Remembering Patty Duke

Unfortunately, another celebrity has left us early this year. Patty Duke, born in Queens, NYC, died today after suffering from a ruptured intestine. So many things to look out for as we grow older.

Ms Duke detailed her struggle with bipolar disorder in two autobiographies, Call Me Anna and Brilliant Madness.

Patty was only 69.

Fans best remember Ms Duke as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker opposite Ann Bancroft. Patty played deaf, dumb and blind with great zest. The show was a hit on Broadway from 1959-62. It then became a hit movie that immortalized her immediately. Being bipolar may be a drawback in real life but it can sure feed into a fabulous performance, looks like.

The Patty Duke Show was a hit ABC tv series from 1963-66. Designed by hit producer Sidney Sheldon for its star, it unintentionally externalized her schizophrenia by having Patty play identical cousins (an improbable likelihood). It was set in Brooklyn Heights. Growing up in Paterson, Nj, only 25 miles away, I thought it sounded like the most exotic place in the USA and I wanted to move there.



"A hot dog makes her lose control." Me too!

Duke did a lot of admirable work in the movies and on tv.  But she became a camp icon when she assayed the role of Neely O'Hara in the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, her first role as an adult actress.



Rest in peace, Patty. We love and miss you!

"Mel? God? It's me! NEELY O'HARA!!!

Video Beaverhausen: The Valley of the Dolls

Mark Robson's screen version of Jackie Susann's Valley of the Dolls is a camp classic and a gay classic you can quote from forever. "They drummed you out of Hollywood, so you came runnin' back to Broadway. Well, Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope!"

Susan Hayward dominates the film as Broadway legend Helen Lawson. The younger leads are Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate and Patty Duke  as Neely. Patty was far afield of her Miracle Worker Oscar days, though she chews up the scenery in an obvious effort to win one.

In the 1980s, I saw a stage parody of this off-Broadway and it was hilarious. The Lawson role was assayed by a man in drag, appropriately.

There is of course the infamous cat fight in the ladies' powder room between Duke and Hayward. "I've got a man waitin' for me." "Not one of the fags you usually go out with?" "Well at least I didn't marry one, honey!" Meeoww!

Amazing how homophobic this film was. "You know how bitchy fags can be." Yet, today, it's all appreciated for its camp value. Classic theme song sung by Dionne Warwick.

So, relax, get ready for some laughs and thrills and enjoy The Valley of the Dolls!

ps: The script for this film does a great job of truncating Susann's novel. A more faithful-to-the-book tv version was made in '81 and it was a sprawling mess.