Richard Burton Was NOT A FAN of DL Fave Patty Duke or Her Iconic Emmy Moment

[quote] Her acceptance of the Emmy was among the most embarrassing things I've ever seen. Clearly she was stoned witless. It made one want to crawl under the chair. What a mess.

His diaries are enjoyably cunty, but even so: this is ridiculous coming from someone who often showed up drunk to events in the 1960s (as did his wife).

OP he's right.

The bitch is stoned and needs to come down.

Oh my god, that is so frightening to watch, actually.

She was a great soul and a fantastic actress.

Look how concerned Arnaz Jr. looks straight out of the gate.

Sorry OP- Burton's take was correct. But Patti was a gem.

And R2 is my soulmate of the day.

In those days, the older celebrities like Burton insisted on tolerance for drunkenness but would not tolerate younger people being high on pills or other drugs.

And of course as we now know, Patty's problem at that event was that she was OFF her medications for mental illness.

Her hair and gown were fabulous, however.

That’s deliciously catty. Was Dick an honorary Datalounger?

R5- True. But no one could understand that then. She "appeared" demonic.

My god she was gorgeous though!

RIP!!

You all know she had undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time and was self-medicating, right? At least according to her autobiography.

That said, I can't ever bring myself to watch that clip again.

Oh, I had R5 hidden. I also just remembered that she was being treated for something else with something you absolutely shouldn't give a bipolar person--maybe it was steroids--because it produces just such a reaction.

GLADIATOR!

[quote]Sorry OP- Burton's take was correct.

It was not. She was in the middle of a manic episode.

Besides, wasn't Burton a lush who basically drank himself to death?

[Quote] My god she was gorgeous though!

Now I know how sarcastic fags can be.

R12 How do you know? Were you her doctor?

The funniest thing about that clip is how she walks to the podium. Instead of curving behind the presenters (as any normal person would do), she takes two 90-degree turns to get there.

[quote] [R12] How do you know? Were you her doctor?

I would assume r12 read her memoir where she explains this incident.

He was probably drunk when he wrote that.

R16 Never assume.

R14 How do you know? What medical school did Burton go to?

Dick was being a dick because, as R9 says, her oddness there was due to mental problems.

But, of course, he was accustomed to the equanimity and ever-appropriate behavior of Elizabeth Taylor.

As indicated, alcohol was respectable, other drugs were not.

[quote] And of course as we now know, Patty's problem at that event was that she was OFF her medications for mental illness.

She wasn’t even diagnosed yet.

She was pissed as a fucking newt.

R23, she was in the midst of a manic episode. You’re an idiot.

that was the general consensus that she was stoned.

I think it is more due to her mental illness. The way she walks around the presenter in that circle and then just reaches for the Emmy without looking is very strange.

Backstage, she announced that she was going into medicine and was headed off to build an ark.

Why didn't she thank Shirley Jones, her other nominee who was in the audience that night, unlike Edith Evans?

Desi Jr. looks completely freaked out. I'm almost sure he's thinking of how this will come off to his mother.

Bipolar disease is devastating. Those were the early days when Patty's disease was just beginning and not yet diagnosed. It was a long journey, but she finally recovered 20 years later. Nonetheless, she was a great actress who went onto to win three Emmys and appeared on countless television shows. She also became president of the Screen Actors Guild. Her autobiography in the 1980s, "Call Me Anna," was brilliant.

Broadway doesn’t go for booze and dope so that would explain saintly Richard Burton’s reaction to seeing Neely, i mean, Patty Duke off her kit.

Bipolar is ongoing. One doesn't recover.

Burton got his comeuppance in 1978 when in his final attempt to win an Oscar, he lost to Richard Dreyfuss.

Three years later in 1973, Desi Arnaz, Jr. accompanied his girlfriend at the time, Liza Minnelli, to the Academy Awards when she won the Oscar for Best Actress in "Cabaret."

Burton also badmouthed Lucy in his diary, after appearing with Elizabeth on her show in 1970.

Lucy reportedly cried when she read that.

That was one of the most embarrassing things he's ever seen ? Obviously never saw his film "Boom"

[QUOTE] Lucy reportedly cried when she read that.

Lucy never read that R34 - the diaries didn't come out until decades after they did the Lucy episode.

I doubt Patty or any of the voices in her head ever thought of that drunken fool, richard burton

[quote]Lucy reportedly cried when she read that.

That would have been a miracle, since they were not published until 2013, more than 23 years after she had died.

You should have seen Lucy's reaction to 9/11! She wept and wept.

Lucy would have cried if Gary talked her out of the crypt.

Patty Duke died five years ago: 29 March 2016. She was one of the great actresses of our time.

“The truth of the matter is that my condition had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol,” Duke said in an interview 20 years later. “I was having a serious emotional breakdown. Unlike most people in trouble who fall apart in the privacy of their bedrooms, I fell apart on network television.”

r27 she does thank Jones. I think that is one of the "yous" she point out in the audience.

If Patty Duke was one of the greatest actresses of our time, why were TV movies her bread and butter?

R34, did Lucy live to see the publication of Burton's diary entry about her? The copy I have was published in 2012, more than two decades after she died.

The entry, oft quoted on DL, is the one that starts, "Those who had told us that Lucille Ball was 'very wearing' were not exaggerating. She is a monster of staggering charmlessness and monumental lack of humour ...."

