High school is stressful, but Patty Duke had twice the stress of the teenage years in her iconic turn as identical twin cousins. She was Cathy Lane and Patty Lane, two girls with different outlooks on life. Cathy was raised around the globe with poise and manners. Patty is a New York City girl caught up in the teenage life. She’s not nearly as sophisticated as her visiting cousin. Even being raised in different environments, the duo can only be told apart by their hair. Patty has bangs. Cathy combs her locks back. The matching duo are now juniors at Brooklyn Heights High School and on the verge of becoming adults. Can they make the transition without confusing each other as much as others confuse them? The Patty Duke Show: The Complete Second Season contains 36 episodes of double trouble.
“The Green-Eyed Monster” has Patty getting the attention from the new boy in town. Her boyfriend Richard (Eddie Applegate) isn’t happy about this. However Patty’s mom (Jean Byron) and Dad (William Schallert) are split in who they prefer dating their little girl. Oddly enough this jealous boyfriend angle creeps up in “Patty and the Cut-Rate Casanova.” The second time is a bit more complicated. Patty dances with a new boy and Richard doesn’t like coming back to an empty table at the soda shop. He ends up spending time with Cathy. He discovers he has more in common with the identical cousin. But is it right for Cathy to poach Patty’s man? “The Boy Next Door” has Patty and Cathy fighting over the new boy. Since he’s fresh meat, it’s the best girl wins. The Boy was played by Gary Morgan who has gone onto a career as a stuntman in Corky Romano, Under Siege and Two Moon Junction. “Patty, the Organizer” gets the kids to form a union to drive a hard bargain with the parents. Mom and Dad aren’t going to break under the pressure. Will they hire scab twins to break their resolve? “Patty, the Pioneer” has her living like a girl in the 1800s for a week. Eventually this concept became a reality show on PBS.
“Block that Statue” proves brawn can’t overwhelm brains. The football star is mad about Cathy. She hasn’t the time of day for him. Daniel J. Travanti (Hill Street Blues) is the jock that puts the safety blitz on her. Sorrell Booke (Dukes of Hazzard‘s Boss Hogg) gets into the game. “This Little Patty Went to Market” gives her the idea to sell stock in herself to people in order to raise quick cash. Audiences in 1964 might have laughed at this episode, but decades later David Bowie sold bonds based on himself. “Patty Meets a Celebrity” has Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause) touring his old high school with Cathy. Patty is jealous since she’s got a massive crush on Sal. Is she ready to be Mrs. Sal Mineo? Mineo still looks a like a teenager nearly a decade after he worked with James Dean. “Patty and the Newspaper Game” has dad fearing that the new guy is going to replace him as the managing editor. Trouble comes when Patty gets her flirt on for this guy played by Bobby Vinton. How can she resist the man who sang “Blue Velvet?” The British Invasion hits Brooklyn on “Patty Pits Wits, Two Brits Hits” when Patty gets Chad and Jeremy on Cathy’s classical radio show. Chad and Jeremy were like the discount Beatles.
The highlight of the season is “Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?” The Patty Duke Show was shot in New York City so this allowed Sammy be a part of the show while he was doing his legendary performance of Golden Boy on Broadway. Patty gets appointed to hire the entertainment for a junior class dance. They want a big name star, but she’s only got a paltry sum to offer. She stands on Broadway with sign begging for a star to take pity on her. Sammy Davis Jr. sees her through his dressing room. He admires her spunk and wants to take up her offer. His manager doesn’t think it’s a smart move. Sammy directly contacts Patty, but she thinks it’s Richard prank calling. What’s it going to take for Sammy to save her dance? Not to spoil the episode, but Sammy does sing with his band. There’s another Rat Pack treat at the end. This is the way a superstar should cameo on a sit-com. Another Broadway star visits the show when Robert Goulet plays a science teacher in “Don’t Monkey with Mendel.” Patty falls for the star of Camelot. Who can resist his charm even when he’s nerded up?
The Patty Duke Show: The Complete Second Season is packed with twice the romantic teenage angst of a normal show. Both Patty and Cathy seem eager to find that right guy although Cathy is much more picky in her potential beaus. Patty’s got Richard, but she’s open to upgrading her man. The best part of the season is watching Sammy Davis Jr. do his thing with the kids. He really knew how to pull off the goatee during this era of his life. What’s impressive is how well Patty Duke pulls off these two characters that you quit looking for the line in the middle of the screen when she’s acting against herself. She was a double threat as an upperclassman and an uberactress.
The Episodes
“The Green-Eyed Monster,” “Practice Makes Perfect,” “Simon Says,” “Patty, the Organizer,” “Patty, the Pioneer,” “The Boy Next Door,” “Patty, the People’s Voice,” “The Greatest Psychologist In the World,” “Patty and the Peace Corps,” “How to Succeed In Romance,” “Block that Statue,” “This Little Patty Went to Market,” “ Best Date In Town,” “Can Do Patty,” “Hi, Society,” “Patty, the Witness,” “Every Girl Should Be Married,” “The Perfect Hostess,” “Patty Meets a Celebrity,” “The Raffle,” “Patty and the Newspaper Game,” “Little Brother Is Watching You,” “Patty Pits Wits — Two Brits Hits,” “It Takes a Heap of Livin,” “Will the Real Sammy Davis, Please Hang Up?,” “Don’t Monkey with Mendel,” “Patty, the Practical Joker,” “Patty, the Master Builder,” “Patty and the Cut-Rate Casanova,” “The Daughter Bit,” “Cathy, the Rebel,” “Patty the Folk Singer,” “What’s Cooking, Cousin?,” “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” “My Cousin the Heroine” and “Patty, the Chatterbox.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfers allow you to tell the differences between Patty and Cathy. There’s very little smutz on the screen. The audio is mono. The sound is clean. You’ll get an earful of the frustrated dad voice used by William Schallert. The episodes are Closed Captioned.
Identical Cousins (Creating Patty & Cathy Lane) (6:29) has the cast discussing defining the roles. Patty Duke, Paul O’Keefe and William Schallert remember working in a split screen series.
Social Security PSAs starring Patty & Cathy Lane (2:21) let Patty Duke revive the roles as the cousins become senior citizens.
The Patty Duke Show: The Complete Second Season lets the star play two different high school girls in the midst of the ‘60s youthquake. Even the demur Cathy and the impulsive Patty are boy crazy although they approach the opposite sex in opposite ways. Rat Pack fans will be impressed with Sammy Davis Jr.’s guest appearance. This was a fun middle season of the show’s three season run.
Shout! Factory presents The Patty Duke Show: The Complete Second Season. Starring: Patty Duke, William Schallert, Jean Byron, Paul O’Keefe and Eddie Applegate. Boxset Contents: 36 Episodes on 6 DVDs. Released on DVD: February 9, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
