On March 20, 2019, it will be three years since the iconic and always remembered Patty Duke left us. She grew up in front of the camera and dedicated her life to the entertainment industry. However, this Hollywood darling had plenty of struggles throughout her life. Find out more about the story that was hidden behind the winning smile and sweet demeanor of Patty Duke - keep reading to learn more about how she overcame her past and decided to find her own happiness despite the harsh spotlight that was always directed at her.
Who was Anna Duke?
Patty Duke was born as Anna Marie Duke in Queens, New York City, and a difficult household environment marked her childhood. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother suffered from depression. When Anna was only 6 years old, her father left and her mother’s depressive episodes got worse, leaving Anna and her siblings as witnesses to all of it. However, two years later, her mother made a decision that changed Anna’s life forever. This decision would mark her for life and would be the cause of many issues later on.
Anna dies and Patty is born
Her mother decided that considering her own mental health issues, Anna might be better off with another family. While John and Ethel Ross approached her initially about her son in their role as talent seekers, the final agreement involved Anna being de facto adopted by the Ross couple. As they recognized the talent they had on their hands, they decided to make the most of it and told Anna that her name would now be Patty; hoping she would be as successful as Patty McCormack. This abandonment by her mother would leave a deep trauma in Patty’s psyche.
Becoming Patty was more than a name change
Her new family had plans for Patty's career, and that implied a total makeover. The first thing to go was her name. She also needed to change other things like her strong New York accent, which didn’t match the soft image they wanted her to portray as a sweet child actress. Another thing was her skin, as they considered it too pale. Therefore, they had her using tanning lotions so that she would look better when auditioning for different roles. A star was in the making, but her childhood was being destroyed.
Star quality with little independence
As she was supposed to become a famous star, she had little time to entertain herself—let alone grow into a responsible adult with any idea of how to handle herself in the real world or do any financial planning. Patty’s life was the entertainment industry and this, in turn, made her go through extremely sheltered teenage years. These psychological scars would show up later, as the damage was profound and, at first, unnoticeable. Meanwhile, Patty had started to appear in various shows, contests, as well as commercial ads. Her big break was yet to come, though.
The making of a Hollywood darling
Since she started living with the Rosses when she was 8 years old, Patty had been instructed on how to present herself to anyone in the industry. Her parents had taught her how to speak, think, and answer, and she was to be as pleasing and well-mannered as possible. In her later years, she would declare that she felt like a computer as she felt programmed to answer to specific commands. Although horrific for someone so young, the training had its fruits and Patty slowly but steadily was becoming a known name.
Reaching worldwide fame
Patty’s big break came when she participated in the play The Miracle Worker. She played the role of Helen Keller, which marked a "before" and "after" for her career. After long seasons in the theater and much recognition, the play became a full movie and the recognition materialized itself in the form of an Academy Award. Patty became the youngest person to ever receive an Oscar at the time and she was now a household name. The Rosses' formula had worked. She was a star at 16 years of age, but her private life was far from idyllic.
Behind closed doors, life was not a movie
Patty’s life during her teenage years was that of constriction. Her money expenses were restricted as her representatives/adopted family had full control of her finances and barely gave her what she needed to survive. It was later reported that they started her on drugs so that she could be thinner and more pliable. The world saw a successful actress with the perfect life, but the reality was far from it. Patty continued to audition for roles and her fame increased—as did her internal suffering. However, Patty had a solution in mind.
Free at last...or was she?
When she turned 18, Patty decided that she had had enough and separated her life from Mr. and Mrs. Ross. However, she would then find out that they had spent most of what she had earned. Although there was no public money dispute, the loss was immense. Patty was then dating the director of The Patty Duke Show, where she starred for the three seasons that the show was on the air. When he decided to propose, she said yes. However, Patty was far from ready to take charge of her now independent life.
A marriage plagued by ghosts
Although Harry Falk and Patty Duke seemed to be very in love at the time of their wedding, her robbed childhood and rough adolescence had left scars that were only starting to show. Patty started showing signs of mental issues and she stopped eating. Her sudden explosions made married life difficult for the couple. The marriage only lasted for four years before they decided to go their separate ways. Patty was sick, but no one knew what was happening until much later. Meanwhile, she continued to act and give her best performances.
Trying to be an adult
Patty continued to take prescription drugs that did not help with her condition. She had to be hospitalized in more than one occasion due to pill overdoses. She had difficulty being alone and the separation from Harry only drove her to more feelings of despair. In 1969, she won a Golden Globe for the movie Me, Natalie, where her co-star was a young Al Pacino. She also won an Emmy for My Sweet Charlie. The moment of her acceptance speech was one of the first times her inner turmoil was shown to the world, as she gave an incoherent speech.
The truth about her behavior
Although she was seen as behaving in an erratic way, the truth was that she was suffering from bipolar disorder. However, she wouldn’t be diagnosed until much later. She was left without proper treatment having manic-depressive episodes while she lived alone in her Sunset Strip apartment. She didn’t know how to manage her finances and her disease made things worse. She started spending outrageous amounts without any type of control whatsoever. These were some of Patty’s hardest times. However, she was not willing to give up on happiness just yet.