"As indicated, alcohol was respectable, other drugs were not."

As indicated, alcohol was LEGAL, other drugs were not.

r44 she got labeled as being unstable or an addict after this speech and it was hard for her to shake it. Plus people didn't move from TV to movies as freely then as now.

S Pleshette is unfailingly gracious about everyone she ever she worked with EXCEPT Patty Duke. She made her run in The Miracle Worker pure hell out of nothing but spite because she replaced her beloved Anne Bancroft. The interview is a must watch. She is a fun no nonsense broad but generous when she talks about her life in show business. But she rips Patty to shreds.

Great ABC 20/20 piece with Patty Duke and her sons, Sean and Mackenzie:

I’ve never seen anyone stick their hand to the side like that to receive an award without acknowledging the presenter!

QUEEN. R50. LOL!

[Quote] she got labeled as being unstable or an addict after this speech and it was hard for her to shake it. Plus people didn't move from TV to movies as freely then as now.

That makes no sense. TV movies are shot on a shoestring. They have less time for performers who are unstable than big screen movies.

R50, that move of hers was once lauded on DL as the "no-eye-contact award grab."

she was a draw on TV and worth the trouble I guess

[quote]Oh, I had [R5] hidden.

I did, too.

[quote] If Patty Duke was one of the greatest actresses of our time, why were TV movies her bread and butter?

Being a movie star has little to do with being a great actress. Many great actresses (Julie Harris, Rosemary Harris, Helen Hayes, Shirley Knight) did far more stage work or television work than film work.

I'm not sure I agree that patty Duke was one of the greatest actresses of our time (she could be embarrassingly bad, as she is in "Valley of the Dolls," but she could also be fantastic--in that she is much like Richard Burton, who could be wonderful or horrible almost alternatingly), but not having a successful film career does not deter from the quality of her acting.

This is an amazing and fascinating interview with Patty Duke and Hugh Downs of ABC's 20/20.

It's captivating and goes so in depth of her illness and onto taking lithium so she could live a "normal life:

Nobody who has ever seen Valley of the Dolls would accuse Patty Duke of being a great adult actress.

I’m a big fan of Patty. That “Neely O’Hara” stupor of hers was so embarrassing to watch.

I think Richard Burton is the one he was OVERRATED.

OOOO he plays Shakespeare.

That's the sound of no one GIVING A SHIT.

Here's another good piece demonstrating her talent as a young girl and playing two characters on The Patty Duke Show.

Had Patty's illness been discovered earlier, she may have even had a more illustrious career. In addition to her Academy Award, she won two Emmy's in the 1970s (My Sweet Charlie and Captains and Kings) and Golden Globe--and that was with her illness undiagnosed. In total, she was nominated for 10 Emmys. She won another Emmy in 1980, a People's Choice Award in 1983. She was a great actress and could have reached new heights, but in her most productive and creative period, she was lost in the dark hole of being bipolar. But she was respected among her peers and became president of the Screen Actors Guild, 1985-88. Her book, Call Me Anna is outstanding.

[Quote] Many great actresses (Julie Harris, Rosemary Harris, Helen Hayes, Shirley Knight) did far more stage work or television work than film work.

[Quote] I'm not sure I agree that patty Duke was one of the greatest actresses of our time (she could be embarrassingly bad, as she is in "Valley of the Dolls," but she could also be fantastic--in that she is much like Richard Burton, who could be wonderful or horrible almost alternatingly), but not having a successful film career does not deter from the quality of her acting.

Well, the names you brought up to challenge my point had great stage successes over decades. Beyond "Miracle Worker," Duke had no great stage successes. Replacing as Aunt Eller doesn't measure up.

R58 but she was. They didn’t give three Emmys for nothing. I think her illness fed her acting. Interestingly, her films weren’t as memorable after she started taking her lithium. But Patty was always great, even when the films were so so. Valley of the Dolls was just a momentary blip.

If you watch different interviews throughout the years, Valley of the Dolls was not Patty's fault. The production was a bit of a mess. The story was turned in camp, and the director was very much disliked. The movie was a commercial success, but received bad reviews. The quality of the movie was not the sole responsibility of one actress.

R48 I’d like to see that clip rod Pleshette. R50 That grab really was freaky and socially disconnected.

I think it was the female presenter she had a problem with. She probably felt she was just decoration.

Whatever happened to the excuse that she was doing sign language out of the camera range- was that just a lie?

I think when she searches the audience and says 'mom' she's referring to Shirley Jones(?).

As for VOTD, it was like a ship without a Captain. You can tell the actors are floundering and left to 'direct' themselves- with mixed results.

Lee Grant was fine.

Patty may have been pissed that she was receiving the Emmy Award from Monty Hall, host of the most insipid game show Let's Make a Deal.

Patty Duke won an Academy Award, three Emmys (among 10 nominations) a Golden Globe and a People's Choice. She was a great actress. Watch The Captain and Kings if you want to see a great performance for which she won the second of her three Emmys. You can't only focus on Valley of the Dolls, which was a production mess but surprisingly a commercial success. Here's a list a her other awards and nominations:

Patty’s self-aggrandizing autobiography was an attempt to explain away her bizarre behavior so she could be taken seriously as a candidate for SAG president. She lied and lied about who the real father of her first son was too.

