Patty Duke is dead at 69.

[marylander1940]

Patty Duke, the teen who won an Oscar for The Miracle Worker and later played "identical cousins" in her own TV sitcom, has died. She was 69.

 

The news was confirmed Tuesday by one of her representatives, Mitchell Stubbs.

 

"Anna 'Patty Duke' Pearce passed away this morning March 29, 2016 at 1:20 am," his statement read. "Her cause of death was sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health advocate and a cultural icon. She will be missed."

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/03/29/oscar-winning-former-child-star-patty-duke-dies-age-69/82382666/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Duke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Ufg-aac14

[BabyBoomer]

Neely O'Hara in "Valley of the Dolls"

 

~Boomer ~

[+ WhamIAm]

A talented and brave woman.

 

And, of course

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIvD0lpdyns

[mmk123]

RIP Patty

you conquered your demons with grace and dignity.

 

I loved her as Neely O'Hara but this was probably one of the best tv show theme songs ever

 

[marylander1940]

 

Actor Sean Astin has released a family statement regarding the death of his mother, Patty Duke.

 

Astin posted a photo on his Facebook page of the actress holding him as a baby, along with a short tribute to his mother on behalf of his family.

 

Duke, whose real name was Anna Pearce, died this morning at age 69.

 

"This morning, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, matriarch and the exquisite artist, humanitarian, and champion for mental health, Anna PATTY DUKE Pearce, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended to a beautiful place," the family statement read. "We celebrate the infinite love and compassion she shared through her work and throughout her life."

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/sean-astin-pays-tribute-mom-patty-duke-more-175750460--abc-news-celebrities.html

[Bearofdistinction]

 

Actor Sean Astin has released a family statement regarding the death of his mother, Patty Duke.

 

Astin posted a photo on his Facebook page of the actress holding him as a baby, along with a short tribute to his mother on behalf of his family.

 

Duke, whose real name was Anna Pearce, died this morning at age 69.

 

"This morning, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, matriarch and the exquisite artist, humanitarian, and champion for mental health, Anna PATTY DUKE Pearce, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended to a beautiful place," the family statement read. "We celebrate the infinite love and compassion she shared through her work and throughout her life."

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/sean-astin-pays-tribute-mom-patty-duke-more-175750460--abc-news-celebrities.html

 

Long-adee-ohso Patty-O

[+ dutchmuch]

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sight.

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

 

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

 

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

 

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find...

[jackjackjack]

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sight.

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

 

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

 

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

 

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find...

 

Wow..... that brings back memories. Thanks.

[+ WmClarke]

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sight.

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

 

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

 

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

 

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find...

My favorite episode is the one where third identical cousin Betsy from the "deep South" shows up--and the credits say "Special Guest Star Patty Duke as Betsy"

[LADoug1]

One of my all-time favorites.

 

Her biography "My Name Is Anna" is quite revealing about the difficulties she had growing up as a child actress. Lots of stress and abuse.

 

And yes, lyrics from The Patty Duke Show theme song and Neely's lines from The Valley of the Dolls are a must if you want to own the "gay-card".

[+ Gar1eth]

 

And yes, lyrics from The Patty Duke Show theme song

 

I'm not sure why @dutchmuch didn't include the last lines of the theme.

 

 

...Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find,

They laugh alike, they walk alike,

At times they even talk alike --

 

You can lose your mind,

When cousins are two of a kind.

 

 

and Neely's lines from The Valley of the Dolls are a must if you want to own the "gay-card".

 

I saw the movie on TV once or twice when I was much younger-say junior high. But I don't know any of the characters from Adam much less Neely's lines. Where do I send my card back to?

 

Gman

[MikeBiDude]

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sight.

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

 

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

 

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

 

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find...

 

Love it, thanks!!!

 

This is what I started humming when I first heard she had past away....

[body2body]

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,

From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sight.

A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --

What a crazy pair!

 

But they're cousins,

Identical cousins all the way.

One pair of matching bookends,

Different as night and day.

 

Where Cathy adores a minuet,

The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,

Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A hot dog makes her lose control --

What a wild duet!

 

Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find...

One night I was at the Pavillions Super Market in West Hollywood with a friend shopping for an impromptu dinner party, all around us were young Gay Couples. The couples all had one thing in common, the two guys in each couple had remarkably similar appearance. I couldn't help myself, I began singing "But they're cousins...." My friend collapsed into laughter. Anyone our age would have understood. We all watched The Patty Duke Show.

[OneFinger]

She was married to my cousin, John Astin, for several years. I have very fond memories of her. And, she insisted that we always called her by her given name of Anna.

