Zack Walkter

The Patty Duke Show was an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke. There were 105 episodes produced, of which 104 of them aired over three seasons. Most episodes were written by either Sidney Sheldon or William Asher, the show's creators. To say that Patty Duke has led a full and fascinating life is an understatement. She was a game show winner, singing sensation, television star and Academy Award winner — all by the age of 18. She kickstarted her adult career with 'The Valley of the Dolls' and continued to act on television up until her death in 2016. She watched her son, Sean Astin, act in blockbuster films. She was a pioneering spokesperson for bipolar disorder awareness. And she detailed her life openly in a memoir, Call Me Anna. In short, Patty Duke was amazing. 'The Patty Duke Show' perfectly captured the teenage experience of the era from two different sides with Duke portraying "identical cousins" Patty and Cathy Lane. The series bubbled over with rock & roll energy, thanks to the American Patty Lane, and sensible values, thanks to Scottish Cathy. Take a look below for a walk down memory lane and learn even more about the iconic series. Here are 21 things most fans might not know about 'The Patty Duke Show'. Let us know if we missed any! 1. Duke Was Involved In Quiz Show Scandals Flickr Before Patty Duke even became a household name or got her own show, she was embroiled in a scandal…one that no one knew about until much later. The huge quiz show scandals of the 1950s shook the entertainment world and Duke was right in the middle of it. As a 12-year-old actress, she won thousands and thousands of dollars on The $64,000 Question game show. But as it turned out, she was coached by producers, as many other winners were, which she finally admitted to years later when she was forced to testify before Congress. 2. The Patty Duke Show Propelled Her To Stardom Flickr / CHRIS DRUMM If you couldn’t tell by the name of the show, Patty Duke was the biggest star on the show by far. While the others were good actors, there is no doubt she was the star and that this show was made to turn her into a bigger celebrity than she already was. Little did she know at this early point that great successes come big problems, and sadly, she ended up with plenty of them later in life. 3. She Won An Academy Award At 16 calgaryherald.com How did she get to be the lucky one with a big show in her name? The year before getting the show, Duke was on top of the world after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 'The Miracle Worker'. The film tells the story of Helen Keller and her blind teacher, Anne Sullivan. Winning an Academy Award was quite a personal feat, as she’d had a very rough childhood. From the age of eight, she was raised by her managers, a married couple who abused her. John and Ethel Ross plied the young girl with drugs and alcohol, and they and even forced her to change her name to “Patty” (she was born “Anna”) to emulate another successful child star of the day, Patty McCormack. Knowing how much Duke had to overcome to achieve her success makes it even more shocking how the show ended! As of 2017, Patty Duke is still the youngest individual, at 16 years old, to ever have a self-titled U.S. television series. 4. She Was The Youngest Academy Award In History pinterest.com While winning the Oscar was amazing, that probably wasn’t enough to get her own show. What likely helped her land the role even more than winning the Academy award was that she was only 16-years-old at the time. That’s a young age for winning an Oscar, especially in the role of Best Supporting Actress. The win turned her into a star and was more than enough to headline her own show. Little did anyone know at the time, but Patty had a secret mental illness that heavily influenced the show’s storyline. 5. Identical Cousins YouTube When a show is created and produced, it usually has a number of different people for most of the behind-the-scenes roles. A show has producers, writers, directors, and of course those who were responsible for creating it. But on this show, the two men who created the show, William Asher, and Sidney Sheldon, were also the ones who wrote most of the episodes. Sheldon had noticed that Patty often had erratic mood swings, to the point that she almost had dual personalities, and as a result, the concept of two “identical cousins” (both played by Patty) was born. It wasn’t until later in life that Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disease. 6. Two Distinct Personalities Pinterest The dual personalities that Patty played on her show were Catherine “Cathy” Lane, who was a proper Scottish girl, and Patricia “Patty” Lane, who was a typical and boisterous American teenager. Cathy generally behaved herself, while Patty tended to get herself into trouble. Audiences loved this. 7. The Show Challenged the Special Effects Capabilities of Its Time. style.com Duke played two different characters that often appeared on screen at the same time as one another, so some special effects were needed. They utilized the split screen effect so both could appear on screen together, despite being acted by Patty at two different times. 