Patty was a teenager at that time. Holding a grudge against a teenager for forty years does not make you look good.

It makes you look BITTER.

Datalounge LOVES women who were hot messes.

Burton had no business talking about anyone else. He spent everyday of the last forty years of his life drunk.

Having seen people back in those days who were very stoned, I can attest to the fact that she is very stoned. She may also be bipolar, but she is stoned off of her ass — no question then & no question now. I saw plenty of people just like her back then. There were some really fucked up drugs back then... like Quaaludes, Desbutal (methamphetamine & pentobarbital), Dexamyl (dexamphetamine & amobarbital).and Biphetamine-T (amphetamines & quaalude). How did drug companies come with the idea to mix amphetamine with barbiturates in one drug...I dunno. But people would throw down a handful of pills and then smoke a joint & some hash...and drink alcohol, maybe also drop a tab of mescaline.

That’s what ir looked like when someone mixed their drugs. There’s a reason why a lot of them died back then.

Richard Burton was and will also be cool.

In her autobiography Call Me Anna Duke indicated that afterward backstage she announced that she was quitting acting and to study medicine. Something typical of those suffering from manic-depression going from lows to highs and making grandiose statements and/or actions. Many at the time though she was on drugs and she never looks at the people giving her the award. Years later Rona Barrett said that she regretted talking about her antics without knowing what was really wrong.

R27 Because Shirley Jones, dare I say, is a C*NT!

Even trying to summarize to others Patty Duke's made-for-tv "Always Remember I Love You" makes me emotional.

Duke’s truth is HER truth but not necessarily the truth. I don’t understand the concept of diaries. Burton’s saving grace is that it discusses famous people that the public is interested in, but replace the names and it’s just tiresome. What appeal did it hold to jot down boring commentary on your friends and coworkers if the intent was never meant to be public in the first place?

R74, I’m more interested in your experiences with undiagnosed bipolar people. That would seem more relevant here. So let’s hear about that, why don’t we.

[quote] S Pleshette is unfailingly gracious about everyone she ever she worked with EXCEPT Patty Duke. She made her run in The Miracle Worker pure hell out of nothing but spite because she replaced her beloved Anne Bancroft.

Patty was HOW OLD when she acted on stage in that play?

Patty was wonderful in everything I’ve seen her in. Still haven’t been able to find My Sweet Charlie, and I think it’s owned by Disney (was it an ABC production?) so the likelihood of it ever being released on Blu ray is nil. But she’s also very good in You'll Like My Mother, a seldom mentioned early 70s thriller.

Of course I would expect the execrable Valley Of the Dolls to take up far more hard drive space in the minds of the vapid cunts on this site, as it’s apparently ESSENTIAL VIEWING for every fag.

And if her memoir was “self-aggrandizing” with the goal of landing the SAG President position? GOOD. Good for her.

For the record during this period in his diary Richard Burton is off the sauce, on doctor's orders.

And, R71, she wasn't a teenager in 1970; she was 23 years old.

OP, I think that poster had to have been referring to Susanne Pleshette, not Burton. Because I don’t see how Burton could have “held a grudge” against her that long for behavior that was adequately explained by a mental health diagnosis. I mean, good god.

More amazing was the fact that Richard Burton smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day

R70. Patty Duke served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985-88, so she did okay. I can't imagine calling her autobiography self-aggrandizing. She came out of the depths of hell and still succeeded. Don't be so cruel.

R79, I'm not finding his diaries boring or tiresome at all. They can be witty and funny, and they're not all about famous people. I imagine he wrote them down to give himself a record of his life when he was older (he often says as much). He draws parallels between different experiences in his life; records thoughtful and passionate convictions about acting, reading, and poetry; and is almost consistently self-aware and ironic about himself, even when he's writing about stuff like buying ridiculously expensive diamonds for ET. Not for everyone, maybe, but some of his passages (like the one about Lucy) have been quoted reverently on DL many times—that passage is right up there with Cecil Beaton's on Katharine Hepburn.

Gotcha, R82—I misread the post as referring to Burton's diaries. I hate to think poorly of the divine Suzanne Pleshette in any way, though.

From the Television Academy:

R80 Though sometimes mistaken for a TV movie You'll Like My Mother (1972) is a good 'little' thriller that has elements of Die! Die! My Darling, Rosemary's Baby and Misery as well as I'm told 1987s Dead of Winter. Mother was directed by Lamont Johnson who directed My Sweet Charlie and as a teen I saw it in a theater on a double bill with Hitchcock's Frenzy.

[quote] That makes no sense. TV movies are shot on a shoestring. They have less time for performers who are unstable than big screen movies.

You have no idea what you are talking about

This moving from tv to films and back and forth is relatively new (within the last 15 years). There was a big stigma about tv actors. It was very hard to cross over to films. Even crappy films

Tv actors weren't respected. And to be fair, there wasn't a lot of quality tv

It was actually a big deal for Reese Wetherspoon and Nicole Kidman to do TV

Didn't Patti also terrorize Donna Mills as a black widow spider? Let's not pretend that Valley of the Dolls was unrepresentative of her career.