 

Not only was she an advocate for mental health issues but was a strong supporter of LBTG issues. I will miss her.

[LADoug1]

I'm not sure why @dutchmuch didn't include the last lines of the theme.

 

 

...Still, they're cousins,

Identical cousins and you'll find,

They laugh alike, they walk alike,

At times they even talk alike --

 

You can lose your mind,

When cousins are two of a kind.

 

 

 

 

I saw the movie on TV once or twice when I was much younger-say junior high. But I don't know any of the characters from Adam much less Neely's lines. Where do I send my card back to?

 

Gman

You should have see it at the Castro Theater in SF like I did after it had become a cult classic. Unforgettable!

[+ Gar1eth]

As an interesting aside, William Schallert who played her father on the Patty Duke Show is still alive at 93.

 

http://www.nndb.com/people/346/000130953/william-schallert-1-sized.jpg

 

Gman

[Kenny]

One of my all-time favorites.

 

Her biography "My Name Is Anna" is quite revealing about the difficulties she had growing up as a child actress. Lots of stress and abuse.

 

And yes, lyrics from The Patty Duke Show theme song and Neely's lines from The Valley of the Dolls are a must if you want to own the "gay-card".

You might enjoy this, by her book's co-author: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-patty-duke-appreciation-20160330-column.html

[+ WmClarke]

You might enjoy this, by her book's co-author: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-patty-duke-appreciation-20160330-column.html

Nice article. Thanks for sharing!

[bigvalboy]

Nice article. Thanks for sharing!

+1

[+ poolboy48220]

heard a repeat of her 1988 "Fresh Air" interview yesterday. She sounded very well grounded. Now I want to check if "The Miracle Worker" is on Netflix.

[+ Gar1eth]

heard a repeat of her 1988 "Fresh Air" interview yesterday. She sounded very well grounded. Now I want to check if "The Miracle Worker" is on Netflix.

 

I'll bet it seems dated now. But you should also look for the 1979 TV remake where Patty Duke plays Anne Sullivan.

 

Gman

[+ quoththeraven]

Sorry I missed this news during my internet hiatus. I loved her TV show! It was silly and hilarious!

 

I read Valley of the Dolls at one point, but I don't think I saw the movie.

[+ Gar1eth]

Sorry I missed this news during my internet hiatus. I loved her TV show! It was silly and hilarious!

 

I read Valley of the Dolls at one point, but I don't think I saw the movie.

 

I had noticed you being 'in absentia'. Did you give us up for Lent?

 

Gman

[+ quoththeraven]

I had noticed you being 'in absentia'. Did you give us up for Lent?

 

Gman

 

No, I gave up meat most Fridays. This was the first time I ever gave anything up for Lent. It's not part of my religious upbringing (neither is the application of ashes), but some Twitter friends do it and I thought I'd try it.

 

My absence wasn't deliberate or planned. It started when I lost internet access while spending more time than usual reading books rather than on the internet. I can usually restore service from my tablet without a problem, but for some reason I couldn't this time, which meant either the dreaded phone call or a visit to the closest cable company office. I meant to do the latter last week while I had to be in the area but couldn't because I left the billing information and checkbook at home. By the time I was primed to deal with customer service, it took three tries to reach someone and it took over twenty-four hours after that for my tablet to connect with the internet or its own internal network properly. Now I'm stuck playing catchup while battling chronic intermittent insomnia.

 

Aren't you glad you asked?

[+ Gar1eth]

No, I gave up meat most Fridays. This was the first time I ever gave anything up for Lent. It's not part of my religious upbringing (neither is the application of ashes), but some Twitter friends do it and I thought I'd try it.

 

My absence wasn't deliberate or planned. It started when I lost internet access while spending more time than usual reading books rather than on the internet. I can usually restore service from my tablet without a problem, but for some reason I couldn't this time, which meant either the dreaded phone call or a visit to the closest cable company office. I meant to do the latter last week while I had to be in the area but couldn't because I left the billing information and checkbook at home. By the time I was primed to deal with customer service, it took three tries to reach someone and it took over twenty-four hours after that for my tablet to connect with the intewrnet or its own internal network properly. Now I'm stuck playing catchup while battling chronic intermittent insomnia.

 

Aren't you glad you asked?

 

 

I don't mind at all. As some of our Forum bro-s and sis-es on here may have noticed, I might be 'occasionally' a little 'verbose' myself;). I can hardly complain of others with the same penchant. Plus it was an interesting story. I-and I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say many other Forumites-am very glad you are back. I (we) missed you.

 

Gman