Patty Duke Is Dead at 69
Hollywood Reporter
By Duane Byrge
March 29, 2016
She received an Academy Award at 16 for playing Helen Keller in 'The Miracle Worker' and starred as two cousins in 'The Patty Duke Show.'
Patty Duke, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and starred as two cousins, different as night and day, on her own sitcom, has died, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. She was 69.
"This morning, our beloved wife, mother, matriarch and the exquisite artist and champion of mental health, Anna Patty Duke, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended to a beautiful place," read a family statement. "We celebrate the infinite love and compassion she shared through her work and throughout her life."
Although she performed in films, theater and TV, Duke was most successful in her TV acting career. Overall, she won three Emmy Awards: The Miracle Worker, Captains and Kings and My Sweet Charlie, among eight total nominations.
At the same age, Duke was also the youngest up to that time of having a TV series bearing her name, The Patty Duke Show, which ran for three seasons, beginning in 1963. Duke was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1965 for her dual performance as two identical cousins.
The series was based on a Sidney Sheldon pilot about two identical-looking cousins, one American and one English. Duke played two parts: the perky cousin and the studious cousin. William Schallert and Jean Byron played the parents.
She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Insight. Duke won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer for The Miracle Worker,” as well as a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy - for Me, Globe for “The Patty Duke Show.
Her film acting career was sporadic, peaking with her first production, The Miracle Worker and reaching most attention with Valley of the Dolls (1967) where, countering her squeaky-clean image, she played a pill-popping alcoholic. Her other film credits include: Happy Anniversary (1959), By Design (1982), Willy/Milly (1986), The Hitch-Hikers (1989), Prelude to a Kiss (1992) and Bigger Than the Sky (2005), among others.
DUKE, Patty (Anna Marie Duke)
Born: 12/14/1946, Elmhurst, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 3/29/2016, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, U.S.A.
Patty Duke’s westerns – actress:
Wide Country (TV) – 1963 (Cindy Hopkins)
The Virginian (TV) – 1967 (Sue Ann McRae)
September Gun (TV) – 1983 (Sister Dulcina)
Love Finds a Home (TV) – 2009 (Mary)