Patty Duke

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

145

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

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Hawaii Five-0

    Hawaii Five-0

  • Frasier

    Frasier

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • The Virginian

    The Virginian

  • Glee

    Glee

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • Hawaii Five-O

    Hawaii Five-O

  • Judging Amy

    Judging Amy

  • Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

  • Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

  • Hotel

    Hotel

  • Good Day Live

    Good Day Live

  • Intimate Portrait

    Intimate Portrait

  • Intimate Portrait

    Intimate Portrait

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • Ben Casey

    Ben Casey

  • Drop Dead Diva

    Drop Dead Diva

  • Night Gallery

    Night Gallery

  • Kraft Television Theatre

    Kraft Television Theatre

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Liv and Maddie

    Liv and Maddie

  • Liv and Maddie

    Liv and Maddie

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • The Streets of San Francisco

    The Streets of San Francisco

  • Family Law

    Family Law

  • Entertainment Tonight

    Entertainment Tonight

  • Police Story

    Police Story

  • Ghost Story

    Ghost Story

  • The Patty Duke Show

    The Patty Duke Show

  • Shindig!

    Shindig!

  • DuPont Show of the Month

    DuPont Show of the Month

  • Bigger Than the Sky

    Bigger Than the Sky

  • When He Didn't Come Home

    When He Didn't Come Home

  • The Swarm

    The Swarm

  • The Sixth Sense

    The Sixth Sense

  • Birdbath

    Birdbath

  • George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

    George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

  • The Torkelsons

    The Torkelsons

  • A Season for Miracles

    A Season for Miracles

  • J.J. Starbuck

    J.J. Starbuck

  • Love Finds A Home

    Love Finds A Home

  • Power of the Air

    Power of the Air

  • Journey to the Unknown

    Journey to the Unknown

  • Captains and the Kings

    Captains and the Kings

  • Fight for Life

    Fight for Life

  • September Gun

    September Gun

  • The Miracle Worker

    The Miracle Worker

  • A Killer Among Friends

    A Killer Among Friends

  • Nightmare

    Nightmare

  • Curse of the Black Widow

    Curse of the Black Widow

  • Hanging by a Thread

    Hanging by a Thread

  • Deadly Harvest

    Deadly Harvest

  • I Love Liberty

    I Love Liberty

  • The Goddess

    The Goddess

  • The Storyteller

    The Storyteller

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Amazing Love

    Amazing Love

  • A Christmas Memory

    A Christmas Memory

  • Fire!

    Fire!

  • Hail to the Chief

    Hail to the Chief

  • The Power and the Glory

    The Power and the Glory

  • Best Kept Secrets

    Best Kept Secrets

  • Kimberly

    Kimberly

  • It Takes Two

    It Takes Two

  • Call Me Anna

    Call Me Anna

  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace

    Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace

  • Two on a Bench

    Two on a Bench

  • 4D Man

    4D Man

  • Always Remember I Love You

    Always Remember I Love You

  • Billie

    Billie

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

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

  • Backstory

    Backstory

  • Valley of the Dolls

    Valley of the Dolls

  • The Violation of Sarah McDavid

    The Violation of Sarah McDavid

  • The Miracle Worker

    The Miracle Worker

  • Inside 'the Swarm'

    Inside 'the Swarm'

  • George Washington

    George Washington

  • When the Vows Break

    When the Vows Break

  • Amityville: The Evil Escapes

    Amityville: The Evil Escapes

  • Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

    Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

  • The Daydreamer

    The Daydreamer

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • The Women's Room

    The Women's Room

  • Happy Anniversary

    Happy Anniversary

  • Amazing Grace

    Amazing Grace

  • Love Lessons

    Love Lessons

  • Journey to the Unknown

    Journey to the Unknown

  • Having Babies III

    Having Babies III

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

    The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights

  • My Sweet Charlie

    My Sweet Charlie

  • A Time to Triumph

    A Time to Triumph

  • George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

    George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation

  • Willy/Milly

    Willy/Milly

  • Little John

    Little John

  • Absolute Strangers

    Absolute Strangers

  • Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage

    Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage

  • Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women

    Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women

  • First Years

    First Years

  • A Family Upside Down

    A Family Upside Down

  • Hitch-Hikers

    Hitch-Hikers

  • Please Don't Hit Me, Mom

    Please Don't Hit Me, Mom

  • If Tomorrow Comes

    If Tomorrow Comes

  • Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door

    Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door

  • Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

    Sex at 24 Frames Per Second

  • Murder Without Conviction

    Murder Without Conviction

  • By Design

    By Design

  • The Perry Como Show

    The Perry Como Show

  • Women in White

    Women in White

  • She Waits

    She Waits

  • Fatal Judgement

    Fatal Judgement

  • Last Wish

    Last Wish

  • A Matter of Justice

    A Matter of Justice

  • Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls

    Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls

  • Harvest of Fire

    Harvest of Fire

  • Mom, the Wolfman and Me

    Mom, the Wolfman and Me

  • Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure

    Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure

  • Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive

    Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive

  • Hard Day at Blue Nose

    Hard Day at Blue Nose

  • The Babysitter

    The Babysitter

  • Meet Me in St. Louis

    Meet Me in St. Louis

  • Me, Natalie

    Me, Natalie

  • Prelude to a Kiss

    Prelude to a Kiss

  • Unanswered Prayers

    Unanswered Prayers

  • Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby

    Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby

  • Karen's Song

    Karen's Song

  • To Face Her Past

    To Face Her Past

  • Before and After

    Before and After

  • One Woman's Courage

    One Woman's Courage

  • Cries from the Heart

    Cries from the Heart

  • Something So Right

    Something So Right

  • You'll Like My Mother

    You'll Like My Mother

  • An American Girl

    An American Girl

  • No Child of Mine

    No Child of Mine

  • Family of Strangers

    Family of Strangers

  • The Girl on the Edge of Town

    The Girl on the Edge of Town

  • Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah

    Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah

  • Swiss Family Robinson

    Swiss Family Robinson

  • Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story

    Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story

  • Killer on Board

    Killer on Board