Patty Duke

Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress of stage, film and television. She first became famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role inThe Miracle Worker, which she had originated on Broadway. She later starred in the sitcom, The Patty Duke Show. She progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely O'Hara in the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls. She was later elected president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988, succeeding her Patty Duke Show co-star William Schallert.

Cause of death Sepsis from a ruptured intestine

Other names

Patty Duke Astin
Anna Duke-Pearce

Spouses

Harry Falk (1965–69; divorced)
Michael Tell (1970; annulled)
John Astin (1972–85; divorced)
Michael Pearce (1986–2016; her death)

Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982; since then, she had devoted much of her time to advocating and educating the public on mental health issues.

Early life

Duke was born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, the youngest of three children born of Frances (née McMahon), a cashier, and John Brock Duke, a handyman and cab driver. She is of German (from her maternal grandmother) and Irishdescent (on both sides, her paternal grandparents, James and Katness (O'Hara) Duke, having immigrated to New York from County Longford, Ireland).

Duke, her brother Raymond, and her sister Carol experienced a tough childhood. Their father was an alcoholic and their mother suffered from clinical depression and was prone to violence. When Duke was six, her mother threw her father out; when she was eight, her mother turned her care over to talent managers John and Ethel Ross, who were looking for a girl to add to their stable of child actors after already promoting her older brother.

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. Ethel Ross gave the sweeping name-change order; "Anna Marie is dead; you're Patty now." She hoped that "Patty Duke" would duplicate the success of child actress Patty McCormack. This act would have painful repercussions for Duke in the future.

Career

Acting 1950s–1990s

One of Duke's first acting jobs was on the soap opera The Brighter Day, in the late 1950s. She also appeared in print ads and in television commercials. At age 12 in 1959, 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 was rigged and she was called to testify before a panel of the United States Senate.

In 1959 Duke appeared in a television adaptation of Meet Me in St. Louis as Tootie Smith, the role 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 for nearly two years (October 1959-July 1961). About midway through the production-run, her name was placed above the title on the marquee. 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 receive an Academy Award in a competitive category.

In 1961 Duke returned to television, starring with Laurence Olivier and George C. Scott in a television production of The Power and the Glory.

In 1963, Duke was given her own series, The Patty Duke Show, which Sidney Sheldon created especially for her. Sheldon asked Duke to spend a week with his family at their home to generate ideas. At that time it was not known that Duke had bipolar disorder but he did notice that she had two distinct sides to her personality and so 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 portrayed Patty's father Martin, Jean Byron her mother Natalie, Paul O'Keefe her younger brother Ross, and Eddie Applegate as her boyfriend Richard. The show also featured such high-profile guest stars as Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Paul Lynde, and Sal Mineo. The series lasted for 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.

Despite her successful career, Duke was deeply miserable during her teenage years. The Rosses took efforts to portray her as a normal teenager, but she later indicated in her memoir Call Me Anna that she was virtually the Rosses' prisoner and had little control over her earnings or her life. The Rosses controlled her and her mother by allowing them only a small amount of money to survive on. They also started supplying Duke with alcohol and prescription drugs when she was 13; this along with her undiagnosed bipolar disorder contributed to her young-adult substance-abuse problems. As an adult, Duke accused both Rosses of sexual abuse. Upon turning 18 Duke became legally free of the Rosses, only to discover that they had squandered most of her earnings, in violation of theCoogan Act.

In 1967, with The Patty Duke Show cancelled, Duke attempted to leave her childhood success behind and begin her adult acting career by playing Neely O'Hara in Valley of the Dolls. 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 — it almost ruined her career at the time.

Duke starred in Me, Natalie, a 1969 film in which she played an "ugly duckling" Brooklyn teenager struggling to make a life for herself in the Bohemian world in Greenwich Village. One of her co-stars was a young actor making his screen debut, Al Pacino. The film was a box-office failure, but 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 sensitive portrayal of a pregnant teenager on the run won Duke her firstEmmy Award, but her acceptance speech was rambling, angry, and disjointed, and led many in the industry to believe she was drunk or using drugs at the moment. In fact, Duke was in the throes of a manic phase as part of her then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which would remain undiagnosed until 1982.

