dolcina 	TV movie
1984 	Best Kept Secrets 	Laura Dietz 	TV movie (alternate title: Under Suspicion)
1984 	Insight 	Unnamed 	Series episode: The Hit ManNominated–Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Religious Programming – Performers
1984 	George Washington 	Martha Washington 	MiniseriesNominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
1985 	Hail to the Chief 	President Julia Mansfield 	TV series
1986 	 	Concetta Hassan 	TV docudrama
1986 	George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation 	Martha Washington 	TV movie
1987 	Fight for Life 	Shirley Abrams 	TV docudrama
1987 	Karen's Song 	Karen Matthews 	TV series
1988 	Fatal Judgement 	Anne Capute 	TV movie
1989 	Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes 	Nancy Evans 	TV movie (alternate titles: Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes)
1989 	Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure 	Carolyn Henry 	TV movie
1990 	Always Remember I Love You 	Ruth Monroe 	TV movie
1990 	Call Me Anna 	Herself 	TV docudrama
1991 	 	Jean Monroe 	TV movie
1991 	The Torkelsons 	Wesley Hodges' daughter-in-law 	1 episode ("Return to Sender")
1991 	Absolute Strangers 	Judge Ray 	TV docudrama
1992 	Last Wish 	Betty Rollin 	TV docudrama
1992 	Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive 	Jean Williams 	TV movie
1993 	 	Mary Brown 	TV docudrama
1993 	No Child of Mine 	Lucille Jenkins 	TV movie
1994 	Cries from the Heart 	Terry Wilson 	TV movie (alternate title: Touch of Truth)
1995 	When the Vows Break 	Barbara Parker 	TV docudrama (alternate title: Courting Justice)
1995 	Amazing Grace 	Hannah Miller 	5 episodes
1996 	Harvest of Fire 	Annie Beiler 	TV movie
1996 	Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah 	Natalie 	TV movie
1997 	 	Sook Faulk 	TV movie
1997 	Frasier 	Caller 	1 episode
1998 	 	Faye Dolan 	TV movie
1998–2003	Touched by an Angel 	Jean 	3 episodesNominated– Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (1999)
1999 	 	Patty Lane/Cathy Lane MacAllister 	TV movie
1999 	 	Angel 	TV movie
2000 	Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story	Anne Kincaid 	TV docudrama
2002 	Little John 	Sylvia 	TV movie
2004 	Murder without Conviction 	Mother Joseph 	TV movie
2004 	Judging Amy 	Valerie Bing 	1 episode
2006 	Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door 	Bridget Connelly 	TV movie
2009 	Love Finds a Home 	Mary Watson 	TV movie
2010 	Unanswered Prayers 	Irene 	TV movie
2011 	Hawaii 5-0 	Sylvia Spencer 	1 episode
2013 	Glee 	Jan 	1 episode
2015 	Liv and Maddie 	Grandmother Janice/Great-Aunt Hilary	Episode: "Grandma-A-Rooney"
== Discography ==
Numbers indicate Billboard chart peak positions
===Albums===
* Don't Just Stand There (#90) – United Artists UAL 3452 (Mono)/UAS 6452 (Stereo) – 1965
* Patty – United Artists UAL 3492/UAS 6492 – 1966
* Patty Duke's Greatest Hits – United Artists UAL 3535/UAS 6535 – 1966
* TV's Teen Star – Unart M 20005 (Mono)/S 21005 (Stereo) – 1967
* Songs from Valley of The Dolls and Other Selections – United Artists UAL 3623/UAS 6623 – 1967
* Patty Duke Sings Folk Songs: Time To Move On – United Artists – Unreleased – 1968
*Note: After years of remaining unreleased, Patty Duke Sings Folk Songs: Time To Move On was finally released by Real Gone Music (under Capitol records) on CD and digital download in 2013.
===Singles===
Year	Titles (A-side, B-side) 	Record Label 	Peak chart positions	Peak chart positions	Album
Year	Titles (A-side, B-side) 	Record Label 	Billboard 	Cashbox 	Album
1965	"Don't Just Stand There"b/w "Everything But Love" 	United Artists 875 	8 	6 	Don't Just Stand There
1965	"Say Something Funny" / 	United Artists 915 	22 	31 	Don't Just Stand There
1965	"Funny Little Butterflies" 	United Artists 915 	77 	51 	Patty Duke's Greatest Hits
1966	"Whenever She Holds You"b/w "Nothing But You" 	United Artists 978 	64 	63 	Patty
1966	"Little Things Mean A Lot"b/w "The World Is Watching Us" 	United Artists 50034	– 	– 	Patty
1966	"The Wall Came Tumbling Down"b/w "What Makes You Special"	United Artists 50057	– 	– 	Non-album tracks
1966	"Why Don't They Understand"b/w "Danke Schoen" 	United Artists 50073	– 	– 	Don't Just Stand There
1967	"Come Live With Me"b/w "My Own Little Place" 	United Artists 50216	– 	– 	Songs From 'Valley Of The Dolls'
1968	"And We Were Strangers"b/w "Dona Dona" 	United Artists 50299	– 	– 	Patty Duke Sings Folk Songs
== See also ==
* List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees
== References ==
==External links==
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Patty Duke Death
Category:1946 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:Actresses of German descent
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American labor leaders
Category:American memoirists
Category:American female singers
Category:American people of German descent
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American female pop singers
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Deaths from sepsis
Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
Category:Infectious disease deaths in Idaho
Category:Las Vegas entertainers
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:People from Queens, New York
Category:People with bipolar disorder
Category:Presidents of the Screen Actors Guild
Category:Writers from New York City
Category:Activists from New YorkCategory:Pages stolen off Wikipedia