Trivia

She was the youngest actress at the time (12) to have her name above the marquee title on Broadway ("The Miracle Worker") and the youngest ever (16) to have a television series bearing her name (The Patty Duke Show (1963)).

Sean Patrick Astin was born February 25, 1971, in Santa Monica, California, to Patty Duke. It was long reported that his father was John Astin (famous for playing Gomez on "The Addams Family" (1964) among other things), whom Duke married nearly 18 months later on August 5, 1972. DNA testing later proved that his biological father was Michael Yell, to whom Duke was briefly married (June 26-July 9, 1970) before the marriage was annulled.

Spoke at the memorial service for her friend and mentor, Anne Bancroft. (June 2005)

Although she had been on stage and in film for over five years at the time she appeared in Valley of the Dolls (1967), she said it was her co-star Sharon Tate who taught her how to use make-up to her best advantage.

She had been diagnosed as being manic-depressive, and had co-authored a book about the disorder, "A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness".

She earned a gold record for her single, "Don't Just Stand There", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and #6 on the Cash Box Chart. Her other charting singles on Billboard and Cash Box include "Say Something Funny" (#22 & #31), "Funny Little Butterflies" (#77 & #51) and "Whenever She Holds You" (#64 & #63). Her debut album, also titled "Don't Just Stand There," reached #90 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Though she professionally went by Patty Duke, to friends she was Anna (her birth name) Pearce (her married last name).

Had a backstage feud with Suzanne Pleshette when they did "The Miracle Worker" on Broadway in 1961. A few years later, Patty threw fuel on the fire when she dated Suzanne's estranged husband Troy Donahue.

Early in her career, she won the top prize on the game show The $64, 000 Question (1955).

Her second marriage to Michael Tell came about suddenly during a particular virulent manic attack, ignited by a broken romance with Desi Arnaz Jr.. The marriage lasted 13 days.

At the time she won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar, she was the youngest person ever to win an Oscar in a competitive category. (In 1973, Tatum O'Neal became the youngest person to win a competitive Academy Awards at age 10). This is partially because AMPAS discontinued their practice of awarding miniature Oscars to "child" actors following Hayley Mills' mini-statuette in 1961 for Pollyanna (1960), allowing actors of all ages to compete for "regular" Academy Awards.

When receiving her Academy Awards statuette for Miracle Worker, back in 1962, she is recorded for having the shortest talk of all Academy Awards history ceremonies. She just said: "Thank You" and got away.

Underwent a hysterectomy in 1978 as she was a high risk for contracting cervical cancer.

Gave birth to her second child at age 26, a son Mackenzie Alexander Astin (aka Mackenzie Astin) on May 12, 1973. Child's father is her third ex-husband, John Astin.

Underwent single bypass heart surgery on November 3, 2004 at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Won the Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance for her performance as Helen Keller in the stage version of "The Miracle Worker" during the 1959-1960 Broadway season.

Delivered her son Sean Astin via emergency Caesarean section after it was discovered during labor that he was in the breech position. Her second son Mackenzie Astin was delivered naturally.

President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) (1985-1988).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 17, 2004.

Adopted a son, Kevin Pearce (born 1988), with Michael Pearce.

Gave birth to her first child at age 24, a son Sean Patrick Duke (aka Sean Astin) on February 25, 1971. Child's father is her second ex-husband, Michael Tell.

Moved, with husband Michael Pearce, to Idaho in 1990.

Became a grandmother for the first time at age 49 when her son Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin welcomed a daughter, Ali Astin on November 27, 1996.

Early in her career, she appeared in television commercials, including one for the Remco Movieland Drive-In Theatre toy.

As a youngster, she would appear on amateur nights at the Elks club #878 in Elmhurst, Queens where she lived.

Parents are John Patrick and Frances Duke; her father was an alcoholic and left the family when Patty was very young.

Was considered for the role of Captain Katherine Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager (1995).

According to her book "Call Me Anna", she was pregnant and unmarried when she met Michael Tell and she married him to give the unborn child a name. Sean Astin was conceived around the time she was involved with John Astin. However, circa 1996, Sean discovered, via DNA testing, that Michael Tell is his biological father.

Was the 56th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for The Miracle Worker (1962) at The 35th Annual Academy Awards (1963) on April 8, 1963.

Grandmother of actress Ali Astin, Isabella Louise Astin and Elizabeth Louise Astin.

Received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida on December 14, 2007.

She had made guest appearances on both Hawaii Five-O (1968) and Hawaii Five-0 (2010).

She won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), making her one of 17 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2015). The other sixteen actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Reversal of Fortune (1990), DrSusan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001), Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009), Melissa Leo for playing Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter (2010), Christian Bale for playing Dickie Eklund in The Fighter (2010), Meryl Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011) and most recently Eddie Redmayne for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014).dr.haing S.Ngor won in 1985 for playing Dith Pran in The Killing Fields.

Her mother, Frances Duke, died in 1993.

Her paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. Her mother was of three quarters Irish and one quarter German ancestry.

Became a grandmother for the third time at age 58 when her son Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin welcomed a daughter, Isabella Louise Astin on July 22, 2005.

Sister of Ray Duke and Carol Duke Kennedy. Patty was the youngest of the three.

Became a grandmother for the second time at age 55 when her son Sean Astin and his wife Christine Astin welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Louise Astin on August 6, 2002.

She won her Oscar for a role in which she didn't speak.

Received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland on March 6, 2010.

Died exactly one month (March 29, 2016) before her first husband Harry Falk, who died April 29, 2016.

Was one of 23 actresses who did not receive an Oscar nomination for their Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Golden Globe-winning performance; hers being for Me, Natalie (1969). The others, in chronological order, are: June Allyson for Too Young to Kiss (1951), Ethel Merman for Call Me Madam (1953), Jean Simmons for Guys and Dolls (1955), Taina Elg and Kay Kendall for Les Girls (1957), Marilyn Monroe for Some Like It Hot (1959), Rosalind Russell for A Majority of One (1961) and Gypsy (1962), Twiggy for The Boy Friend (1971), Raquel Welch for The Three Musketeers (1973), Barbra Streisand for A Star Is Born (1976), Bernadette Peters for Pennies from Heaven (1981), Kathleen Turner for Romancing the Stone (1984) and Prizzi's Honor (1985), Miranda Richardson for Enchanted April (1991), Jamie Lee Curtis for True Lies (1994), Nicole Kidman for To Die For (1995), Madonna for Evita (1996), Renée Zellweger for Nurse Betty (2000), Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Amy Adams for Big Eyes (2014), Awkwafina for The Farewell (2019), Rosamund Pike for I Care a Lot (2020) and Rachel Zegler for West Side Story (2021).

Was friends with William Schallert.

She was also an occasional singer and author.

Was one of 22 Oscar-winning actresses to have been born in the state of New York. The others are Alice Brady, Teresa Wright, Anne Revere, Celeste Holm, Claire Trevor, Judy Holliday, Shirley Booth, Susan Hayward, Anne Bancroft, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Lee Grant, Beatrice Straight, Whoopi Goldberg, Mercedes Ruehl, Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Connelly, Melissa Leo and Anne Hathaway.