A beautiful black and white photo of Patty:

Yes, Dead Of Winter is indeed similar to You’ll Like My Mother, and I highly recommend it. I own it on Blu ray, too! Although it’s out of print now—some copies are on eBay but the prices are creeping up; it’s certainly available to rent in HD online, where I first saw it last year (Amazon Prime).

Patty is also good in The Babysitter (1980) with William Shatner, Stephanie Zimbalist, Quinn Cummings, and John Houseman. She’s not *great* in it, but she’s good. It’s on YouTube but all the uploads are rather blurry and low-resolution. One of my favorite made-for-TV thrillers.

Nobody ever talked about mania or bi-polar before Patty. She really was a trailblazer.

R88 Jim Garner, Burt Reynolds, Steve McQueen, Ryan O'Neal, Clint Eastwood, Oscar winner Art Carney, Jackie Gleason and 2 time Oscar winner Sally Field all moved from TV to movies successfully in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

I bet you saw Patty in FOLLIES.

"The Captains and the Kings," for which Patty Duke won an Emmy in 1977; a rags-to-riches tale of an Irish immigrant in late 1800s. It also starred Richard Jordan, Perry King and Charles Durning.

Fun fact: Patty's co-star from "Valley of the Dolls," Barbara Parkins, also appeared in "The Captains and Kings." Parkins also starred as Betty Anderson in TV's version of "Peyton Place," 1964-69.

Cool, R94

[quote] Didn't Patti also terrorize Donna Mills as a black widow spider?

After what she did to Valene Ewing, she deserved that and much more

She did a TV with Martin Sheen. Watch this scene as she says goodbye to her son going into the army. Streep has nothing on her.

Go to 9.00

[quote] Let's not pretend that Valley of the Dolls was unrepresentative of her career.

Let’s not pretend that it was.

How many more examples of good movies and great performances of Patty’s do you need, exactly? Jeezus

[quote]Jim Garner, Burt Reynolds, Steve McQueen, Ryan O'Neal, Clint Eastwood, Oscar winner Art Carney, Jackie Gleason and 2 time Oscar winner Sally Field all moved from TV to movies successfully in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

She battling bi-polar and raising a family. You think all those guys were raising their kids?

R88 I forgot Ryan O'Neal's Peyton Place co star Mia Farrow another who made quite a spectacular move from TV to the big screen in the 60s and Lily Tomlin as well in the 70s.

Patti Duke did not raise her kids. They are kind about her when they speak, but she damaged them in so many ways. She was kind of the Sinead O'Connor of her time. Slightly less talented.

Far-out, R102

Nice try, R103.

R101 is missing R94's point.

I suspect Burton was unhappy that his friend and colleague Edith Evans was snubbed for the sake of this young American addict in a film (that I've never heard of).

R106, the point isn’t very compelling—whatever it is. It’s not like we can tell who’s posting what, as no one’s signed their replies. Did Patty get relegated to TV movies because she sucked as an actress, or because fucked up at an awards ceremony on live TV?

Obviously she *doesn’t* suck as an actress, because her filmography is loaded with great performances and industry awards... like the one she was receiving when she was out of her mind.

That was, “or because SHE fucked up at an awards ceremony”

I loved her as Patty and Cathy so I made it a point to watch everything that TV Guide said she was in, which resulted in my seeing VotD when I was much too young to understand it. I also saw that award show but again, was too young to understand that her behavior was troublesome. Later I came to appreciate her for bringing awareness to mental illness and psychiatric medication, and for being one of the top actresses of her generation. I will always adore her, even if she was bratty to another of my favorites, Suzanne Pleshette.

I’m younger than you, R110, but that was basically my experience with her, too. Though I think I saw The Miracle Worker (1962) around the same time I discovered the PD Show (ca. 1986). I was interested in Helen Keller as a little boy (MARY!), which led me to Patty.

I’ll always love her, and I still can’t believe she died so young. Sepsis—ugh!

Patti Duke was a lifelong alcoholic and abuser. She abused her husbands, children and audiences.

R69 Valley of the Dolls was 20th Century Fox's biggest BO success for 1967 and probably the highest grossing movie Duke ever appeared in. She has 139 credits to her name per IMDB but only 18 theatrical releases.

Totally unknown to me between 1999-2018 she appeared in Power of Air, Amazing Love, The Four Children of Tander Welch, Bigger Than Sky and Kimberly??????

From 1958-1992 Country Music Holiday, The Goddess , 4-D Man, The Miracle Worker, Billie, Me, Natalie, You'll Like My Mother, The Swarm, Prelude to a Kiss, By Design, Willy/Milly (86), Happy Anniversary (59)

Evidently she didn’t abuse you hard enough, R112. Too bad.

That old drunkard Burton was one to talk.

Do his diaries reveal his thoughts on Lizsha's Home Shopping Network appearance?

R94's point was simply that moving between tv and films wasn't as rare in the 60s and 70s as R88 made it out to be. I don't read R94 as drawing any particular argument about Patty Duke's career.

I saw another interview with Sean where he was less charitable about his mother's behavior. She really did a number on them. How- or why- John Astin stayed with her is a mystery.

Patty was so inarguably great that Barbara Stanwych crawled across the footlights to kiss the hem of her dress after the premiere of "Sunset Blvd."

Oh wait... that was Gloria Swanson. Never mind.

[quote] I saw another interview with Sean where he was less charitable about his mother's behavior.

Did anyone ever tell him that she was bipolar?

