Patricia Breslin

Patricia Rose Breslin (March 17, 1926 - Oct 12, 2011) was an American actress and philanthropist. She had a prominent career in television, which included recurring roles as Amanda Miller on The People's Choice (1955–58), and as Laura Harrington Brooks on Peyton Place (1964–65). She also appeared in Go, Man, Go!, and the William Castle horror films Homicidal (1961) and I Saw What You Did (1965).

In 1969, Breslin married NFL mogul Art Modell, and became a well-known philanthropist while living in both Cleveland, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland, donating millions of dollars to various educational, health, and art organizations, including the SEED Foundation of Maryland and the Baltimore Museum of Art. She also helped open the Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Cleveland Clinic.

Early life Patricia Rose Breslin was born in New York City on St. Patrick's Day 1926, of Irish descent, one of three children born to Edward (a judge) and Marjorie Breslin. Her father was a Catholic of Irish descent and her mother was of Scottish descent. She graduated from the Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School in the Bronx before attending the College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York. In 1954, she guest-starred with Peter Mark Richman in an episode of NBC's legal drama, Justice, as a woman threatened by hoodlums. The same year, she appeared in a supporting role as Sylvia Franklin Saperstein in the sports film Go, Man, Go! (1954), opposite Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

The following year, Breslin was cast in an episode of the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure, a series with neither a host nor a regular star. From 1955 to 1958, Breslin co-starred with Jackie Cooper as his girlfriend and then wife in the NBC sitcom, The People's Choice.

Between 1960 and 1963, Breslin made three guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, and was cast as the defendant in all three episodes. In 1960, she played Karen Lewis in "The Case of the Lavender Lipstick". In 1962, she played Karen Ross in "The Case of the Poison Pen-Pal", and in 1963, as Laura Hewes in "The Case of the Prankish Professor".

In 1960, she played the newlywed wife of William Shatner's character in CBS's The Twilight Zone episode "Nick of Time", and was also in the 1963 Twilight Zone episode "No Time Like the Past", in which she portrayed Abigail Sloan.

In 1960, she guest-starred on the short-lived David McLean Western series, Tate, which aired on NBC. She appeared on Nick Adams' ABC Western, The Rebel and with Jack Lord in his ABC adventure series, Stoney Burke. Thereafter, Breslin played the role of Anne Mitchell, along with co-stars Ralph Bellamy and Paul Fix, in the 1961 episode "The Haven" of CBS's anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson.

She returned to film in 1961, starring in William Castle's horror film Homicidal, and later worked with him again on the thriller I Saw What You Did (1964). In 1964, she was cast in the role of Laura Brooks on the ABC primetime soap opera Peyton Place. She also played the role of Meg Baldwin in the ABC soap opera General Hospital from 1965 to 1969.

Personal life From 1953 to 1969, Breslin was married to character actor and director David Orrick McDearmon, and they had two children. Later, Breslin married then Cleveland Browns (later the Baltimore Ravens) NFL team owner, advertising and business executive Art Modell in 1969. They also donated $3.5 million to help restore the Lyric Opera House, and Breslin served on the boards of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Walters Art Museum, and also donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

In Cleveland, she helped start the Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Cleveland Clinic, and supported the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She was also active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Cleveland Musical Arts Association, the Cleveland Ballet, the Playhouse Square Foundation, and the Cerebral Palsy Association. at age 85, after a lengthy hospitalization with pancreatitis.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1952 Faith Is a Nine-Letter Word TV movie; episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame 1953 Man Against Pain TV movie; episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame 1954 Go, Man, Go! Sylvia Franklin Saperstein 1958 Andy Hardy Comes Home Jane Hardy Final entry in the MGM Andy Hardy film series 1961 Homicidal Miriam Webster 1965 I Saw What You Did Ellie Mannering

