The Patty Duke Show

Patty Duke was a very popular actress at the time, one of a handful of teen/child stars who was taken seriously. To take advantage of that the Patty Duke Show was conceived. It ran for 3 years on ABC network.

The program featured Duke in dual roles as herself (Patty) and her Scotch cousin (Cathy). The two are very different: Patty supposed to be the 'average' American era teen and Cathy the more mature and traveled counter. The show was set in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

The format, with Duke playing dual roles, was a real first for TV at the time. TV, films and music were riding a wave of teenage girls in the early 60's. Duke was an actress, although she, like many other girl teen stars gave singing a go and appeared on several music shows in the mid-60's.

The program itself was one of the last actually filmed and produced in New York. Others, such as 'The Naked City' and 'Car 54 Where Are You?' had gone off the air by the time Duke's program started. The Duke program, taking advantage of New York states lax child labor rules, was made there due to Dukes age (16) when production began. The program actually moved to Hollywood for a few of the final episodes. Although filmed in New York, and unlike most New York produced programs, the program was filmed in studio with no outside or remote scenes.

TPDS evolved over its broadcast run. At times a source of conflict, Patty and Cathy come to terms and eventually co-conspirators in many antics. Patty's boyfriend manages to stick around during her many flights of fancy, chasing other boys and generally using him and taking advantage. He provides a base and sense of continuity. Patty's family are all wary of her (from experience) but are supportive. Many guest stars appeared as well, most from the music field and popular with teens at the time.

William Asher was involved with the show, leading a team of successful producers and directors. Asher eventually left to focus on 'Bewitched'.

Although still doing well in the ratings, TPDS show was canceled after its 3rd season (105 episodes).

One of my personal questions about the program was why the use of look alike cousins? The whole premise was far-fetched and probably not needed to make it successful. Cathy's part in the plots were often superficial and didn't contribute much. Asher had noted it was used as a 'hook' or 'gimmick' to stand out, however, you can easily argue Duke was talented enough to carry the program as just the Patty character. Cathy's on screen time and lines were reduced over the programs run, and she was actually not in at least 5 episodes in season three. Something to ponder.

Teenage actress Patty Duke,fresh from her riveting motion picture triumph in the 1962 film "The Miracle Worker",co-starring Anne Bancroft for which Duke won an Academy Award for her brilliant performance was ready to make the jump from feature films to starring in her own weekly television series. Patty Duke plays a dual role in this light-hearted family comedy titled "The Patty Duke Show",which was on ABC-TV from September 18,1963 until the final episode of the series on April 27,1966 with repeated episodes airing until August 31,1966. In all,a total of 105 episodes were produced all in classic black and white and produced through Miss Duke's own production company(the youngest person ever to be an executive producer in charge of production)Chersaw Productions in association with United Artists Television. The show ran for three seasons on the air in prime-time and it survived the network's transformation years as some of the programs that were in black and white were about to make the jump to color in the show's final season. However,this series was still in black and white in its final season and never got the chance to make the change to color,and it was there that ABC pulled the plug on the series in the spring of 1966 after four seasons. Under the creation of Sidney Sheldon and William Asher(who also served as executive producers of this series),this was a show that was patterned after the classic 1961 Disney film "The Parent Trap" starring Hayley Mills(who also played dual roles in the film)and here on "The Patty Duke Show",Miss Duke plays dual characters. As Patty Lane she was a perky,bubble-gum chewing loudmouth teenager who digs Paul Anka tunes,worships The Beatles,dances to the latest teen-oriented musical tunes,and has "slumber parties",with her girlfriends.

As Cathy Lane,she was Patty's intellectual Scottish cousin,newly arrived from overseas to live with the Lanes,complete with bagpipes and burr. The girls confused everybody in their middle-class Brooklyn Heights,New York neighborhood by mischievously switching personalities at critical moments. Since they were exact look-alikes,no one could tell them apart. The rest of the family consisted of the father figure Martin Lane(William Schallert),who was Patty's harried father, a newspaper editor for the New York Times;Natalie Lane(Jean Byron),the mother was the stay-at-home housewife who basically kept the kids at bay while daddy was away at work or whatever he was implied to doing. The 12-year old Ross Lane(Paul O'Keefe)was the younger brother,who was constantly at war with the girls and basically got blamed for everything that he didn't do but in just about every episode the girls get away with their mischief while poor Ross gets severely punished for something he didn't do,but was forgiven for it. Richard Harrison(Eddie Applegate)was Patty's boyfriend who was a part-time Western Union messenger(she liked men in uniform). If that is not all,Patty also had a rival who was always after the affections of Richard too,the underhanded Sue Ellen(Kitty Sullivan). The show itself was hilarious to boot with Patty coming up with one hair-brained scheme after another and of course always got in some kind of trouble with Cathy or Dad for help her out of a tight situation.

