[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 54 (Monday, April 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





    PATTY DUKE ``QUEEN OF TV MOVIES AND TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR THOSE 
                   STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 11, 2016

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Patty Duke, an 
American icon and advocate for those suffering in silence from various 
forms of mental illness, who passed away on March 29, 2016 at the age 
of 69.
  Patty Duke was born Anna Marie Duke on December 14, 1946 in Elmhurst, 
New York.
  Anna Duke and her siblings grew up in a difficult household, raised 
by an alcoholic father and a mother who suffered from what was then 
called ``manic depression,'' later known to be bipolar disorder.
  Anna Duke was introduced to acting by her brother's managers, John 
and Ethel Ross, who changed her name to Patty and eventually became her 
guardians.
  Later in Patty Duke's life, she revealed that she was a survivor of 
sexual assault.
  In 1959, Patty Duke's first big role came when she was cast as Helen 
Keller in the Broadway version of The Miracle Worker, with Anne 
Bancroft portraying her teacher, Anne Sullivan.
  Then in 1962, that play was turned into a feature film, in which she 
also starred.
  For her performance in the film, the 16-year-old won a ``Promising 
Newcomer'' Golden Globe as well as an Academy Award for Best Supporting 
Actress--making her the youngest person to win an Oscar at that time.
  Sadly, following her Oscar win, Patty Duke began to privately 
unravel.
  The abuse she endured along with her family's history of bipolar 
disorder began to plague her.
  All the while, she continued to dazzle the outside world with a 
successful career.
  Patty Duke then starred in her own sitcom called The Patty Duke Show, 
which she artfully played two cousin characters simultaneously.
  In 1965, she also became a pop music contender with her top 10 hit 
``Don't Just Stand There'' and headlined the acclaimed film Billie, 
which was the first movie ever sold to a television network.
  Thus, began Patty Duke's reign as the ``Queen of TV Movies.''
  Patty Duke continued her big-screen career by starring in the cult 
classic Valley of The Dolls in 1967 and indie films such as Me, Natalie 
in 1969.
  Patty Duke married assistant director Harry Falk, remaining in the 
marriage from 1965 to 1969.
  After her marriage ended, Patty Duke bore a son named Sean Patrick 
Duke.
  In 1972, she married actor John Astin, who played Gomez in the 
television version of The Addams Family.
  John Astin adopted her son Sean, and fathered her second son, 
Mackenzie Astin, born in 1973.
  Then in 1976, Patty Duke won her second Emmy for the highly 
successful mini-series Captains and the Kings.
  Other popular TV movies followed, including the 1979 small screen 
version of The Miracle Worker, in which she portrayed Anne Sullivan, a 
role that won her third Emmy.
  In the mid-1980s, she became president of the Screen Actors Guild.
  Her 1987 autobiography, Call Me Anna, was made into a TV movie in 
1990 in which she portrayed herself and served as co-producer.
  Following in 1992 second book, A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic 
Depression Illness, was published.
  With the help of family and friends Patty Duke was able to quiet her 
personal demons, and become a vocal advocate for those suffering from 
mental illnesses, along with dispelling social stigmas attached to 
them.
  Patty Duke died on March 29, 2016 in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, at the age 
of 69 from a sepsis infection from a ruptured intestine.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to take a moment of silence in 
remembrance of this strong woman who was able to stand against the 
suffocating struggles of depression and became a source of inspiration 
for hundreds of thousands of Americans struggling with mental 
illnesses.

                          ____________________