Oscar and Emmy-Winning Patty Duke Has Been Gone Five Years

SO sad. She died way too soon. She should have gotten a comeback.

From The Miracle Worker to The Patty Duke Show to Valley of the Dolls to Captain and the Kings to Hail to the Chief to Call Me Anna, and many more.

Great actress.

Patty died at 69. Gone much too soon.

Remembering Patty. One of the great ones.

Always loved her on Match Game. I wondered why she would go in between Patty Duke and Patty Duke Aston with the introductions.

I love how she leaned into/embraced the trashiness of VOTD after being embarrassed by it for so long. She would have been great fun to sit and shoot the shit with.

Did the family ever say what caused her intestines to explode?

Where did she go?

Oh yes, Patty embracing Valley of the Dolls was like a big release. Her fans loved and so did she. There's a great a YouTube video where she appears at the Castro Street Theatre for a Q&A/meet 'n greet discussing VOTD. The boys went wild for her, and she was so appreciative. Patty was one of the last of the good ol' dames.

[quote] She passed on 29 March 2016.

What did she pass, OP? A stopped school bus? Another car in a no passing zone? A kidney stone? What?

Her son looked nice in his pink speedo

Five years already...wow.

she lived with bipolar, not an easy gig

Patty would have wanted us to say that she died, not passed.

Damn, five years. Patty Duke was one of the great ones. She always seemed so down to earth in interviews.

Here's a recap of her life with a series of interview segments:

If you're going to say "passed," at least say "passed AWAY"

R15. Great interview with her sons particularly her time with Sean Astin. Very loving and sweet. Thanks for posting.

From NBC...

I would let her fat son climb on me.

PATTY DUKE on JUDY GARLAND in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS @ Castro Theatre Event!

Still devestated.

R21. I'm with you.

I know her more for her TV movies than her earlier film work. A killer Among Friends and Family of Strangers was must-watch TV when I was a kid. A Family of Strangers is still on youtube.

5 years already?

Wow, time really flies with that evil cunt dead!

She's greatly missed by her children Daisy, Bo and Luke.

R20. Very touching in Patty's recounting her time with Judy Garland.

I am telling this story as a tribute to Duke's kindness. As some might know, her real name was Anna and she preferred being called that among friends and acquaintances. She had recently moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with her new husband when I was working in TV news in nearby Spokane, Washington.

I had been doing some acting at the Spokane Civic Theatre and apparently Duke had caught at least one of my performances. When NBC asked her to commit to a drama about a former nurse with a drug addiction who then became a minister ("Amazing Grace"), Duke agreed, so long as the network moved the production to CdA so she could go home after working on the set all day. She then called the Civic's artistic director and told him to have me audition for a speaking part in the new series.

I was cast as a TV news reporter (not a stretch) and it meant one day of working on the set. Even though I had just a few lines, Duke had arranged for me to have my own trailer. On the day in question, she met me and took me to makeup and wardrobe and then to the table read. I looked around and saw all these actors I recognized from TV shows like "Hill Street Blues" and "The Wonder Years."

I had two scenes and did them both in one take, impressing the director. But I also wanted to make sure Duke would hear that I took the work seriously.

In the interim, we would meet for coffee and she was always warm and gracious. She had written an autobiography in which she opened up about her being bipolar. And we talked about that as well.

Ahead of the debut of what would end up being her short-lived TV show on NBC, she appeared on my morning news program to promote it and at the interview's end, she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. It was totally unexpected and one of the highlights of my career.

When she died, I wrote a short tribute on her Twitter page and her husband wrote back and told me "she adored you." I was so shocked. I didn't think I was anything more than a mere blip on her radar.

She stole Angela Lansbury's Oscar.

Patty had a real struggle with being bipolar and for a long time it was undiagnosed. Years later she went on speaking tours to talk about mental health and her own issues. She was very kind and gave back.

R27. I loved Patty Duke. She was one of great actresses of a few generation having started out so young. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about working with Patty. Your story was wonderful. It was very nice that you made connection with her husband. It shows that Patty appreciated you taking the time to talk with her when I'm sure you were thrilled to have an a brief but meaningful encounter with her.

R29. Her book, Call Me Anna, is brilliant. And yes, she did give back once she fully understood her disease. Very nice of her. She was also well respected among her peers having served as president of the Screen Actors Guild.

R27 thank you for the nice story.

R27. Nice story. Ah, what might have been. The NBC show would have been a wonderful comeback for Patty with great chance to return to the public eye. Thanks for sharing. She was wonderful. And it was nice to know she still had the clout to get NBC to move the production to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho close to her home. She excelled at every acting job she had. Quite a woman.

It's nice so many people still remember the late, great Patty Duke.

Today is a big Patty Duke day with two threads going.

Suzanne Pleshette did not appreciate her.

R36 Actually, it was the other way around. When Suzanne worked with Patty in The Miracle Worker she stated that Suzanne kept on accidentally scratching her with her long fingernails.

I cannot believe it's 5 years, very sad. Taken way way too young 💔

By the way OP what a beautiful picture you found of her ❤️

I loved her, she really was one of the greats. Saw her in Wicked in San Francisco around 2010 or so.

How many times I will watch something on television and say this role would been perfect for Patty Duke ✅

Perhaps the worst sung Phyllis in "Follies."

R42 maybe but probably had the most FUN playing Phyllis

R43 agree

I have her short-lived sitcom Hail to the Chief on DVD! All seven episodes!!!! Love it!!!!

R45 Love it too

Because we haven't talked about Patty Duke in almost a week ❤️

It is now 6 years since Patty Duke passed away 💔

Patty Duke...a national treasure.

In her third book (published after her death) she admits that she lied about Sean Astin's paternity.

In her first book she claims Sean was conceiver during a brief affair she had with John Astin, while she was dating Desi Arnaz Jr.

Now she admits that John Astin did not enter her life until AFTER Sean was born

Meaning that she thought Dezi Arnaz Jr, was the biological father of Sean, but covered it up by claiming John Astin was the father.

But of course years later, through DNA testing, Michael Tell was revelaed as Sean biological father, But all those years, Patty Duke thought Dezi was the biological dad, and continued to believe it even after the DNA testing. And still denied Desi his right to be the father to Sean by claiming John was the bio dad.

Patty does not get into the reasons why she lied and denied Desi his right to be a father to Sean. All she says is that "regrets" the hurt she has brought to her family and to Desi and Michael Tell

[quote] When Suzanne worked with Patty in The Miracle Worker she stated that Suzanne kept on accidentally scratching her with her long fingernails.

That was after Patty pushed Suzi so hard, she went right through a fake wall on stage

Paddy Dukes was awesome. Even with her bipolar that killed her.

Actually, it's been six years since the great Patty Duke passed:

December 14, 1946, Manhattan, New York City -- March 29, 2016 (aged 69), Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

I cannot believe that Patty Duke passed away the day before John Astin's a former husband's birthday 🤔 By the way Happy Birthday John Astin 92 years old and still kicking 🎁🙏