8. Patty Duke Got Mentions in a Few Beastie Boys Songs The Beastie Boys - MitroFM If you are a fan of the Beastie Boys’ music, you know they are fans of the TV show. This is because of the fact that dozens of TV references find their way into certain songs. And, of course, 'The Patty Duke Show' even found its way into two of their songs: “Shake Your Rump” and “Get it Together.” 9. The Show Had a Large Number of World Famous Guest Stars Patty Duke and Frank Sinatra Jr. ride on a bike built for two (Getty Images) While the original cast did a great job with the show, the show’s success and notoriety were helped out by the large number of famous special guest stars it featured. Some of the big names that appeared on the show were Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Dean, James Brolin, Frankie Avalon and Frank Sinatra Jr., among others. 10. While Most Shows Moved to LA, This Show Stayed in NY sitcomsonline.com The trend, around the time when this show was created, was to shoot in LA despite most shows being in NY for years. But as most shows made the move west, this series along with a few others stayed east and remained in its home city during its entire run. 11. William Schallert Became The SAG President Pinterest William Schallert, who played Martin Lane was one of the other biggest stars in the cast other than Duke. In addition to this TV role, he had roles in a lot of films and was extremely active in the movie industry. Schallert eventually became the Screen Actors Guild president from 1979 to 1981 while still remaining very active in SAG projects, after his tenure drew to a close. 12. The Theme Song Was Made By The Same People Who Created The Flintstones Theme wallpapercave While you probably don’t know The Skip-Jacks, a musical group from the 1950s and 1960s, you most definitely know a few of their songs. Not only did they create the theme song for 'The Patty Duke Show,' they were also behind the catchy tune from 'The Flintstones'. 13. Rita Walker Went On To Be A Soap Star Pinterest In some scenes, Duke needed a body double, and that was a role taken on by Rita Walker. But later in life, Walker went on to have an acting career of her own. Walker would eventually appear in an important role on 'As the World Turns,' which she was on from 1970 to 1981. 14. Eddie Applegate Took Up Painting After His Show Business Career Ended Getty Images Another actor on the show was Eddie Applegate, who played Patty Lane’s boyfriend. Throughout his career, he appeared in a number of shows as a single episode character and after retiring from show business, he took an interest in painting and became the Vice President of the San Fernando Valley Art Club. 15. Duke Went Public With Her Mental Illness kpbs.org During the mid 20th century, mental health was something that almost never got talked about. There was a huge stigma attached to people who had these illnesses. But in her 1987 autobiography, Duke revealed that she had been diagnosed in 1982 with bipolar disorder. This made her one of the first stars to speak about their experience with mental health issues. 16. She Was An Advocate For Mental Health Awareness Later In Life Bipolar Lives Not only did she speak out about her experiences with mental illness but she became an activist and advocate for numerous mental health causes. She even lobbied for Congress to increase funding for research and treatment of mental illnesses, which were still a fairly touchy subject at this time. 17. Duke Eventually Became a Singer bloomberg Apparently being a TV actor and movie star wasn’t enough for Duke, so she tried her hand at singing. As it turned out for Duke, it was a pretty good idea. She put out a few albums, had a few singles, had two top 40 hits and one that rose to the top 10. 18. Duke Married Four Times extratv.com Despite most fans know her as a teenage actress and star, Duke eventually grew up. She lived a hectic adult life on the romance front, sadly, not having the best of luck with love. She married a total of four times including a marriage that lasted less than a year. Her first marriage took place when she was only 19. 19. The Show Was Canceled When It Had Good Ratings Daily Express Many people have wondered why a show with a megastar like Duke and really good Nielsen ratings would get canceled after only a few years. It didn’t make any sense as Duke was only 18 and the show was likely going to get increasingly better over time. As it turned out, it was actually canceled because Duke wasn’t willing to relocate to Los Angeles. 20. They Approached Bette Davis For The Show DoctorMacro Bette Davis, then playing a double role in the film Dead Ringer (1964), was approached to play a guest spot but demanded too much money and too many perks, so they decided to drop the idea. 21. Duke Herself Was The Main Reason Show Was Canceled Getty Images The reason ABC originally wanted to keep the show in NY was that of their lax child labor laws, allowing her to work longer hours. But once she turned 18 in the middle of the 1964-65 season, the show’s producers finally wanted to make the move to LA. Duke declined as she didn’t want to travel across the country for work. It was also rumored that the production studio did not want to comply with ABC’s request that the show begin filming in color, which became the final nail in the coffin of the show. Credits: trend-chaser.com