The actress Patty Duke, was an Oscar and multiple Emmy winner
American actress Patty Duke dies at the age of 69. She had won an Academy Award for playing the character of Helen Keller in the 1963 movie, The Miracle Worker. Duke had also earned Emmy award for playing the role of Helen Keller’s teacher in a TV movie in 1980.
She was also a part of The Patty Duke show during the 60s in which she played the role of identical cousins. Patty Duke was also the mother of Sean Astin who played a very important role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Mitchell Stubbs, Patty Duke’s representative announced that the actress had died during the early hours of Tuesday. The cause of death was sepsis due to an intestinal rupture. Duke had also been through a bypass more than a decade ago. Patty Duke died in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
Mr. Stubbs has declared that Patty Duke was a great person, a wife, a friend, a mother, a grandmother, a mental health advocate, and above all, an American cultural icon. She further said that she will be missed by everyone.
The statement from her family read:
“This morning, our beloved wife, mother, matriarch and the exquisite artist and champion of mental health, Anna Patty Duke, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended to a beautiful place.”
Actor Sean Astin thanked everyone who had expressed grief at his mother’s loss. He stated to the Associated Press that his entire family was very grateful to the deceased actress for living a life that generated so much compassion and feeling in other people.
Astin further revealed that she was suffering greatly from the illness and the last few days were very hard on her. It was also very hard on all the people who loved her and wanted to help her. Patty Duke had started her career with an appearance on television as a child star at the tender age of 12 years only.
She was 16 when she played the deaf and blind Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. Anne Bancroft played the role of Keller’s tutor who brings the child out of her isolation and helps her in communicating.
Patty Duke had also won several other awards including Emmys for Captains and Kings and My Sweet Charlie during the 70s. She had also made Broadway appearances. During her later years, Patty Duke had become an advocate of people with mental illnesses.