R117 R94 here. Yes that was my point; it wasn't unheard of for actors who appeared on TV or in TV series during the 50s, 60s and 70s to find success ON THE BIG SCREEN. And the list I provided were a group who became very successful in films like Love Story, Grand Prix, Rosemary's Baby, Deliverance, Nashville, Dirty Harry, Nine to Five, Places in the Heart, Norma Rae, Harry and Tonto, The Hustler, Bullitt, Papillion, Barry Lyndon . . .

I responded to a poster who said it was a relatively new phenomenon

[Quote] I saw another interview with Sean where he was less charitable about his mother's behavior. She really did a number on them

Link?

She was a lousy mother and wife. Settled down a bit with the pilot. But she was drunk most of the time by then. Why would a kid not understand that his mom was bipolar R120? She made a career out of it.

Patti Duke is not what you saw. She was much closer to what Richard Burton saw. For her whole life. With some periods of stability. The idea that she was a great actress is hilarious. Whatever talent she had innantely before her illness presented, was long gone by the time she looked 60 at 35. She chewed scenery that weren't even there! Look over Here!!!

Her book is quite a good read. But she never really told the truth.

Children are forever and deeply damaged by a parent as sick as Patti Duke was. Her husband(s) should have removed them from her. That's the tea.

R99. Damn, that scene you referenced in "A Matter of Justice" was amazing. Patty Duke was heartbreaking...in just a few minutes, she could bring the viewer to tears. Wow, I'm shook. You're right, Meryl Streep has nothing on Patty. Thanks for posting.

[quote] Why would a kid not understand that his mom was bipolar [R120]?

I don’t know? If his reminiscences were so “uncharitable” toward her, maybe he should’ve kept her illness in mind? I mean, I wasn’t there, and neither were you, though you write as if you were.

You certainly have an agenda, R123. You exaggerate as much as you say “Patti” (with an ‘i’ 🙄) did.

“looked 60 at 35”... as if. Even if she did look older than she was, that’s typically what happens to bipolar people, many of whom self medicate because of their illness. They also have shorter life expectancies.

You’re really a cunt.

R124. Speaking of Meryl Streep...of course she's a good actress, but I thought she was miscast as Violet in "August : Osage County." From the time that movie came out, I always thought that Patty Duke would have been perfect in that role of the mother to that dysfunctional family. Patty would have been much more down to earth and gritty.

I also wish that Patty would have been offered the role of Violet when "August: Osage County" was on Broadway. Patty would have won another Tony Award.

There was a recent thread commemorating fifth anniversary of Patty's death (March 29, 2016). I have copied and pasted one of the nicest posts from that thread. She was good person:

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.

Patty was star-struck working with Burton.

R127- Beautiful story. :)

I think this is the first time I saw this clip. Was it a huge story back then? I could just imagine if there is already a twitter then. I agree with those who says Patty was beautiful. Love her thick long mane.

R128. Very touching.

Burton was right. Patty was a fucking hot mess.

R127. Great post. I loved that even in her latter years, she still had enough clout to get NBC to move the production of perhaps her final television show to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where she lived. That's some kind of respect. NBC must have wanted her badly in the show. Good for her. Now that's working from home!

You're a famous nutjob on this site R125. I'll make no comment to you. Patty Duke's children do know who she really was. (Mental illness is not a lifelong excuse.) They have been extremely reticent and kind about her as a mother, considering.

R123. Watch Patty Duke's interview with her sons on ABC's 20/20. They praise her. It may have been quite difficult for them as kids, but as adults, they loved her and understood mental illness:

Has anyone ever seen Patty in this Early 70s Thriller, "You'll Like My Mother"?

I haven't but it looks interesting.

R136 See R87 re You'll Like My Mother

R123, you’ve made plenty of comments to me and continue to do so even as you say you won’t.

“famous nutjob”, ha! For what? Badge of honor, if true. Better than being relentlessly bitter about a dead famous woman with whom I had no personal association. You’re the lone nutjob here insistent upon exposing her as a horrible mother and wife. Most of us are familiar with her book, Call Me Anna, and the TV movie adapted from it—she laid it all out in that. Yes, she was a mess and impossible to deal with until she got on lithium. That’s how it was with manic-depression back then. You’re not telling us anything new.

R126 it would’ve been her first Tony, not another.

Dick wishes he was half the actor Patty was.

I wish Patti was half the actor she tried too hard to be. She made Geraldine Page look like a minimalist.

[quote]She battling bi-polar and raising a family.

The treatments back then, weren't like what's available now.

[quote] I wish Patti was half the actor she tried too hard to be. She made Geraldine Page look like a minimalist.

Wouldn’t you be happier discussing someone you actually like?

So Patty had a really great night !

He wasn't one of her FANS!!!!!!!!

(144 replies and no one said this? Dl is slipping.)

Now I want to see this "Wuthering Heights."

"she got labeled as being unstable or an addict after this speech and it was hard for her to shake it."

Labels mean shit, it's not being able to pass the INSURANCE PHYSICAL that matters.

TV movies were quick easy money at the time. Short shoots, filmed in LA, good money. Obviously Patty was well enough to pass the physical. In addition, don't forget that movie roles for women were not plentiful and a handful of actresses were competing for very few. TV was available and convenient for Patty.

