There was no reason for a 12 year old to pay attention to Patty Duke and her diagnosis of bipolar in the early 80s. Except I kept hearing her say over and over in interviews that it felt good that it had a name and now she could fix it. So I learned about her and what wasn’t to love. Nick at Night didn’t quite exist, but occasionally you could find a rerun of The Patty Duke Show. Miracle Worker with the amazing Anne Bancroft (who I love for so many reasons)? Amazing performances! Another Miracle Worker with my beloved Half-pint? Hell yeah! Married to Gomez Addams? But of course. Mother of Mikey in The Goonies? Love her in so many ways.
But mostly for her voice. For advocating for mental health issues. For taking the conversation out of hiding. For showing me a path when I finally got to recovery and treatment. She showed that the ugliness of mental illness didn’t have to be the only perspective. She showed me I could work, be creative, be married, have a family. Doctors actually told me I shouldn’t have children. Patty had already shown me I could.
I only had half the number of her marriages, and I won’t complain about that. I found my Gomez. 😉
Please check out Sean Astin’s efforts to continue his mother’s work.
https://www.crowdrise.com/patty-duke-mental-health-project/fundraiser/seanastin1
ohbloodyhell8 