Patty Duke

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 ONeal 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 Offscreen Dukes 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 Dukes 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 dAlene Idaho of sepsis from a ruptured intestine