Duke started her Hollywood journey as a youngster with an appearance on the soap opera The Brighter Day, followed by an appearance on the game show The $64,000 Question, which created controversy due to suspicions that her $32,000 victory was manipulated.
Yet, her meteoric climb continued.
Duke’s first notable role, starring the legendary Anne Bancroft, was Helen Keller in the Broadway play The Miracle Worker, which was adapted into a film in 1962. Duke’s performance as the young Keller in the film earned her an Oscar Award for Best Actress when she was just 16 years old.
She then appeared with great performers Laurence Olivier and George C. Scott in a television rendition of “The Power and the Glory.”
Having piqued the interest of Sidney Sheldon, creator of I Dream of Jeannie, Duke became the star of a program named for her, with the major characters designed expressly for her personality.
The Patty Duke Show starred paternal twin cousins, exuberant adolescent Patty Lane and the brainy, refined Kathy Lane. With the arrival of another character, Betsy, also portrayed by Duke, the twins became triplets in season two.
It was a wonderful little show for its genre. And they were lovely folks who didn’t constantly say horrible, ugly things to one another. And she sort of miss the family show vibe, Duke stated in 1988.
At the time, Duke had not been diagnosed with bipolar illness, but Sheldon devised the dual personalities after recognizing her multiple personalities. She refers to her existence before being accurately identified as the deep, dark abyss from which one cannot remove oneself.
Duke, who was diagnosed with bipolar illness, became a mental health advocate and overcame personal guilt by freely sharing her experience. She had to deal with Hollywood’s wolves at an early age, however, she chose to speak out and assist others.
Patty Duke was a strong woman who conquered adversity with tenacity and strength, and her legacy lives on today.
Her son, actor Sean Astin, joined her in raising mental health awareness and eventually established the Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative in her honor.
Astin is well-known for his work in films such as The Goonies, Rudy, and Stranger Things.
In the epic The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, he also portrayed Samwise Gamgee, a fictitious hobbit. His real-life daughter Ali Astin portrayed his on-screen daughter Eleanor Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Decades later, Ali, who just graduated from Harvard, has also made a name for himself as an actor, raising quite a stir among admirers.
However, Patty Duke, who died in 2016, has been immortalized by her fame; admirers continue to see photos of her elegant, timeless beauty.
Ali resembles her grandma, or “nana,” as she affectionately refers to her.
On what would have been Duke’s 71st birthday in December 2017, Ali uploaded a side-by-side picture of herself and her grandma, along with a birthday message that read- This is the final text her grandmother ever sent me, she had just received her first major review: ‘Ali dear, Pops and I are so proud of you. Congrats on your rave review. Wish we could have seen you. We’re not surprised that you did so well. We think of you all the time. We love and miss you a ton.’
Fans responded with nice remarks.
Ali, an aspiring actor, has appeared in films such as Bad Kids of Crestview Academy (2016) and Apocalypse Society (2017). She and her family are comfortable in front of the camera. Christine Astin, an Oscar contender for the short film Kangaroo Court, directed by Sean Astin, is her mom, in addition to her grandmother and father. Her grandpa, John Astin, portrayed Gomez in the 1964 television series The Addams Family, and her uncles, Mackenzie Astin and Ray Duke, both had roles in television and movies.
Ali recently shared images on Instagram, once again appealing to followers of her Grandma.
I adored Patty Duke as a child in the 1960s! She was an inspiration to myself and others because of her skill and outspokenness!