Getting back to the dating world
Despite all of her struggles and still having no proper treatment for her then-undiagnosed disease, she wanted to get back to dating. She decided to try to live her life according to her age. After all, she was only 23 years old at that time. And despite already having one divorce in her past, she was ready to retake the reigns of her life. Soon after, in 1970, she met Desi Arnaz Jr. He was the son of comedy icon Lucille Ball. However, the romance would be a scandalous one. Hardships had not ended for Patty.
A time of scandal and rumors
Desi Arnaz Jr. was only 17 when he and Patty started seeing each other. Despite the age difference not being that immense, Desi was still underage. Furthermore, Lucille Ball made it publicly known that she didn’t approve of the romance. Patty started making celebrity news for all the wrong reasons and shortly after, the relationship ended. Patty was alone again, but it didn’t last long. She met a rock music producer and sparks flew right away. However, Patty was still suffering from manic-depressive episodes. Soon, her story with Michael Tell, the rock producer, would become more complicated.
The shortest marriage
When Patty found out she was pregnant, she panicked. Reportedly, she was having a manic episode when she and Michael decided to get married in June 1970 with the sole purpose of giving her unborn child a name. However, only 13 days later, the marriage was annulled. It was justified based on the marriage allegedly not being consummated. Patty’s son, Sean, was born on February 25, 1971. Love would then knock on Patty’s door again. This time, in the form of an older actor named John Astin who would change Patty’s life.
True love at last
Patty and John met and things started to look up. After being in a relationship for longer than her previous experiences, they decided to get married in August 1972. Adoption papers were drawn and John officially adopted Sean, who became Sean Astin. The paternity of the child was still in question as it was speculated that either Desi or Tell could be the father. However, after her marriage to Astin, the rumors subsided and Patty and John started their life together. They later had another child called Mackenzie Astin in 1973.
Married And In Love
Patty Duke became Patty Duke Austin and she, together with John, had some very happy years. She continued to do several projects like Captain and the Kings and The Miracle Worker revival. Both earned her Emmy Awards and her talent was indisputable. She also worked in plenty of projects with her husband and they were a happy family for the majority of the marriage. However, the union lasted for 13 years until they decided to go their separate ways. The divorce was made official in 1985 without any scandal or drama attached to it.
Unresolved family issues
Even though John Astin was always a father to her son Sean, she knew he was not the biological father. She decided to tell Sean about his unclear parentage, fearing a bit about what his reaction would be. He decided to find out the truth and look up the possible options. Years later, a paternity test would be performed and the truth would be known. Meanwhile, shortly after her final separation from John, Patty found love again. This time, in the form of Michael Pierce who was working as a consultant for Patty’s movie, A Time of Triumph, when they met.
Patty Duke, an author
One year after her marriage to Pearce, Patty published her first book titled Call Me Anna, in which she finally opened up about her childhood and mental illness. She revealed that in 1982 when she was still married to Astin, she was diagnosed as bipolar. With the help of her family and the proper treatment, she was able to take care of her health and live a more stable life. Her book was adapted to a movie and she played herself when the story reached her adulthood. Patty’s ghosts were finally coming out.
Mental health advocate
Her first book was an opening into her past. Patty kept writing books and, in 1992, published her second one titled Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness. She became one of the first artists to be open about her mental issues and she decided to advocate for those suffering from these types of illnesses. She intervened in front of the Congress and worked together with the National Institute of Mental Health as well as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; making great strides in removing the taboo from these type of disorders.
Living her best life
Patty and Michael decided on adoption and Kevin, who was born in 1988, was the new addition to the family. Astin continued to be a loving father to his two sons, Sean and Mackenzie, and Patty’s personal life was finally emulating her screen life—creating happy memories with her family. She was married to Michael until her passing, with a relationship of 30 years. Patty had found love and dedicated herself to her children, enjoying her family time while continuing to be active in the entertainment industry. She became the second female president of the Screen Actors Guild and did a great job during her three years on the post despite facing many challenges.
Sean finds out the truth
It wasn't until 1994 that Sean did the DNA tests necessary to find out his true parentage. It tuned out that Michael Tell was his father, despite Patty's autobiography saying that the relationship had not been consummated. Sean took the news fairly well. He continued to consider John Astin as his father and John always referred to him as his son. Finally, there was closure for the entire family nucleus as the truth was known and the mystery dispelled. Sean became an actor, just like his mom and adoptive father. He played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and is currently part of the cast of the hit web series, Stranger Things.
Celebrating life
After many years of struggle, Patty Duke found happiness. She learned to forgive herself and others for how her life had been and found inspiration in her children. Since her marriage to Pierce, she has signed as Patty Duke-Pierce. She received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 2004 and her sons were there to support her. Both Sean and Mackenzie decided on entertainment careers. The University of North Florida awarded an honorary doctorate in Human Letters to her in December 2007. It was a way to honor her work towards raising awareness about mental disorders.
Patty’s happy final years
Patty went on to continue her advocacy and had small appearances on TV. She even got nominated for an Emmy for her guest appearance in Touched by an Angel. She also appeared in the hit tv show Glee. She also went back to the stage and appeared in Oklahoma! and Wicked. Her last tv appearance took place in the show Liv and Maddie. She was working on her third book, a collection of essays titled In The Presence of Greatness—My Sixty Year Journey as an Actress, when she died in 2016. However, her work was later published in 2018, continuing her impressive legacy.