The show was so good that several guest stars made appearances. One episode I do recall had two of the hottest British musical acts of their day which was the hit recording duo of Chad and Jeremy. The others featured Bobby Vinton,teen heartthrobs Fabian and Frankie Avalon and not to mention appearances by Sammy Davis,Jr. really help the show's popularity among the teenage audience too. In filming some of the episodes for the show however was difficult since having one actress play two parts did present many problems during production especially when both girls were in the same scene. The young woman who served as Patty/Cathy's double,and was seen from the back as one girl while Patty Duke faced the camera as the other was Rita McLaughlin,who was the exact look-a-like complex of Miss Duke herself. In perspective, "The Patty Duke Show",brought out some of the things that teens in the 1960's faced especially when dealing with football games,parties,and other things of interest and this show handled that very well. However,a reunion of the original cast came back in 1999 for ABC however in a two hour television movie based on the hit series from the 1960's with Patty Duke again in the dual roles that made her a household name.

I remember seeing this show for the first time about 4 years after it stopped premiering. I fell in love with Cathy Lane. I really didn't want to believe that she and Patty were in and of the same person. There was even a board game at my house on Patty and Cathy. The photographic scenes of the two cousins together were phenomenal for that era. In the last scene of the first season Patty and Cathy initially glare at each other and are actually seen pacing around each other in disbelief. The rear stand-ins were average. At times you could see the faces of the doubles.

The younger sibling, Ross, started out as a pranking brat of a brother. Eventually he segued into a closer relationship with Patty; although he never really had any bouts with his cousin Cathy. Patty's boyfriend Richard reminded me of a teen-aged Donald Hollanger (the boyfriend of Ann Marie--THAT GIRL). In spite of Patty's constant antics, he was often tolerant, understanding, and forgiving. Martin and Natalie Lane, Patty's ever forbearing parents, were ideal for a teenager like their daughter. Martin often gave Patty wise counsel while Natalie tended to be more understanding from a female point of view. Patty and Martin's most touching scene was in the 3rd season when Patty allegedly broke her curfew. Any explanation Patty could give fell on the deaf ears of her father, which caused a rift between the two. Her father finally realized Patty was telling the truth and the result was an emotional dialogue between father and daughter that made Patty Duke's acting stand head and shoulders above any actor her age at that time. Parenthetically her performance in that particular episode was probably a reflection of the difficult times she actually had growing up.

I thought the funniest episodes were when Cathy and Patty were in competition--whether it be for the affections of a boy or as class president. In the final season of TPDS we saw less of the character of Cathy...five episodes without her, to be exact. This was something I did not appreciate. But maybe Miss Duke was getting tired of the dual roles, which could have made it a challenge for her to find herself and discover her place in society.

Having grown up in the 60's I like thousands of other boys fell in love with Patty Duke! Wednesdays at 8:30 on ABC were reserved for our date with Patty and Cathy! The show was so well done and Patty was wonderful as the 2 completely different cousins! It is a shame that television does not offer such wholesome entertainment today! I am a teacher and have shown my class clips from this show and believe it or not even inner city kids found this 60's relic entertaining! I hope TV Land brings it back!

This is a very good classic sit-com and gives a real sense of the mid 1960s America. The writing, direction and cast are superior to more famous shows from the same time. These episodes hold up surprisingly well. The writing is fairly intelligent and easy to take. Until now, only a few episodes have been available to see. THIS TV seems to be running the entire series right now. The films look excellent. This series is a real testament to Patty Duke's incredible acting. Her Cathy and Patty characters are so believably different. This is probably the finest performance of one actor portraying 2 different people in the same movie. This show was not highly regarded when it was first produced. Seeing it now, one must acknowledge that it was among the best of its time. William Schallert also deserves recognition for his wonderful, pivotal performances.