Sean talking about his Mom. He took over her advocacy.

I'd say he ate her sins. She took over his life. Poor guy.

Besides being unpredictable and mentally ill, has anyone ever considered that Patty was limited as an actress by her baby face, baby voice and short stature? She was an adult and still read teenager. I love Valley of the Dolls, but outside of Patty's big girl fall (wig), I still saw a kid trying to play adult.

[quote] Valley of the Dolls was 20th Century Fox's biggest BO success for 1967 and probably the highest grossing movie Duke ever appeared in.

It got worse reviews than [italic]Doctor Dolittle[/italic], which Fox somehow could finagle a Best Picture Oscar nom for (making me wonder if they use the same tactics for [italic]The Sound of Music[/italic]) but it made a hell of a lot more money.

R15 Yes! 😂

R151, Valley of the Dolls was a best selling novel. That goes a long way when there's a movie version, especially of a trashy novel. Reviews don't matter.

Wow, the Patty troll seems to be a huge overstuffed Hefty bag of damaged goods.

[quote] The way she walks around the presenter in that circle...

I obviously don’t know what you look like, R25, but I just pictured you - a hypothetical you - staring at the screen motionless, your face in a side-eye position as your pupils follow her walking around “in that circle.”

[quote][R151], Valley of the Dolls was a best selling novel. That goes a long way when there's a movie version, especially of a trashy novel. Reviews don't matter. —Jacqueline Susann

That's easy for you to say, bitch!

R24 pissed as a newt or mad as a fucking brush, same thing.

That night the bitch was definitely away with the fairies.

I am enjoying and hating this thread, I guess because I enjoy and hate Richard Burton’s assholery.

Do you hate that you didn't make those comments first?

#154 wins. He/she is using Patty as their avatar.

She's a minor talent who managed to be really annoying.

Patty Duke should have played the Violet, the mother in August: Osage County...and not Meryl Streep. Patty was much more suited to the grittiness and dysfunction of that whacky family. Or Patty should have had the role on Broadway before the show became a movie especially since a Broadway show doesn't need the "star" name the way a movie does.

Her cousin Cathy would've been more graceful.

Patty became inspirational but it didn't make her a good actress as a non-tot.

RIchard Burton reminds me of Elton John. Both salty old cunts.

Except Sir Reggie didn't have to enter Liz's snatch.

Has anyone read the Kitty Kelly book on Liz Taylor? I am thinking about buying it but only if it is accurate. I really liked Richard Burton. He was an entertaining writer and actor, imo. He was flawed like all of us are, but I think he was honest and self aware about it. Wasn't it very difficult to get to get treatment for severe alcoholism and depression in his time? It seems treatment for both have only advanced in the 10 years or so.

I agree with r150. Patty's career never progressed to A List movie star because she always looked like a short teenager playing an adult, even well into middle age..

Richard Burton was a brilliant man. And a hardcore, lifelong alcoholic. Came from nothing and took care of them all for his whole life. Had a lived experience and true mentoring education. A great mind. A cruel streak and destructive nature. A great gift as an actor. He took it seriously. But loved drinking and fucking more. I don't even know what he saw in that simpleton cow Elizabeth Taylor. She WAS beautiful once, earthy and a great drinking companion. He liked to conquer all costars. He got stuck with her. He liked to hurt her and she liked to be hurt. They probably are one of the great love stories for the ages. They revealed a lot about life - but they never told on each other. Don't believe Elizabeth Taylor. She romanticized him when he was safely dead. He saw HER clearly his whole life. Through a haze of scotch and bergin. George and Martha, no shit.

He's a bit ponderous and Welsh, but what a man, what a mind. Any criticism made by Richard Burton should be considered. World class alcoholics famously lie to themselves but see the truth in others. Because they are cruel to both.

Patti Duke was a hacky actress. There's nothing much to discuss there.

Watch This.

As if everything Liz and Dick did together was Edward Albee.

Former co-star Honor Blackman recounted how Burton thought he was above handing out prizes at a fete to promote their movie, Green Grow the Rushes. She rather acidly remarked that for someone who was then so adverse to publicity, he spent the rest of his life living on publicity.

R125 Patty looked way better than Carrie Fisher, who near the end, looked older than her mother.

She certainly was fatter than her mother and her mother had the name of a snack cake!

As if Patty Duke's appeal was ever her looks...

At least one of her sons grew up to be hot.

I know this is wrong to say. I think she's gorgeous and scarily compelling in the Emmy clip. I love her thick hair and light makeup, so fresh and natural. Imagine wearing that outfit today.

I remember when I was a kid she was all over my mother's movie magazines – dating Desi, worrying Lucy, running off to marry some old guy. I recall hearing about the awards debacle, but was too young to have seen it. It sounded so dramatic! Then a few years later, there she was on the Dinah Shore Show cooking with her new husband John Astin, acting like everything was fine now. I thought it was strange that he called her "Anna."

Patty had that weird Irish genetic thing where the skin gets super wrinkly with age. The Fitzgerald family had that gene — Rose Fitzgerald (Kennedy), her daughter Eunice (Shriver) and her granddaughter Caroline (Kennedy) all have that super wrinkly skin gene.

R176 here, I was confusing Patty with Christina Onassis, another staple of mom's movie magazines at the time. It was Christina who ran off with the older man. Patty had a super-short marriage, which was scandalous then.

