Patty Duke Dead at 69

Patty Duke

Patty Duke, the teen who won an Oscar for The Miracle Worker and later played "identical cousins" in her own TV sitcom, died on Tuesday, March 29. She was 69.

Duke's family released a statement through her publicist.

"This morning, our beloved wife, mother and matriarch and the exquisite artist, humanitarian and champion for mental health, Anna Patty Duke Pearce, closed her eyes, quieted her pain and ascended into a beautiful place. We celebrate the infinite love and compassion she shared through her work and throughout her life."

Born Anna Marie Pearce, some of Duke's earliest acting roles were in daytime soap operas. In the late 1950s, she played Ellen Williams Dennis in CBS' The Brighter Day, and appeared as Molly Scharf in NBC's Kitty Foyle.

FLASHBACK: A Complete, Concise Yearly History of TV Soap Operas - 1947 to 1977 (Part 3)

Rosemary Prinz, Helen Wagner and Don MacLaughlin starred in
As the World Turns as Penny, Nancy and Chris Hughes.

A Complete, Concise Yearly History of TV Soap Operas

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 10 September 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 2)

1955
The networks began to take it easy after such a succession of sad cases. The only two serials to begin this year were anthologies sponsored by Borden on NBC, and one succeeded the other. The first, The Way of the World, portrayed disconnected plots taken from womens' magazine stories. The narrator was Gloria Lewis, and its duration was from January 2 to October 7.

Its replacement was A Date With Life (October 10, 1955 to June 29, 1956) which starred Logan Field as Jim Bradley, editor of Bay City News, who narrated the various sagas set in Bay City (later the setting of Another World). Field was later replaced by Mark Roberts as brother Tom Bradley. It was produced by Therese Lewis, who later produced The Brighter Day.

1956
In the daytime serial world, this was the year of the innovations. On April 2, CBS and Procter & Gamble premiered the first two television soaps to air a full thirty minutes daily, rather than the usual fifteen.

Former 'General Hospital' Actor Bob Hastings Has Died at age 89, Brother of 'As the World Turns' Star Don Hastings

Bob Hastings in 1982. Photo Credit: ABC

Bob Hastings died on Monday, according to Serial Scoop. He was 89.

Soap opera fans remember Hastings best for his role as Capt. Burt Ramsey on ABC's General Hospital from 1979-1986. He also appeared in The Edge of Night and Kitty Foyle.

Hastings other popular television roles included Captain Binghamton's yes-man Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter on McHale's Navy and Tommy Kelsey on All in the Family.

Hastings has also done much voice work, including roles in The Munsters, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure cartoons in the 1960s and, in recent years, the voice of Commissioner Gordon on the animated Batman: The Animated Series cartoons.

Hastings was the older brother of As the World Turns star Don Hastings (Bob Hughes).

Judy Lewis Dead At 76; Starred in THE SECRET STORM & GENERAL HOSPITAL; Produced TEXAS; Wrote SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, Daughter of Loretta Young & Clark Gable

Judy Lewis, the daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable, died of cancer Friday, Nov. 25, at Waverly Heights, a retirement community in Gladwyne, according to Philly.com.

Her longest running soap opera role was Susan Ames on THE SECRET STORM from 1964-1971. She also played Barbara Vining on GENERAL HOSPITAL in the 1970s. Her first soap role was Molly Scharf on KITTY FOYLE.

Behind the camera, Lewis was a producer on TEXAS, and she won a Writer's Guild Award in 1985 for her work on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.