Patty Duke
Patty Duke was a famous American actress, who’d appeared on stage, in films and on TV. She played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), a role for which she won the Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actress.” She then went on to star in The Patty Duke Show (1963-66). For her many roles through the years, Duke received three Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.
In 1982, Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she used her experience to become an advocate for mental health issues. She also wrote about her experience in Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke and A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness. Her accounts detail the ups and downs, including three failed marriages, suicide attempts, rages, delusions, and so much more. She once said, “Reality is hard. It is no walk in the park, this thing called life.”
