Patricia Huston

Patricia Huston (August 10, 1929 – September 25, 1995) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She had a notable acting career from 1958 to 1968, went through a seventeen-year period without any acting work, and resumed her career with several recurring roles on popular shows during the last ten years of her life.

Early life She was born Patricia Lou Baker in Mount Vernon, New York. Her parents were Charles G. Baker and Margie A. Winingar. She obtained her first Social Security card in November 1943 under the name Pat Lou Baker; from the number assigned it appears she was living in Illinois at the time. In June 1956 the name on her Social Security Administration file changed to "Pat Baker Huston".

Desilu workshop Columnists noted that Lucille Ball was prominently in attendance at the opening nights of Huston's early plays. Her "Little Red Schoolhouse" at the Desilu Workshop was training eight contract players, including Huston, in the finer points of stagecraft and television work. Desilu's patronage was also responsible for Huston obtaining so many television roles in her first years of performing.

In 1959, Huston took on another stage role in Compulsion after the original actress dropped out during dress rehearsals.

In the summer of 1959, she co-starred with Barry Sullivan in the two-person play, Two for the Seesaw at the La Jolla Playhouse. Her performance was critically acclaimed.

Huston appeared primarily on CBS television shows because of their connections with Desilu. She appeared in the CBS anthology soap opera For Better Or Worse for several months before its cancellation.

Huston hoped to regain some career momentum by agreeing to reprise her success in Two for the Seesaw with Hugh O'Brian for a five-week tour. However, both actors received criticism for their first performance at the Highland Park Tent Theater. The Chicago Tribune's critic blamed Huston "playing the extroverted floozy with all the pseudo-Bancroft stops out". To counter the negative review from the Chicago Tribune, they took out trade paper ads listing their good reviews, illustrated with cartoons drawn by Huston of them on a seesaw. Later, the pair received more positive reviews as the production moved to the Drury Lane Theatre and Lobero Theatre. In 1961, She was nominated for the Sarah Siddons Award for Two for the Seesaw, but lost to Gertrude Berg.

Post-Desilu By 1961, Desilu discontinued their relationship with Huston and was represented by the Sanford Camora Agency. Her television appearances were halved from her Desilu tenure due to an extended stage commitment, and the shows themselves were mainly short-lived sitcoms or syndicated programs. She was also cast in a campy women's prison film for Warner Brothers originally titled Ladies of the Mob, but which was released in 1962 as House of Women.

Huston's main professional satisfactions in 1961 came from stage work. She was prominent in the West Coast premiere of The Balcony at the LA Civic Playhouse. The production starred Maxine Stuart, Adam Williams, and Huston, with Josip Elic, Arthur Malet, Tom Costello, and Derva Korwin in feature roles. Huston's performance as a sex worker named Carmen drew high praise from the LA critics, with the production running for four months.

Columnist Mike Connolly suggested that Huston had lost the lead in a new TV series because her agent Sandy Camora had asked for too much money. Soon after, Huston switched her representation to General Artists Corporation.

January 1962 saw Huston receive top billing for an English language revival of The Dybbuk at the Pasadena Playhouse than ran for three weeks. She received positive reviews playing the central role of "Leah", with the other leads being Richard Hale, John D. Brinkley, and Michael Fox.

Career decline After 1962, Huston took on progressively fewer acting roles. Her television work lessened each year until late 1965, when she snagged a recurring role on the new soap opera Days of Our Lives. She originated the role of Addie Olson, the mother of rebellious teenager Julie Olson played by Charla Doherty. Huston had a small part in the film Synanon (1965), her last for thirty years.

Huston's first stage work in three years (and her last for the next twenty) took place in August 1965, in a San Francisco production of the LeRoi Jones play Dutchman. The play starred Paul Winfield and Huston (replacing Sheree North from the Los Angeles run), with Burgess Meredith directing. It was presented on a double bill with The Toilet, a shorter drama with a different cast. Both plays were held over for a total of five weeks.

Hiatus: 1968–1985 After a 1968 television guest appearance, Huston paused her acting career for 17 years. Huston stated in an interview in the mid-1980s that she spent this hiatus primarily raising her son and working part-time jobs, at one point going on welfare. A program for welfare recipients led to Huston securing a job as a phone operator at an institution, where she eventually became an administrator. Her last performance, a minor bit as a nun for the film Heaven's Prisoners, was released nine months later.

Personal life As a young actress, Huston identified as "beat", wrote poetry, played the bongos, had an all purple bathroom, and referred to herself as a "serious kook". She was slow to realize her growing fame; when her pet schnauzer went astray, she took out a "Lost" ad in a Hollywood area newspaper using her own name and phone number.

Before her marriage, gossip columns linked her most closely with another ex-Chicagoan, John Vivyan. The couple, both Democrats, performed at a fundraising rally of "Citizens for Kennedy" in September 1960.

At first rehearsal for The Dybbuk in January 1962, Huston met her co-star John D. Brinkley, who was from Chicago and two years younger than she was. They announced their engagement in early February and said they would marry on Valentine's Day of 1962. They divorced in November 1984.

Stage performances

Filmography

+ Television (in original broadcast order) 1985–1992 Year Series Episode Role Notes 1985Cheers Birth, Death, Love and Rice Sister Catherine Gimme a Break! Katie's Apartment 1986Hill Street Blues Scales of Justice Sister General Hospital (1986-01-30) Sarah (1986-02-14) Sarah (1986-02-17) Sarah (1986-02-18) Sarah (1986-04-11) Sarah (1986-05-09) Sarah (1986-06-03) Sarah L.A. Law (Pilot) Hilda Brunschwager Those Lips, That Eye Hilda Brunschwager The House of the Rising Flan Hilda Brunschwager The Princess and the Wiener King Hilda Brunschwager Simian Enchanted Evening Hilda Brunschwager Raiders of the Lost Bark Hilda Brunschwager Days of Our Lives (1986-11-13) Helga (1986-11-17) Helga (1986-11-19) Helga (1986-12-01) Helga 1987L.A. Law December Bribe Hilda Brunschwager General Hospital (1987-02-04) Sarah (1987-02-06) Sarah (1987-02-09) Sarah (1987-02-11) Sarah (1987-02-13) Sarah (1987-02-16) Sarah (1987-02-17) Sarah L.A. Law The Grace of Wrath Hilda Brunschwager Sparky Brackman RIP ????-1987 Hilda Brunschwager Deadly Care (TV Movie) Marsha Foland I Married Dora I Married Dora The Law and Harry McGraw Angela's Secret Mrs. Bishop L.A. Law Divorce with Extreme Prejudice Hilda Brunschwager 1988L.A. Law The Bald Ones Hilda Brunschwager Knots Landing Suicidal Admissions Person Days of Our Lives (1988-04-05) Mrs. Whitmore 1989Days of Our Lives (1989-03-28) Gladys Christy This was Huston's third recurring character on this series since 1965 (1989-03-30) Gladys Christy (1989-03-31) Gladys Christy (1989-04-07) Gladys Christy (1989-04-12) Gladys Christy (1989-04-26) Gladys Christy 1991Murder, She Wrote From the Horse's Mouth Edie The Antagonists Variations on a Theme Esther Marilyn and Me (TV Movie) Aunt Ana 1992Columbo No Time to Die Louise Hays