Patricia Breslin

Patricia Breslin
Breslin in 1951
Born	Patricia Rose Breslin (1925-03-17)March 17, 1925 New York City, U.S.
Died	October 12, 2011(2011-10-12) (aged 86) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	College of New Rochelle
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1949–1969
Spouses	David Orrick McDearmon ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1969)​ Art Modell ​ (m. 1969⁠–⁠2011)​
Children	2, including David Modell

Patricia Rose Breslin (March 17, 1925 – 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). 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. Her father was a Catholic of Irish descent and her mother was of Scottish descent. Breslin was raised in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Southeast Bronx. 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.

Career

On television, Breslin co-starred in "The Long Walk", the May 30, 1950, episode of Cameo Theatre. 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. 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. 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.

Death

Breslin died on October 12, 2011, at the age of 86 after a lengthy hospitalization with pancreatitis. Her funeral was held 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.

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
1954	Broadway Television Theatre	N/A	Season 3 Episode 14: "Room Service"
1954	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Jeannie McTavish	Season 4 Episode 31: "My Client, McDuff"
1954	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"
1955	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"
1958	Alcoa Theatre	June Dunlap	Season 2 Episode 7: "The Dark File"
1958	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Mrs. Adams	Season 4 Episode 4: "The Crooked Road"
1959	Maverick	Alice Appleton / Abigail Allen	Season 2 Episode 20: "Yellow River"
1959	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!"
1960	Hotel de Paree	Ellie Graham	Season 1 Episode 31: "Sundance and the Fallen Sparrow"
1960	Tate	Jessica Jackson	Season 1 Episode 13: "The Return of Jessica Jackson"
1960	Outlaws	Julie Kittrick	Season 1 Episode 2: "Ballad for a Badman"
1960	The Detectives	Jean Graham	Season 2 Episode 9: "Adopted"
1960	The Twilight Zone	Pat Carter	Season 2 Episode 7: "Nick of Time"
1960	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"
1961	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Anne Mitchell	Season 2 Episode 23: "The Haven"
1961	The Rebel	Elizabeth Purdy	Season 2 Episode 29: "Miz Purdy"
1961	The New Breed	Ruth Wollock	Season 1 Episode 9: "Sweet Bloom of Death"
1961	Tales of Wells Fargo	Theresa Coburn	Season 6 Episode 12: "A Killing in Calico"
1962	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Margo	Season 7 Episode 24: "Apex"
1962	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Linda Mallory	Season 1 Episode 3: "Night of the Owl"
1962	The Donna Reed Show	Millie	Season 4 Episode 25: "The Wide Open Spaces"
1962	Adventures in Paradise	Lorraine Maybery	Season 3 Episode 24: "The Dream Merchant"
1962	Thriller	Dinah Duffay	Season 2 Episode 26: "Kill My Love"
1962	Bonanza	Susan Blanchard	Season 3 Episode 34: "The Miracle Maker"
1962	Stoney Burke	Lee Anne Hewitt	Season 1 Episode 4: "Point of Honor"
1962	Saints and Sinners	Nancy Rogers	Season 1 Episode 7: "A Servant in the House of My Party"
1962	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"
1963	The Twilight Zone	Abigail Sloan	Season 4 Episode 10: "No Time Like the Past"
1963	The Dick Powell Theatre	Susan Baird	Season 2 Episode 27: "Epilogue"
1963	Arrest and Trial	Elizabeth Forellen	Season 1 Episode 9: "Inquest Into a Bleeding Heart"
1963	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?"
1964	Insight	Maria	Season 1 Episode 141: "The Capitalist"
1964	The Greatest Show on Earth	Lisa	Season 1 Episode 16: "Corsicans Don't Cry"
1964	The Virginian	Mary Ann Martin	Season 2 Episode 27: "The Long Quest"
1964	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)

External links

• Patricia Breslin at IMDb
• Patricia Breslin at Find a Grave