Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She first became known as a teen star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), a role which she had originated on Broadway. The following year she was given her own show, The Patty Duke Show, in which she played "identical cousins"; she later progressed to more mature roles such as that of Neely O'Hara in the film Valley of the Dolls (1967). Over the course of her career, she received ten Emmy Award nominations and three Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Duke also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988. Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, after which she devoted much of her time to advocating for and educating the public on mental health issues. She died on March 29, 2016 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine.
Duke gradually reduced her work schedule in the 2000s, but took occasional TV roles, including guest appearances on shows such as Hawaii Five-0 and Glee. For Disney's Liv and Maddie, Duke guest-starred as Grandma Janice and Great-aunt Hilary, a pair of identical twins, and in 2011 she joined the cast of the drama The Protector. She also returned to the stage on occasion - in 2002 as Aunt Eller in a revival of Oklahoma! on Broadway,[29] and in 2009 as Madame Morrible in the San Francisco production of the musical Wicked. In May 2011, Duke directed the stage version of The Miracle Worker at Interplayers Theater in Spokane, Washington. In 2011, Duke appeared in Public Service Announcements for the U.S. government, promoting the social security website. In several, she appeared as Patty & Cathy using split-screen effects. In others, she appeared with George Takei wearing a Star Trek-like costume.
Duke married her fourth husband, drill sergeant Michael Pearce, in 1986. Duke and Pearce had met during the production of A Time to Triumph, for which Pearce served as a consultant. The couple moved to Hayden, Idaho, and adopted a son, Kevin, who was born in 1988. From her marriage to Pearce until her death, Duke occasionally used the name "Anna Duke-Pearce" in her writings and other professional work. Duke had three granddaughters by her eldest son Sean, actress Alexandra "Ali" Astin, Elizabeth and Isabella. Duke died on the morning of March 29, 2016, at the age of 69, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. Her son Sean Astin invited the public to contribute to a mental health foundation in his mother's name, the Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative.