Television Year Title Role Notes 1949 The Goldbergs Dora Barnett Episode: "Birds Leave the Nest" 1952 Broadway Television Theatre Rebecca Season 1 Episode 20: "Rebecca" 1953 Armstrong Circle Theatre N/A Season 3 Episode 15: "Black Wedding" 1954 The Goldbergs Dora Barnett Episode dated May 11 Broadway Television Theatre N/A Season 3 Episode 14: "Room Service" Armstrong Circle Theatre Jeannie McTavish Season 4 Episode 31: "My Client, McDuff" The Telltale Clue Sally Bell Season 1 Episode 2: "The Case of the Talking Garden" 1955 The Best of Broadway Elaine Harper Season 1 Episode 5: "Arsenic and Old Lace" Appointment with Adventure Sally Season 1 Episode 2: "Five in Judgement" 1955–1958 The People's Choice Amanda 'Mandy' Peoples Miller 104 episodes 1958 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Julia Heyton Season 8 Episode 4: "False Impression" Alcoa Theatre June Dunlap Season 2 Episode 7: "The Dark File" Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mrs. Adams Season 4 Episode 4: "The Crooked Road" 1959 Maverick Alice Appleton / Abigail Allen Season 2 Episode 20: "Yellow River" The Millionaire Susan Ballard Season 5 Episode 33: "Millionaire Susan Ballard" 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Louise Bentley Season 6 Episode 8: "O Youth and Beauty!" Hotel de Paree Ellie Graham Season 1 Episode 31: "Sundance and the Fallen Sparrow" Tate Jessica Jackson Season 1 Episode 13: "The Return of Jessica Jackson" Outlaws Julie Kittrick Season 1 Episode 2: "Ballad for a Badman" The Detectives Jean Graham Season 2 Episode 9: "Adopted" The Twilight Zone Pat Carter Season 2 Episode 7: "Nick of Time" Perry Mason Karen Lewis Season 4 Episode 5: "The Case of the Lavender Lipstick" 1961 The Rifleman Cora Seevers Season 3 Episode 16: "Flowers by the Door" The DuPont Show with June Allyson Anne Mitchell Season 2 Episode 23: "The Haven" The Rebel Elizabeth Purdy Season 2 Episode 29: "Miz Purdy" The New Breed Ruth Wollock Season 1 Episode 9: "Sweet Bloom of Death" Tales of Wells Fargo Theresa Coburn Season 6 Episode 12: "A Killing in Calico" 1962 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Margo Season 7 Episode 24: "Apex" The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Linda Mallory Season 1 Episode 3: "Night of the Owl" The Donna Reed Show Millie Season 4 Episode 25: "The Wide Open Spaces" Adventures in Paradise Lorraine Maybery Season 3 Episode 24: "The Dream Merchant" Thriller Dinah Duffay Season 2 Episode 26: "Kill My Love" Bonanza Susan Blanchard Season 3 Episode 34: "The Miracle Maker" Stoney Burke Lee Anne Hewitt Season 1 Episode 4: "Point of Honor" Saints and Sinners Nancy Rogers Season 1 Episode 7: "A Servant in the House of My Party" Perry Mason Karen Ross Season 5 Episode 20: "The Case of the Poison Pen-Pal" 1963 Perry Mason Laura Hewes Season 6 Episode 15: "The Case of the Prankish Professor" The Twilight Zone Abigail Sloan Season 4 Episode 10: "No Time Like the Past" The Dick Powell Theatre Susan Baird Season 2 Episode 27: "Epilogue" Arrest and Trial Elizabeth Forellen Season 1 Episode 9: "Inquest Into a Bleeding Heart" Dr. Kildare Marion French Season 3 Episode 14: "A Vote of Confidence" 1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Doris Parkerson Season 2 Episode 20: "Anyone for Murder?" Insight Maria Season 1 Episode 141: "The Capitalist" The Greatest Show on Earth Lisa Season 1 Episode 16: "Corsicans Don't Cry" The Virginian Mary Ann Martin Season 2 Episode 27: "The Long Quest" Death Valley Days Nancy Season 12 Episode 26: "The Streets of El Paso" 1964–1965 Peyton Place Laura Harrington Brooks 30 episodes 1965–1969 General Hospital Meg Bentley, R.N. Contract role (26 episodes) (final appearance)