I thought the super wrinkly skin thing was due to smoking.

More than half the US population would have Eunice Shriver skin if it was due to smoking, because everyone smoked in the 50s, 60s, 70s and early to mid 80s. It’s a not-very-prevalent genetic thing & when people have it, they’re mostly Irish.

And now they're fat but wouldn't be caught dead smoking.

Richard Madden isn't Irish.

Patty went on far too many game shows during the years with Astin, which may have harmed her being taken seriously as an actress.

That said, she made a great WML? mystery guest in 1973.

^Wrong link . . .

^1972, not 1973.

So surprisingly different than she was in the 1970 Emmy clip.

Patti had a cabbage patch face and schrinchy ass voice. Always chewing something invisible when she delivered her lines. It's too bad she regained her sight.

R177, Ha! "Cheap Irish Skin" was how my mother always referred to it. "Burns easily, scars easily, and wrinkles like hell!"

I’m just here because Sean Astin is a fucking cutie pie that I want to throw against a wall and make out with.

R184. Patty was great as the mystery guest on "What's My Line." One of the most fun guests I've ever seen on that show. Loved her "disguise" voice.

I'm loving this thread. So glad that people still have a lot of fond feelings for Patty.

^^^ along with one or two unhinged Patty haters.

"I thought the super wrinkly skin thing was due to smoking."

I KNOW the super wrinkly skin thing was due to SUN, severe weight loss and gain, smoking, drinking, drugs, bad diet and genetics.

Patty was not particularly light skinned nor was she related to the Kennedys. At 50, she didn't look as bad as Caroline Kennedy did at 40

Agreed. Patty was not high yellow.

High yellow?

R194 I think that’s colloquial for “fancy Asian.”

Yes, Mr. Burton was NEVER shaming in his life.

R167, read "Furious Love" instead.

[quote] I’m just here because Sean Astin is a fucking cutie pie that I want to throw against a wall and make out with.

You take Sean, I'll take his brother.

When Patty had her first child, Sean, everyone including Lucy thought Desi Jr. was the father. He thought so, too, and Patty did everything to encourage that thinking.

Years later when she was married to John Astin, she tried to claim that Sean was the result of a brief romance with Astin.

Finally, it came out that Sean's father was a man named Michael Teller, who had been an assistant director on Patty's TV show. Teller and Patty had been married for 13 days.

I always thought Sean looked a little “Arnaz.” And even as a kid reading the scandal sheets I didn’t believe the John Astin story. Now I see Sean really does resemble Michael Tell.

Suzanne Pleshette talking about her experience working with Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker.

Huh, R199? Michael Teller, is actually Michael Tell, and he was NEVER an assistant director on Patty's TV show. You must read this thread. You must read any/every Patty Duke DL thread. You must read anything other than what you've been reading.

From about 11:00

The whole clip is interesting R203, so fuck off.

It’s Suzanne Pleshette for chrissakes

r202 You're right. Patty's first husband was Harry Falk who had worked as an assistant director on her TV show. Tell was her second husband (briefly).

Here's Falk's obit.

Here’s Suzanne and Patty. Suzy was a beauty.

OMFG! Suzanne Pleshette sounds like Lucille Ball!

[Quote] The whole clip is interesting [R203], so fuck off.

Get invited to many parties?

Patti looks older than Suzanne Pleshette. Was she a midget?

I bet Suzanne had quite the roll call of lovers.

NY Times February 7, 1961

The change that took place on the stage of The Playhouse last night is not likely to impede the successful career of "The Miracle Worker" in any way. Suzanne Pleshette, dark haired, shiny eyed and mercurial, is now playing Annie Sullivan, the leading role, that was brilliantly created by Anne Bancroft sixteen months ago. Miss Pleshette has done the wisest thing under the circumstances, which is to model herself, almost gesture for gesture, inflection for inflection, on Miss Bancroft. The highest compliment that can be paid Miss Pleshette is the change is barely noticeable.

[Quote] Miss Pleshette has done the wisest thing under the circumstances, which is to model herself, almost gesture for gesture, inflection for inflection, on Miss Bancroft. The highest compliment that can be paid Miss Pleshette is the change is barely noticeable.

Not exactly the rave Pleshettes claims in the interview above.

She was no Tish.

R211, Suzanne was briefly married to Troy Donahue in the early 1960s.

Patty is gone.

To call her a mediocre actress is to be generous, and the mediocrity is echoed in the abilities of her acting offspring.

R216 is getting a plate of scrambled eggs in her face.

Fuck that R217. Someone needs to take a shit in R216's mouth.

R216 R217 Should I dig Patty up and dump her on your doorsteps?

R219, are you talking to yourself at R216?

What always amazed me about Patty's performance in the film The Miracle Worker was that she didn't react to the yelling and noise surrounding her and that she had to be non reactive to sight and sound on stage must have taken incredible discipline and training.

^ She was catatonic.

R221, It's called acting.

Tbf, she does seem kitty full of herself and melodramatic.

Patty Duke is that feisty little Helen Keller brat!

Get outta town!

R221. It's not just acting. Patty's acting in The Miracle Worker was stunningly brilliant particularly for a person of her age--or any age.

Many bi-polars, in fact most of them, are highly intelligent. I've also noticed that they are naturally good/excellent actors.