Duke worked primarily in television from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s. Among other tv appearances, she could occasionally be seen as a guest celebrity on the game show Match Game. She received her second Emmy for the TV miniseries Captains and the Kings in 1977 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) andGeorge Washington (1984) both garnered her Emmy nominations.

In 1982, Duke was cast alongside Richard Crenna in the ABC sitcom It Takes Two, from Soap and Benson creator Susan Harris. The socially topical series depicted both Duke's and Crenna's characters as a modern career couple (hers was a lawyer, his a surgeon) and the moral and personal challenges that abounded from their professions. Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards played their teenaged children. Although It Takes Two was praised, ABC cancelled the series after one season due to low ratings.

Duke would subsequently work with Susan Harris on a new ABC series, Hail To The Chief, which premiered in April 1985. She appeared as the first female President of the United States in the ensemble, all-star series (the cast featured Dick Shawn, Herschel Bernardi, Glynn Turman and Ted Bessell as Duke's husband, among others) and the material was topical yet off-the-wall, much in the fashion of Soap, like which it was partially serialized. Hail To The Chief was less successful than the star's and producer's previous joint effort of It Takes Two and was cancelled after seven episodes. In 1987, Duke returned to series television in another short-lived comedy,Karen's Song, which aired on the fledgling Fox network.

While between series in 1986, Duke starred in the made-for-TV movie A Time to Triumph, the true story of Concetta Hassan, a middle-aged woman struggling to support her family after her construction worker husband suffers an on-the-job injury, eventually becoming a United States Army helicopter pilot. On-set, Duke became good friends with Army drill sergeant Michael Pearce, who was a technical advisor for the production; the couple married on March 15, 1986.

Duke succeeded Schallert as president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1985 and would hold the post until 1988, becoming the second woman (actress Kathleen Nolanwas the first) to be elected to the position.

In 1990, Duke's autobiography, Call Me Anna, was adapted for television; she played herself from her mid-30s onward.

Though Duke's primary medium from the late-1970s to the mid-2000s was television, she continued to take small roles in movies. Her 1982 portrayal of a lesbian fashion designer in the Canadian film By Design garnered her a Genie Award nomination for Best Foreign Actress. Duke would later portray the mother of Meg Ryan's character in the 1992 film adaptation of the play Prelude to a Kiss. Her appearances in three episodes of Touched by an Angel resulted in a nomination in 1999 for an Emmy.

2000s

Duke gradually reduced her work schedule throughout the first decade of 2000, but took occasional TV and film roles. She returned to the New York stage in 2002, playing Aunt Eller in a revival of Oklahoma! She returned to New York in 2005, but not for any role; she instead attended a memorial for Anne Bancroft, who had died from uterine cancer.

On November 2, 2004, Duke announced that she would undergo single cardiac bypass surgery in Idaho. The surgery was successful.

On October 4, 2007, Duke appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, talking about her bipolar disorder to a guest, advising the guest to seek out a support group.

In early 2009, Duke reprised her role(s) as Patty Lane and Cathy Lane in PSAs about retiring for The Social Security Administration. Another opportunity for her to reprise Patty and Cathy has been in 2016 for the promotion of MeTV.

On March 24, 2009, she replaced Carol Kane as Madame Morrible in the San Francisco production of the musical Wicked. She left the production on February 7, 2010.

On July 20, 2009, Duke was given a tribute in her honor at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco titled "Sparkle, Patty, Sparkle!" During the evening, Duke met and posed for pictures with over one thousand fans and was interviewed on stage by comic Bruce Vilanch. In addition to showing clips from her long career, Duke's 1967 filmValley of the Dolls was screened at the end of the evening. The event sold out the 1400 seat theater.

In 2010, Duke recorded a series of PSAs for the Social Security Administration to help promote applying online for Medicare, including one with George Takei.

In May 2011, Duke directed the stage version of The Miracle Worker at Interplayers Theater in Spokane, Washington.

In June 2011, TVLine announced that Duke will be joining the cast in Lifetime’s drama The Protector playing the role of Beverly, the mother of Ally Walker’s titular homicide detective. The series was cancelled not long after this announcement was made.

She played the mother of a murdered deep-sea diver on the Oct. 10, 2011, episode of Hawaii Five-0.

