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Patricia Breslin
Patricia Breslin 1951 headshot.jpg
Breslin in 1951
Born
Patricia Rose Breslin

(1925-03-17)March 17, 1925
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
Spouse(s)
David Orrick McDearmon
(m. 1953; div. 1969)
(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)
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