Valley of the Dolls star Patty Duke became a hot property in the tabloids before her manic depressive diagnosis. At the age of 23 she created a scandal when she dated 17 year old jailbait, Desi Arnaz Jr. Desi’s mother, Lucille Ball, loudly objected, but Patty was frequently seen smuggling Desi Jr into her high rise West Hollywood apartment. On one of her manic days she handed the keys to her Rolls Royce as a tip to her Beverly Hills manicurist. The nail salon went up for grabs but the manicurist insisted on returning the keys. After her diagnosis Patty calmed down and went on to do her best work – both acting and otherwise.
7 Comments
I don’t know most of her work because she was before my time but I do know about her work for the mentally ill and I appreciate her contribution to that cause.
………………and more…………..
A wonderful and brave woman
RIP
great actress
back in those days my mother got photoplay and silver screen gossip magazines. There were filled with wild stories about Patty and Desi Jr. having sex in a swimming pool! That was some wild reading.
She was great in the Helen Keller bio.