In the fourth season of Fox's hit show Glee, Duke played lesbian jeweler Jan, who helped Blaine Anderson pick out a wedding ring to propose to his ex-boyfriend Kurt Hummel.

In the third season of Disney's Liv and Maddie, Duke guest starred as Grandma Janice and Great-aunt Hilary, a pair of identical twins against Dove Cameron who is also playing a pair of twins.

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).[12] Another recording was "Dona Dona" in 1968, which she performed as the second song on The Ed Sullivan Show. Also during 1968, she had appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and after George Jessel's comic appearance, she was introduced and sang the Irish classic, "Danny Boy". She also sang songs on such shows as Shindig!, Kraft Music Hall, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. She sang in the 1965 feature film Billie and sang on the soundtrack of the 1966 feature film, The Daydreamer, in which she voiced the character of Thumbelina. She has recorded a string of six LP's in her musical career.

Mental health advocacy

In 1987, Duke revealed in her autobiography that she was diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder) in 1982. Her treatment, which included lithiumas a medication and therapy, stabilized Duke's life and put her on the road to recovery. She became the first celebrity to go public with her bipolar disorder diagnosis, and has contributed to de-stigmatizing bipolar disorder. Duke has since become an activist for numerous mental health causes. She has 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.

Patty Duke's character in the 2011 series The Protector is shown struggling with accepting her bipolar disorder, mimicking her real-life condition.

Public service announcements

As of early 2011, Duke appears in PSAs promoting the Social Security Website. In several, she appears as Patty & Cathy using split-screen effects. In others, she appears with George Takei wearing a Star Trek-like costume.

Other achievements

Duke is the author of two books: Her autobiography, Call Me Anna (ISBN 0-553-27205-5), and Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness (ISBN 0-553-56072-7).

On August 17, 2004, Duke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the motion picture industry.

In December 2007, Duke was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University of North Florida for her work in advancing awareness of mental health issues.

On March 6, 2010, Duke was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Personal life

In 1965, Duke married director Harry Falk, who was 13 years her senior. During their marriage, she had repeated mood swings, a symptom of bipolar disorder, and like many bipolar sufferers, she self-medicated; she drank heavily, became anorexic, and overdosed on pills a number of times. The couple separated in 1969 and were divorced on March 3, 1970.

In early 1970, at the age of 23, Duke had an affair with then-Here's Lucy star, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz, Jr.. The couple's relationship became tabloid fodder, 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 actorJohn Astin, who was 16 years her senior.

Around the same time, Duke developed an intimate relationship with rock promoter Michael Tell. In June 1970, in the midst of a manic phase, Duke learned she was pregnant. Unsure of the paternity of her unborn child, Duke 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 claimed the marriage was never consummated.

Her son, actor Sean Astin, was born on February 25, 1971. Though Duke said in her 1987 autobiography that John Astin was Sean's biological father, she later stated that she had always believed that Desi Arnaz, Jr. was Sean's actual biological father. It turned out that 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 Michael Tell.

Duke and Astin were married in August 1972. Astin adopted Sean and the couple had another son, actor Mackenzie, 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 and current 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. Pearce became a firefighter. Since her marriage to Pearce, Duke occasionally uses the name "Anna Duke-Pearce" in her writings and other professional work.

Duke has three granddaughters by her eldest son Sean: Actress Alexandra "Ali" Astin, and her sisters Elizabeth and Isabella. Ali played Elanor Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, opposite her father, who played Samwise Gamgee.

Duke died on March 29, 2016

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 – United Artists – Unreleased – 1968

Singles

• Don't Just Stand There (#8) / Everything But Love – United Artists 875 – 6/65
• Say Something Funny (#22) / Funny Little Butterflies (#77) – United Artists 915 – 9/65
• Whenever She Holds You (#64) / Nothing But Me – United Artists 978 – 2/66
• Little Things Mean A Lot / The World Is Watching Us – United Artists 50034 – 1966
• The Wall Came Tumbling Down / What Makes You Special – United Artists 50057 – 1966
• Why Don't They Understand / Danke Schoen – United Artists 50073 – 1966
• Come Live With Me / My Own Little Place – United Artists 50216 – 1967
• Dona, Dona / And We Were Strangers – United Artists 50299 – 1968

In 1996, 30 years after The Patty Duke Show ended, Duke was ranked #40 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.