Patricia Breslin
Patricia Breslin | |
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![]() Breslin in a 1951 headshot | |
Born | Patricia Rose Breslin March 17, 1931 New York City, U.S. |
Died | October 12, 2011 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 80)
Resting place | Druid Ridge Cemetery |
Alma mater | College of New Rochelle |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1949–1969 |
Spouse(s) | David Orrick McDearmon
(m. 1953; div. 1969) |
Children | 2 |
Patricia Rose Breslin (March 17, 1931 – October 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).[1] She also appeared in Go, Man, Go! (1954), 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, one of three children born to Edward (a judge) and Marjorie Breslin.[2][3] Her father was a Catholic of Irish descent and her mother was of Scottish descent.[2] Breslin was raised in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Southeast Bronx.[4] 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.[3]
Career[]
On television, Breslin co-starred in "The Long Walk", the May 30, 1950, episode of Cameo Theatre.[5] In 1954, she guest-starred with Peter Mark Richman in an episode of NBC's legal drama, Justice, as a woman threatened by hoodlums.[6] 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.[7]
The following year, Breslin was cast in an episode of the CBS anthology series , 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.[1] Shortly after their marriage, Modell legally adopted Patricia's sons from her first marriage and they took his surname. The family lived in Waite Hill, Ohio, later moving to Owings Mills, Maryland, with a total of six grandchildren between them.
Philanthropy[]
Breslin became a well-known philanthropist in both Cleveland, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland, after relocating to the city in 1995. Modell and she donated $5 million to the SEED School of Maryland, a public boarding school for disadvantaged junior-high and high-school students from around the state.[8] 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.[8]
Death[]
Breslin died on October 12, 2011,[9] at the age of 80 after a lengthy hospitalization with pancreatitis.[3] Her funeral was offered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Her husband Art had been a major contributor to the restoration of the basilica.[10]
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 film in MGM's "Andy Hardy" series |
1961 | Homicidal | Miriam Webster | |
1965 | I Saw What You Did | Ellie Mannering |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | Broadway Television Theatre | Rebecca | 1 episode |
1953 | The Goldbergs | Dora Barnett | 1 episode |
1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Jeannie McTavish | 2 episodes |
1954 | The Telltale Clue | Sally Bell | 1 episode |
1955 | The Best of Broadway | Elaine Harper | 1 episode |
1955 | Sally | 1 episode | |
1955–1958 | The People's Choice | Amanda 'Mandy' Peoples Miller | 104 episodes |
1958 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Julia Heyton | 1 episode |
1958 | Alcoa Theatre | June Dunlap | 1 episode |
1958–1962 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | 3 episodes | |
1959 | Maverick | Alice Appleton / Abigail Allen | 1 episode |
1959 | The Millionaire | Susan Ballard | 1 episode |
1960 | Hotel de Paree | Ellie Graham | 1 episode |
1960 | Tate | Jessica Jackson | 1 episode |
1960 | Outlaws | Julie Kittrick | 1 episode |
1960 | The Detectives | Jean Graham | 1 episode |
1960–1963 | Perry Mason | Laura Hewes / Karen Ross / Karen Lewis | 3 episodes |
1960–1963 | The Twilight Zone | Abigail Sloan / Pat Carter | 2 episodes |
1961 | The Rifleman | Cora Seevers | 1 episode |
1961 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Anne Mitchell | 1 episode |
1961 | The Rebel | Elizabeth Purdy | 1 episode |
1961 | The New Breed | Ruth Wollock | 1 episode |
1961 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Theresa Coburn | 1 episode |
1962 | The Donna Reed Show | Millie | 1 episode |
1962 | Adventures in Paradise | Lorraine Maybery | 1 episode |
1962 | Thriller | Dinah Duffay | 1 episode |
1962 | Bonanza | Susan Blanchard | Episode: "The Miracle Maker" |
1962 | Stoney Burke | Lee Anne Hewitt | 1 episode |
1962 | Saints and Sinners | Nancy Rogers | 1 episode |
1962–1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Doris Parkerson / Linda Mallory | 2 episodes |
1963 | The Dick Powell Theatre | Susan Baird | 1 episode |
1963 | Arrest and Trial | Elizabeth Forellen | 1 episode |
1963 | The Twilight Zone | Abigail Sloan | 1 episode |
1963 | Dr. Kildare | Marion French | 1 episode |
1964 | Insight | Maria | 1 episode |
1964 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Lisa | 1 episode |
1964 | The Virginian | Mary Ann Martin | 1 episode |
1964 | Death Valley Days | Nancy | 1 episode |
1964–1965 | Peyton Place | Laura Harrington Brooks | 30 episodes |
1965–1969 | General Hospital | Meg Bentley, R.N. | Contract role, (final appearance) |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Gary Mihoces (December 25, 2003). "Pioneer, pariah Modell nears end". USA Today. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Baltimore Sun: "Supporting Role - Pat Modell, wife of the Ravens owner, gave up an acting career for love -- and never looked back" By Elizabeth Large April 08, 2001
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Pat Modell, actress and wife of former owner Art Modell, dies". NFL.com. October 12, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- ^ "Patricia Rose Breslin in the 1940 Census". Archives.org. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. May 28, 1590. p. 30-A. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Justice". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (March 10, 1954). "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Harlem Globetrotters Perform in a Sports Romance, 'Go, Man, Go!' at the Globe". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Smith, Tim (October 12, 2011). "Patricia Modell, actress and philanthropist, dies at 80". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ Associated Press (October 13, 2011). "Patricia Breslin, Actress and Wife of Former Ravens Owner, Dies at 80". The New York Times.
- ^ The Catholic Review: "Remembering Art Modell, champion of Catholic education" by George P. Matysek, Jr. September 6, 2012
External links[]
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- 1931 births
- 2011 deaths
- Actresses from New York City
- American film actresses
- Philanthropists from New York (state)
- American soap opera actresses
- American television actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- Deaths from pancreatitis
- Disease-related deaths in Maryland
- College of New Rochelle alumni
- People from the Bronx
- Actresses from Los Angeles
- People from Owings Mills, Maryland
- American people of Irish descent
- American people of Scottish descent
- Catholics from New York (state)
- Catholics from Maryland
- Parkchester, Bronx
- 20th-century American philanthropists