Oscar-winning actress and theater star Patty Duke died on Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at the age of 69.
Duke, who rose to prominence on Broadway as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, which ran from 1959, when she was just 12 years old, until 1961. She played opposite Anne Bancroft (as Annie Sullivan), and was the first teen-aged actor to have her name placed above the play’s name on the theater billboard. She subsequently went on to star in the film version of the play, for which she won her Academy Award for best supporting actress.
In addition to film, theater and television roles, Duke was also featured on some of the highest profile game shows of the 1970s, including Match Game and Password; and from 1985-88 she served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. One of Duke’s three sons, Sean Astin is also an actor, who starred as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Duke was noted for being one of the first celebrities to go public with her diagnosis of bipolar disorder; she subsequently became an advocate for mental health causes through both the National Institute on Mental Health and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
