Cousins, identical cousins on 'The Patty Duke Show'

How many of you out there still remember the words to the theme song of “The Patty Duke Show?” Cousins, identical cousins all the way, one pair of matching bookends, different as night and day.

Go ahead, sing it. You know you want to.

The Patty Duke Show, according to http://www.imdb.com, ran for four seasons, from 1963 to 1966. It revolved around the adventures of Patty Lane and her, yes, you guessed it, identical cousin, Cathy Lane. Patty Lane was the outgoing, crazy-dancing teenager (Patty loved her rock and roll, a hot dog made her lose control), while Cathy was her more reserved, Scottish counterpart (she adored a minuet, the Ballet Rousse and Crepe Suzette).

Other cast regulars included William Schallert, who played Patty’s dad, Martin (also known as Pop-O); Jean Byron portrayed Patty’s mother, Natalie (AKA Mom-O); Paul O’Keefe played Patty’s younger brother, Ross; and Eddie Applegate as Patty’s boyfriend, Richard.

Years later, on an episode of “Oprah Winfrey,” Duke would say she hated “The Patty Duke Show.” In her autobiography, “Call Me Anna,” Duke revealed she had to have two dressing rooms—one for Patty and one for Cathy, and she was constantly going from one dressing room to the other.

Sure, there’s a lot of people out there that know what it’s like to have an identical twin sister or brother. But, odds are ten kazillion to one that no one out there has an identical cousin. (Those would be some pretty powerful genetics!)

But just think … did you ever try to sneak home with your Aunt and Uncle after a family event, only to be discovered a block away in the car because you couldn’t contain your laughter hiding on the floor? Well, if you had an identical cousin, you wouldn’t have to hide. You’d just have to act just like your cousin.

In real life, Duke’s birth name, Anna Marie, was changed to Patty by her mangers, John and Ethel Ross, with whom she eventually would up living with for almost 10 years.

Get a copy of the book and you’ll find out all the details about it.

You can visit “The Official Patty Duke Webpage” at:

http://www.officialpattyduke.com

You can check out the opening to “The Patty Duke Show” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQTqKcojrVY