Patty Duke

Patty Duke was born Anna Marie Duke on December 14 1946 in Elmhurst New York to Frances Margaret McMahon a cashier and John Patrick Duke a cab driver and handyman She is of Irish and one eighth German descent Her acting career began when she was introduced to her brother Ray Dukes managers John and Ethel Ross Soon after Anna Marie became Patty the actress Patty started off in commercials a few movies and some bit parts Her first big memorable role came when she was chosen to portray the blind and deaf Helen Keller in the Broadway version of The Miracle Worker The play lasted almost two years from October 19 1959July 1 1961 Patty left in May 1961 In 1962 The Miracle Worker 1962 became a movie and Patty won an Academy Award for best supporting actress She was 16 years old making her the youngest person ever to win an Oscar She then starred in her own sitcom titled The Patty Duke Show 1963 It lasted for three seasons and Patty was nominated for an Emmy In 1965 she starred in the movie Billie 1965 It was a success and was the first movie ever sold to a television network That same year she married director Harry Falk Their marriage lasted four years She then starred in Valley of the Dolls 1967 which was a financial but not a critical success In 1969 she secured a part in an independent film called Me Natalie 1969 The film was a boxoffice flop but she won her second Golden Globe Award for her performance in it In the early 1970s she became a mother to actors Sean Astin with writer Michael Tell and Mackenzie Astin with actor John Astin In 1976 she won her second Emmy award for the highly successful miniseries Captains and the Kings 1976 Other successful TV films followed She received two Emmy nominations in 1978 for A Family Upside Down 1978 and Having Babies III 1978 She then won her third Emmy in the 1979 TV movie version of The Miracle Worker 1979 this time portraying Annie Sullivan In 1982 she was diagnosed with manicdepressive illness In 1984 she became President of the Screen Actors Guild SAG In 1986 she married Michael Pierce a drill sergeant whom she met while preparing for a role in the TV movie A Time to Triumph 1986 In 1987 she wrote her autobiography Call Me Anna In 1989 she and Mike adopted a baby whom they named Kevin Her autobiography became a TV movie in 1990 with Patty playing herself from her 30s onward In 1992 she wrote her second book A Brilliant Madness Living with Manic Depression Illness Anna Marie Duke had a long and successful career winning three Emmys She was a mother and a political advocate for issues such as the ERA Equal Rights Amendment AIDS and nuclear disarmament all despite having ManicDepression She died on March 29 2016 in Coeur dAlene Idaho of sepsis from a ruptured intestine Patty had proved her strength as an actress and as a person