# Patty Duke dead at 69 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539 "2016-03-29T17:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/21 "2016-03-29T23:47:22Z")
Don’t forget her recording career: Recordings are still available on Amazon... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/22 "2016-03-30T00:15:37Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I hope a hot dog didn’t make her lose control. Should have stuck to crepes Suzette. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/23 "2016-03-30T00:20:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > She very rarely got quality work in recent decades. She used to make TV movies with Melissa Gilbert that were of mixed quality, but she hadn’t done one of those in many years. I think the high points of her later years were on stage- she played Aunt Eller in the umpteenth revival of _Oklahoma_ on Broadway and Madame Morrible in a San Francisco production of _Wicked_ and I think did some smaller shows as well, but she rarely got more than an episodic guest shot on TV (she was on _Glee_ in its final season as Meredith Baxter’s lover). I always felt she should have had least had a recurring role as a judge on one of the L&O shows or something like. Back in the '80s, she was Martha Washington in that awful _ **George Washington** _ miniseries (which, it would seem, has been mercifully forgotten). ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/24 "2016-03-30T00:48:30Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Thanks for that link. A cable network has been rerunning old game shows, including _What’s My Line?_ (and _Match Game_, actually), but from the look of things they’ve all been from the early-'60s. I wasn’t aware of that 1970s iteration of the show. > > Looks like she was mystery guest more than once. I did a search to see who the panelists were and was led to [this page](http://markgoodson.wikia.com/wiki/What's_My_Line%3F_(1968)/Episode_Guide) at a Mark Goodson wiki. It lists her twice as mystery guest, and twice as a panelist. > > Arlene Francis sure had a steady gig. You’re most welcome! 🙂 And in turn, thank you for the additional info about Ms. Duke’s further WML appearances…I honestly was going to be quite surprised if what I posted was her only 70’s WML appearance, especially as active as she was for the most part with 70’s game shows.\* BTW, that Mark Goodson Wiki entry you linked to is by far the BEST episode guide for 70’s WML…even if it’s not complete, it’s pretty darn close to it (which is impressive in this day and age of GSN not showing as many of the classics/semi-classics as they once did and could again, and having to rely on YouTube). - - Particularly _Match Game_, _Hollywood Squares_, _Password Plus_ (I recall at least a couple or more weeks where Patty appeared alongside then-hubby, John Astin), and now WML can be added. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/25 "2016-03-30T01:28:24Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Life did not treat her kindly. Boo - fucking - hoo. I wish I had it so badly. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/26 "2016-03-30T01:29:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Looks like she was mystery guest more than once. I did a search to see who the panelists were and was led to [this page](http://markgoodson.wikia.com/wiki/What's_My_Line%3F_(1968)/Episode_Guide) at a Mark Goodson wiki. Cool story, Bro: my Dad was a guest on “What’s My Line” back in the 60’s. No celebrity, but was a salesman in a company that sold leather goods made from tanned salmon skin produced by the Ainu in Hokkaido. Anita Gillette sussed it out in like, 30 seconds, that batch. Cool story 2: My mom was a contestant on the original “Concentration” game show. She lost /okay, so maybe not so cool story. // I evidently come from a long line of losers ///but my Aunt once won the big prize on “Let’s Make A Deal.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/27 "2016-03-30T01:30:42Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Boo - fucking - hoo. I wish I had it so badly. I wouldn’t trade lives with her. ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/28 "2016-03-30T02:06:53Z")
> [@TheInimitableMaven](#): > > - > - Particularly _Match Game_, _Hollywood Squares_, _Password Plus_ (I recall at least a couple or more weeks where Patty appeared alongside then-hubby, John Astin), and now WML can be added. And if extended to the 80’s, throw **[_$25,000 Pyramid_](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pyramid+patty+duke)** and **[_Super Password_](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=super+password+patty+duke)** in there too. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/29 "2016-03-30T02:17:11Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Boo - fucking - hoo. I wish I had it so badly. You wish you were given away by your parents at 8 to a couple who exploited you while abusing her sexually and embezzling from you then grew into a young adult with an undiagnosed and unmedicated cyclical psychosis that caused you to be alternately promiscuous, suicidal, physically and emotionally abusive to those you loved, extravagant, and delusional? Hell, I don’t even want the hardships that come with camping, but to each his own. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/30 "2016-03-30T02:22:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Back in the '80s, she was Martha Washington in that awful _ **George Washington** _ miniseries (which, it would seem, has been mercifully forgotten). Bit off topic, but the main thing I remember about that miniseries, other than it being excruciatingly boring,was Barry Bostwick talking about going to channelers to talk to George Washington when he was researching the character. He said that George talked freely about several things, but refused to talk about his relationship with Sally Fairfax. ( I wonder if George had seen _Rocky Horror_.) Duke said in her autobiography that she considered a professional nadir when she played a spider-woman hybrid with some sort of breathing apparatus connected to her. I don’t know the name of the movie; does anybody? ---