R226, She had also played the part hundreds of times prior to the film being made.

That was Bette's main gripe in losing the Oscar to Bancroft.

Bancroft had the luxury of perfecting her performance on Broadway, while Bette created her Baby Jane performance from scratch.

R228 It's results that count.

R228 I whole-heartedly agree with Bette.

They both had stellar results R229. Bette Davis gave a very daring fucking performance. Anne Bancroft was moving and well scripted and rehearsed. If you watch the two movies today, and you wanted to give out the award today - it would be just as hard to choose. But I'd give it to Bette Davis who invented someone new and lived in it.

R231 I too preferred Bette. My point was, in the end it’s the finished product people ought to judge in any case, not the backstory to the performance. Generally speaking and IMO.

Rex Harrison had years to perfect his Henry Higgins. I think it's a magnificent performance though there are those who feel he might have done it a few too many times.

R47 She needs to hold a press conference which she hasn't done in 18 days since Biden put her in charge of the border mess. When she was running for President she was always available to the press doing her tragic mulatto act.

Patty Duke is responsible for kids in cages?!

Tragic Mulatto Act? Just how many decades over 60 years is R234? That's a racist for sure. They run wild here on Datalounge in their wheelchairs. Jussie Smollett? Again with the nonsensical old white racist fag references. Who can understand them? Drunk all the time, like R234.

R228. Good point, but Patty was a child when she won the Academy Award. It's a brilliant performance for someone who was 15-16 at the time...no matter how much she had perfected it on stage. Film acting is quite different. She deserved the Oscar. She should have won the Tony too.

R236 Angry, easily-triggered basement dweller. Go back to your fantasies of fucking Cade Maddox in the ASS and the crack pipe left to you by the ultimate crack ho Whitney Houston and continue your endless babbling regarding Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli Patty Duke, Richard Burton, Alec Baldwin . . .obviously you call everyone an alcoholic because you learned so much about if from your parents.

WoW. What a nutjob is r238? Please remove it. Blocked.

Damn, what a thread. Patty is still going strong. Now that's talent.

R99 (and R124), you two don't get out much do you? That wasn't anything special at all. Her son was leaving, and she acts as if he's just been killed in front of her.

Ham on rye anyone?

Jeez, she just came off as kind of lost. Not manic, not depressed, just totally unfocused...her mind somewhere else.

Makes me wonder what Ol' Man Burton thought of fellow drunk Gig Young.

R234, I completely agree, but you know that even if she got up there and gave the press conference of the century, Richard Burton would STILL call her a dope-ridden idiot.

Or were you talking about Angela Lansbury?

I just checked the 1960 Tony Awards nominations and Patty was not even nominated, though it won for Best Play, Best Director and Best Actress.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Anne Revere – Toys in the Attic as Anna Berniers - winner Leora Dana – The Best Man as Alice Russell Jane Fonda – There Was a Little Girl as Toni Newton Sarah Marshall – Goodbye, Charlie as Rusty Mayerling Juliet Mills – Five Finger Exercise as Pamela Harrington

Lovely story, R127.

Somehow, through all the troubles she went through (and has anyone yet mentioned that she was abused by her "managers" at the time of The Patty Duke Show?), the awards-show thing, and so on, I think the Patty you reveal is the real one.

R244 interesting no Tony nomination for Patty while Anne won. They were the perfect pair on stage and film and their chemistry was electric. At least the Oscars rewarded both of them.

Because he was NOT one of her FAAAANNNNNNSSSS!

R246, I always found it surprising that Patricia Neal took such a featured role in the OBP, playing Mrs. Keller.

Neal would have been a bigger name than Bancroft in 1959, have to wonder if there was any competition/rivalry between them.

In his memoir, Frank Langella was quite candid in writing what a pain in the ass his friend Anne could be.

R248 Mrs. Keller is a good supporting role with some great dialogue. Despite her Tony win, Neal wasn’t that much bigger than Bancroft circa 1960, even though Neal had a better resume in film by this time. I think Neal still earned the majority of her money through the theater up until MW.

R249 Around the same time Neal took a relatively small role in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and appeared in a lot of television: Ben Casey, The Untouchables.

Neal replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof's" original Broadway run. Would love to have seen her in that role.

I guess Patricia Neal didn't have her own producer guiding her career.

Patty lied up and down that she and Michael Tell never ever had sex.

She was passed out, R253.

I told this story before....met Anna few times with my best friend. I called her Anna because she told me to. The last time, my friend showed her his autographed first edition copy of "Valley Of The Dolls" won in an auction. He asked if her if she thought it was authentic and she studied it and said yes. Then she said she would be forever grateful to Jackie Suzanne, for bringing her the greatest group of people into her life. She genuinely loved and appreciated her VOTD fans and had a sense of humor about the film. He had her sign the book too.

Can you imagine Faye Dunaway embracing "Mommie Dearest" as Patty did VOTD?

Big difference. Faye's performance was good, Patty's was bad.

Clearly

R255, It took years for Patty to come around and finally appreciate "Valley of the Dolls" for what it is.

[quote]It took years for Patty to come around and finally appreciate "Valley of the Dolls" for what it is.

It took years for it to become a camp classic and for the record, Barbara Parkins and Lee Grant embrace the camp too.