Patty Duke

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

146

Gender

Female

Birthday

1946-12-14

Day of death

2016-03-29 (69 years old)

Place of Birth

Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States

Patty Duke

Biography

Anna Marie Duke (December 14, 1946 - March 29, 2016), known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Beginning her acting career in commercials and playing bit parts in television and movies, her breakthrough role was as Helen Keller in the Broadway version of "The Miracle Worker" (1959 - 1961). For the 1962 film adaptation, Duke reprised her role, which won the Academy Award for best supporting actress - at age 16, she was the youngest person ever to win an Oscar (a record later broken by Tatum O'Neal in 1973). Other early films included Billie (1965), Valley of the Dolls (1967), and Me, Natalie (1969). On television, Duke starred in the popular teen sitcom The Patty Duke Show (1963 - 1966), playing a dual role and garnering the first of ten Emmy nominations. She won Emmys for her roles in television film My Sweet Charlie (1970), miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), and the 1979 TV movie version of The Miracle Worker (1979), this time portraying Annie Sullivan. She served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 - 1988. Off-screen, Duke's life was often tumultuous. Born in Elmhurst, New York, to Frances Margaret (McMahon), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke, a cab driver and handyman, her acting career began at age eight when she was turned over to her brother Ray Duke's managers, John and Ethel Ross, who changed her name and engaged in exploitative behavior. Duke was married four times: to director Harry Falk from 1965 - 1969; to writer Michael Tell in 1970 (with whom she became mother to actor Sean Astin); to actor John Astin from 1972 - 1985 (with who she became mother to actress Mackenzie Astin); and to drill sergeant Michael Pearce from 1986 until her death (with whom she had two stepdaughters and an adopted son Kevin). In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which was the subject of her second book, "A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depression Illness" (1992). Duke was also a political advocate for issues such as the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), AIDS awareness, and nuclear disarmament. She died on March 29, 2016, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, of sepsis from a ruptured intestine.

Known For

  • Hawaii Five-0

    Hawaii Five-0

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Glee

    Glee

  • Frasier

    Frasier

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Virginian

    The Virginian

  • Hawaii Five-O

    Hawaii Five-O

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • Judging Amy

    Judging Amy

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

  • Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

  • Good Day Live

    Good Day Live

  • Intimate Portrait

    Intimate Portrait

  • Intimate Portrait

    Intimate Portrait

  • Hotel

    Hotel

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • Drop Dead Diva

    Drop Dead Diva

  • Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

  • Night Gallery

    Night Gallery

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Family Law

    Family Law

  • Police Story

    Police Story

  • Willy/Milly

    Willy/Milly

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • Liv and Maddie

    Liv and Maddie

  • Liv and Maddie

    Liv and Maddie

  • Love Lessons

    Love Lessons

  • Ghost Story

    Ghost Story

  • Billie

    Billie

  • Fatal Judgement

    Fatal Judgement

  • DuPont Show of the Month

    DuPont Show of the Month

  • The Sixth Sense

    The Sixth Sense

  • Me, Natalie

    Me, Natalie

  • Kraft Television Theatre

    Kraft Television Theatre

  • The Torkelsons

    The Torkelsons

  • The Goddess

    The Goddess

  • September Gun

    September Gun

  • Entertainment Tonight

    Entertainment Tonight

  • Last Wish

    Last Wish

  • By Design

    By Design

  • Kimberly

    Kimberly

  • The Patty Duke Show

    The Patty Duke Show

  • Power of the Air

    Power of the Air

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

    Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

  • Journey to the Unknown

    Journey to the Unknown

  • Amityville: The Evil Escapes

    Amityville: The Evil Escapes

  • Hitch-Hikers

    Hitch-Hikers

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • J.J. Starbuck

    J.J. Starbuck

  • Amazing Love

    Amazing Love

  • Shindig!

    Shindig!

