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.
Acted in 118
2010s
- 2018
Power of the Air
Charlene Summers
- 2013
- 2012
- 2010
Unanswered Prayers
Irene
2000s
- 2009
Love Finds A Home
Mary
- 2006
The Dish on Dolls
Neely O'Hara (archive footage)
Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
Bridget Connolly
- 2005
- 2004
Murder Without Conviction
Mother Joseph
- 2002
Little John
Sylvia
- 2001
Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story
Anne Kincaid
First Years
TV
- 2000
Love Lessons
Sunny Andrews
1990s
- 1999
A Season for Miracles
Angel
The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights
Patty Lane / Cathy Lane MacAllister
- 1998
- 1997
A Christmas Memory
Sook
- 1996
Harvest of Fire
Annie Beiler
Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah
Natalie Porter
- 1995
When the Vows Break
Barbara Parker
- 1994
One Woman's Courage
Grace McKenna
- 1993
A Matter of Justice
TV
No Child of Mine
Lucille Jenkins
Family of Strangers
Beth Thompson
- 1992
A Killer Among Friends
Jean Monroe
Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive
Jean Williams
- 1991
Absolute Strangers
Judge Ray
- 1990
Always Remember I Love You
Ruth Monroe
Call Me Anna
Patty Duke
1980s
- 1989
Hitch-Hikers
Movie
- 1988
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
Althea Sloan
- 1987
Fight for Life
Shirley Abrams
- 1986
Willy/Milly
Doris Niceman
George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation
Martha Washington · 2 episodes
A Time to Triumph
Movie
- 1985
Hail to the Chief
President Julia Mansfield · 7 episodes
- 1984
George Washington
Martha Washington · 3 episodes
Best Kept Secrets
Laura Dietz
- 1983
September Gun
Sister Dulcina
Please Don't Hit Me, Mom
Barbara Reynolds
- 1982
It Takes Two
Molly Quinn · 22 episodes
By Design
Helen
- 1981
The Violation of Sarah McDavid
Sarah McDavid
The Girl on the Edge of Town
Martha Swenson
- 1980
The Babysitter
Liz Benedict
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
Deborah Bergman
The Women's Room
Lily
1970s
- 1979
The Miracle Worker
Anne Sullivan
Before and After
Carole Matthews
Hanging by a Thread
Sue Grainger · 2 episodes
Women in White
Cathy Payson · 3 episodes
- 1978
A Family Upside Down
Wendy
Having Babies III
Leslee Wexler
- 1977
The Storyteller
Sue Davidoff
Killer on Board
Norma Walsh
Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women
Sylvia Crawford
Fire!
Dr. Peggy Wilson
- 1976
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary Woodhouse
- 1974
Hard Day at Blue Nose
Adelaide
Nightmare
Jan Richards
- 1973
- 1972
You'll Like My Mother
Francesca Kinsolving
Deadly Harvest
Jenny
She Waits
Laura Wilson
- 1971
Two on a Bench
Macy Kramer
Birdbath
Velma Sparrow
- 1970
My Sweet Charlie
Marlene Chambers
1960s
- 1969
Me, Natalie
Natalie Miller
Journey to the Unknown
Barbara King
- 1968
- 1967
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
Interviewee
Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls
Movie
- 1966
- 1965
- 1963
The Power and the Glory
Coral
- 1962
- 1961
1950s
- 1959
Meet Me in St. Louis
Tootie Smith
Happy Anniversary
Debbie Walters
- 1958
The Goddess
Emily Ann Faulkner (Child)
Wuthering Heights
Young Cathy
Country Music Holiday
"Sis" Brand
- 1957
- 1956
The Perry Como Show
TV
- 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Angel, Sylvia · 1 episode
Produced 1
1990s
- 1990
Call Me Anna
Co-Producer
Wrote 1
1990s
- 1990
Call Me Anna
Novel
Appearances19
2000s
- 2006
Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'
Self / Neely O'Hara (archive footage)
- 2003
- 2001
- 2000
Backstory
Herself - Interviewee · 1 episode
1990s
- 1999
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1993
1980s
- 1982
I Love Liberty
Self
- 1981
1970s
- 1978
Inside 'the Swarm'
Self
1960s
- 1968
- 1966
- 1964
- 1962
- 1961
1950s
- 1956
- 1953
