Duke won an
Emmy in 1980 for playing Helen Keller's teacher in a TV movie version. Duke
also starred in The Patty Duke Show in the 1960s in which she took the roles of
"identical" teenage cousins.
She was the
mother of actor Sean Astin, who played the hobbit Sam in the Lord of the Rings
trilogy of films.
Her
representative, Mitchell Stubbs, said she died early on Tuesday of sepsis from
a ruptured intestine.
She
underwent a heart bypass in 2004.
Mr Stubbs
said: "She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health
advocate and a cultural icon. She will be missed."
A 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."
She died in
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, according to Astin's publicist.
The actor
thanked all those who expressed their condolences over his mother's death.
"We're
so grateful to her for living a life that generates that amount of compassion
and feeling in others,'' he told the Associated Press.
He said she
had "really suffered" with her illness, adding the last few days had
been "a really, really, really hard process. It was hard for her, it was
hard for the people who love her to help her".
'Wonderful and talented'
Duke was a
child star, making her first TV appearance at the age of 12.
In The
Miracle Worker, 16-year-old Duke played blind and deaf girl Helen Keller whose
tutor - played by Anne Bancroft - breaks through her isolation and helps her to
communicate.
Among those
who have paid tribute was Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert, who
appeared as Keller in the TV remake of the film opposite Duke, who played
teacher Annie Sullivan.
"I know
she's in a better place. I will miss her every day but I will find comfort in
the words of Helen Keller: 'The best and most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart',"
Gilbert said.
US TV host
Larry King said: "I admired Patty Duke for her bravery and work on mental
health issues. And, what an actress!''
Actor Chris
Colfer, who starred opposite Duke on a 2013 episode of Glee also paid tribute:
"So sad to hear of Patty Duke's passing. She was a wonderful and talented
person. I loved getting to work with her.''
Among Duke's
other awards included Emmys for My Sweet Charlie in 1970 and Captains and the
Kings in 1976.
She also
appeared in the Broadway musical Oklahoma!.
In her
autobiography, Duke revealed that in the 1980s she had been diagnosed with
bipolar disorder.
In later
life she became a strong advocate for increasing awareness, funding and
research for people with mental illness.
May her soul Rest in Peace.
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