  • Always Remember I Love You

    Always Remember I Love You

  • No Child of Mine

    No Child of Mine

  • Happy Anniversary

    Happy Anniversary

  • Birdbath

    Birdbath

  • The Perry Como Show

    The Perry Como Show

  • My Sweet Charlie

    My Sweet Charlie

  • Captains and the Kings

    Captains and the Kings

  • It Takes Two

    It Takes Two

  • Something So Right

    Something So Right

  • Prelude to a Kiss

    Prelude to a Kiss

  • An American Girl

    An American Girl

  • Call Me Anna

    Call Me Anna

  • Backstory

    Backstory

  • Amazing Grace

    Amazing Grace

  • She Waits

    She Waits

  • The Miracle Worker

    The Miracle Worker

  • George Washington

    George Washington

  • Valley of the Dolls

    Valley of the Dolls

  • The Swarm

    The Swarm

  • I Love Liberty

    I Love Liberty

  • Karen's Song

    Karen's Song

  • The Women's Room

    The Women's Room

  • George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

    George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

  • Hail to the Chief

    Hail to the Chief

  • First Years

    First Years

  • Women in White

    Women in White

  • Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby

    Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby

  • Little John

    Little John

  • Fire!

    Fire!

  • A Matter of Justice

    A Matter of Justice

  • Nightmare

    Nightmare

  • Love Finds A Home

    Love Finds A Home

  • A Killer Among Friends

    A Killer Among Friends

  • A Season for Miracles

    A Season for Miracles

  • The Power and the Glory

    The Power and the Glory

  • Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door

    Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door

  • Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure

    Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure

  • 4D Man

    4D Man

  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace

    Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace

  • Deadly Harvest

    Deadly Harvest

  • The Violation of Sarah McDavid

    The Violation of Sarah McDavid

  • Family of Strangers

    Family of Strangers

  • A Christmas Memory

    A Christmas Memory

  • Harvest of Fire

    Harvest of Fire

  • Absolute Strangers

    Absolute Strangers

  • The Babysitter

    The Babysitter

  • The Daydreamer

    The Daydreamer

  • Inside 'the Swarm'

    Inside 'the Swarm'

  • Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage

    Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage

  • You'll Like My Mother

    You'll Like My Mother

  • Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah

    Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah

  • The Storyteller

    The Storyteller

  • Killer on Board

    Killer on Board

  • If Tomorrow Comes

    If Tomorrow Comes

  • Mom, the Wolfman and Me

    Mom, the Wolfman and Me

  • The Miracle Worker

    The Miracle Worker

  • Unanswered Prayers

    Unanswered Prayers

  • Bigger Than the Sky

    Bigger Than the Sky

  • Please Don't Hit Me, Mom

    Please Don't Hit Me, Mom

  • Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women

    Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women

  • When He Didn't Come Home

    When He Didn't Come Home

  • Having Babies III

    Having Babies III

  • Curse of the Black Widow

    Curse of the Black Widow

  • Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

    Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

  • Fight for Life

    Fight for Life

  • Journey to the Unknown

    Journey to the Unknown

  • Murder Without Conviction

    Murder Without Conviction

  • Best Kept Secrets

    Best Kept Secrets

  • Hanging by a Thread

    Hanging by a Thread

  • A Family Upside Down

    A Family Upside Down

  • Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive

    Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive

  • George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

    George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

  • When the Vows Break

    When the Vows Break

  • To Face Her Past

    To Face Her Past

  • Swiss Family Robinson

    Swiss Family Robinson

  • Before and After

    Before and After

  • One Woman's Courage

    One Woman's Courage

  • Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'

    Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'

  • Two on a Bench

    Two on a Bench

  • Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story

    Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story

  • Cries from the Heart

    Cries from the Heart

  • Hard Day at Blue Nose

    Hard Day at Blue Nose

  • A Time to Triumph

    A Time to Triumph

  • The Divine Ms. Susann

    The Divine Ms. Susann

  • Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls

    Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls

  • The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights

    The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights

  • Meet Me in St. Louis

    Meet Me in St. Louis

  • The Dish on Dolls

    The Dish on Dolls

  • The Girl on the Edge of Town

    The Girl on the Edge of Town