**Author:** ![McGuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@McGuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McGuffy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/31 "2016-03-30T02:49:45Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Duke said in her autobiography that she considered a professional nadir when she played a spider-woman hybrid with some sort of breathing apparatus connected to her. I don’t know the name of the movie; does anybody? Is this the one? “Curse of the Black Widow”. [Curse of the Black Widow (TV Movie 1977) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075900/) ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/32 "2016-03-30T03:24:43Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Boo - fucking - hoo. I wish I had it so badly. So do I. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/33 "2016-03-30T03:31:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > You think of a celebrity as being rich, but in Sean Astin’s book he specifically states that neither of his parents are wealthy, and in an interview I saw with her probably a couple of years ago when she was asked about the Social Security ads she actually said that her Social Security and SAG pensions were the majority of her income most months. I’m sure she wasn’t indigent as most would understand the term, but seems like she was probably closer to middle class than Kardashian. Kind of odd to think of people who were such household names living as middle class as any white collar worker, but I guess it happens. > [@TheInimitableMaven](#): > > You’re most welcome! 🙂 And in turn, thank you for the additional info about Ms. Duke’s further WML appearances…I honestly was going to be quite surprised if what I posted was her only 70’s WML appearance, especially as active as she was for the most part with 70’s game shows.\* BTW, that Mark Goodson Wiki entry you linked to is by far the BEST episode guide for 70’s WML…even if it’s not complete, it’s pretty darn close to it (which is impressive in this day and age of GSN not showing as many of the classics/semi-classics as they once did and could again, and having to rely on YouTube). > > - > - Particularly _Match Game_, _Hollywood Squares_, _Password Plus_ (I recall at least a couple or more weeks where Patty appeared alongside then-hubby, John Astin), and now WML can be added. I usually check IMDb; under “self” it lists things like game show and talk show appearances. It has very little info on the 1968-75 syndicated version of _What’s My Line_, though. That’s when I searched and found that wiki. In addition to the shows you listed, IMDb credits Patty with a few appearances on _Tattletales_. The same channel where I’ve been watching _What’s My Line?_ has been running that, too. For those who don’t remember, three celebrity couples would be contestants; one member of each couple would be secreted off-stage, and host Bert Convy would ask the on-stage celebs a question about some event that happened with their spouse. The spouse then had to tell the same story from a vague hint. I can’t help but wonder why someone saved the tapes of those shows, where they’ve been sitting all this time, and what else is there. They’ve been leaving in the original commercials in _What’s My Line?_, by the way, which are utterly fascinating. > [@bizzwire](#): > > /okay, so maybe not so cool story. I liked it. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Duke said in her autobiography that she considered a professional nadir when she played a spider-woman hybrid with some sort of breathing apparatus connected to her. I don’t know the name of the movie; does anybody? Beaten to the punch, but yes, _Curse of the Black Widow_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/34 "2016-03-30T14:42:19Z")
> [@McGuffy](#): > > Is this the one? > “Curse of the Black Widow”. > [Curse of the Black Widow (TV Movie 1977) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075900/) Must be. I’d love to see it just to see how bad it is. As a huge fan of _Rosemary’s Baby_ I watched her TV sequel, _Whatever Happened to Rosemary’s Baby?_, when it was on late night once. You could tell immediately without looking it up that Ira Levin had nothing to do with this one; it was absolute dreck. Patty as Rosemary was demonically dispatched pretty quickly and her baby grew to adulthood faster than a soap opera kid. The only major connection to the original was Ruth Gordon as Minnie Kastevet (Ray Milland took over the role of her husband, Sidney Blackmer having wisely died in order to avoid appearing in this one) and not even her scenery chewing was watchable. _Curse of the Black Widow_ couldn’t have been much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/35 "2016-03-30T21:34:22Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Do we know how her identical cousin is? There is also the identical cousin Betsy from Chattanooga to worry about. > **["The Patty Duke Show" The Perfect Hostess (TV Episode 1965) ⭐ 6.6 | Comedy,...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0671931/)** > > The Perfect Hostess: Directed by Don Weis. With Patty Duke, William Schallert, Jean Byron, Paul O'Keefe. Patty and Cathy's cousin Betsy comes to stay with the Lanes on her vacation from boarding school. After a while, Patty begins to believe that... ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/36 "2016-03-30T21:52:20Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I remember a critic describing her career as “an outstanding dramatic actress stuck in a series of awful situation comedies.” She did seem to have awful taste in scripts, or an agent who secretly hated her. I watched a lot of her horrible Lifetime movies, because if the script was even mediocre, she could turn out a really good performance. Of course, because it was Lifetime, sometimes the films were _Serial Apist II_, and even Helen Mirren couldn’t have done anything with them. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/37 "2016-03-30T22:06:42Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Do we know how her identical cousin is? **Fun Fact:** It was established in the unaired pilot (set in San Francisco) that Patty and Cathy were identical cousins because their fathers were twin brothers.\* \*I wondered about this for fifty years before I finally learned why! ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/38 "2016-03-30T22:40:51Z")
The thread title “dead at 69” did make me think that a hot dog made her lose control. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/39 "2016-03-30T22:55:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **Fun Fact:** It was established in the unaired pilot (set in San Francisco) that Patty and Cathy were identical cousins because their fathers were twin brothers.\* > > \*I wondered about this for fifty years before I finally learned why! How is that not known? They used to show both fathers on the phone with each other all the time, both played by William Shallert. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539/40 "2016-03-30T22:59:43Z")
I saw her on some gameshow alongside her son Mackenzie Astin, and it kinda blew my mind that she was the mother of Andy from Facts of Life. If I’d known then that she was also the mother of Mikey from the Goonies, AND that Gomez Addams was their father (or “father” as the case may be) I might never have recovered. Shame Nick at Night turned to garbage and doesn’t show old B&W stuff like her show any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patty-duke-dead-at-69/750539.md?page=3)