Patricia Crowley, a talented actress, effortlessly lit up her surroundings with a warm, inviting personality and fresh-faced attractiveness that she still carries today. Born on September 17, 1933, in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, to Vincent and Helen Crowley, she was the younger sister of Ann Crowley, who triggered Pat's interest in performing when she appeared in a Chicago musical production.
At the age of 10, Pat was given a walk-on part in her sister's show, which sparked her passion for acting. She soon became a photographer's model and attended New York's High School of Performing Arts. After winning her first major TV part, she seemed destined to become an important teen star as the lead in the Saturday morning TV series "A Date with Judy" (1951).
Like her sister, Patricia was also musically inclined and appeared in several stage shows, including "Tovarich" and "Kiss Me Kate." She made her Broadway debut in the comedy play "Southern Exposure" (1950) and earned the 1951 Theatre World Award for "promising personality."
After a number of early 1950s TV assignments, Pat was brought to Hollywood to co-star with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the slapstick comedy "Money from Home" (1953). She then moved into the show business comedy "Forever Female" (1953),co-starring William Holden and Ginger Rogers.
Pat's most notable role came in the 1960s TV series "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1965),where she played the beleaguered wife and mom. She made the original Doris Day film role her own and easily paired with TV husband Mark Miller, making a handsome couple. The series deserved more than its two-season run, but perhaps audience taste, which was changing rapidly with the counterculture era, triggered its demise.
Pat's career continued with film roles, including "The Square Jungle" (1955),"There's Always Tomorrow" (1956),and "Hollywood or Bust" (1956),before her film career started to lose steam in the late 1950s. She found steadier work on TV and guested on many popular shows, including "Bonanza," "Cheyenne," "The Twilight Zone," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," and "The Tab Hunter Show."
Pat's biggest success came in the sitcom "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1965),where she played the nontraditional wife/columnist of an English professor. She was cast as "Joan Nash" and made her a household name at the time.
Since then, Patricia has continued to maintain a strong visibility, especially on TV, although she was not given the star-making opportunities like this again. She is best known for her regular roles on daytime soap operas, including "Generations" (1989-1990),"Port Charles" (1997-2003),and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987, 2005).
