Tragic Details About Patrick Duffy
Between "Dallas" and "Step by Step," Patrick Duffy had a steady presence on television in the '80s and '90s. Since then, he's continued to build up his acting resume with about 80 other onscreen credits while also taking multiple turns behind the scenes as director. Not too shabby. The Montana-born multi-talent also might be the one person to have come out of 2020 better than before.
In November of that year, Duffy made headlines when he revealed that he was dating fellow actor Linda Purl, best known for her role as Ashley Pfister on "Happy Days." Duffy, who was starring in Lifetime's "Once Upon a Main Street" movie at this point, told People that the pair had been casual friends for years before taking the leap to the next level while everyone was stuck at home in quarantine. We'll delve more into their blossoming romance below, but as the actor explained at the time, "I'm in an incredibly happy relationship. I never thought I'd feel this way again." And it's perhaps not hard to see why — before Duffy found his new love, he sadly lost some of the most important people in his life.
These are the tragic details about Patrick Duffy.
Patrick Duffy ruptured his vocal cords
Patrick Duffy's acting career faced a bump in the road right at the beginning, before he even left college. "I was just about to graduate from the University of Washington and ruptured my vocal cords through lack of wisdom, vocal abuse, no rest, drinking too much," Duffy told Deseret News back in 1991, recalling how he completely lost his voice for a while two decades prior to the interview. "That was the end of my career."
According to his IMDb page, the future star adjusted by teaching classes that didn't require a voice, like mime and movement. Duffy then started working with touring companies who came through Washington to perform ballet and opera, narrating their shows as an interpreter. He only managed to repair his vocal cords through daily vocal chanting, which he undertook because of his Buddhist practices. As Deseret News reported, he was completely healed within five months.
And the woman who introduced Duffy to his Buddhist faith would go on to become an important part of his life.
His wife was married when they met
Patrick Duffy and Carlyn Rosser may have had one of Hollywood's longest-lasting marriages, but their love story had an unconventional meet-cute. After college, Duffy had begun traveling around the country with a company of entertainers, as he told Closer Weekly. "I was an immature college graduate touring as narrator with this dance production, and she was a beautiful ballerina 10 years older," he shared, recalling how he first saw Rosser. "We met on the tour bus and that was it — for life." The young actor was particularly fascinated by her various talents. "My wife had perfect pitch; she could play concert piano; she was a ballerina; she lived a life that was artistic," he observed. "And I was drawn into that."
There was just one problem: the dancer was already married. They ran away together, anyway, after Rosser had converted Duffy to Buddhism. "In one letter I said, 'Dear Mom and Dad: I'm moving to New York with a married woman 10 years older than I am and oh, by the way, I'm a Buddhist.' As a parent now if I can imagine what my reaction would be if my son wrote a similar letter," Duffy later joked to Deseret News. "I'd just fall down."
The pair were married in 1974 and stayed together until Rosser's death over four decades later.
Patrick Duffy's career didn't go as planned
Patrick Duffy rose to stardom on the soap "Dallas" in the late '70s, which told the story of the Ewing family and their fight for control over a massive oil empire. When he tried to forge a career outside of his famous character, however, things didn't go to plan.
"I thought if it was ever a time at the height of the popularity of that show, that I might be able to launch into something that was more of a single, starring venue, that that would be the time to do it," Duffy told HuffPost in 2014, recalling how Bobby Ewing was killed off so that he could explore other projects. "I left the show and that did not happen — typical Patrick Duffy business decision fiasco," he joked.
When he didn't find his ideal star vehicle, Duffy came back to the soap that kicked off his career, which meant that the writers had to improvise. They came up with the idea that the whole previous season — including his death scene — had just been a dream. In April 2021, Duffy — who also returned for the show's 2012 revival — told TV Insider that he would consider going back to the character again. "I put Bobby Ewing behind me twice already and it didn't work out," he commented. "So, I'm never one to say, 'never again.' If it were that brilliant next step in the sequence of the story of those characters, I would be willing to do it."
His parents were tragically murdered
In 1986, Patrick Duffy was at the peak of his career with his starring role in "Dallas" as Bobby Ewing. Then, everything changed in an instant: his parents were murdered. Duffy's parents, Terence and Marie, owned a bar in Montana and they were at work when two 19-year-old gunmen walked in and shot them to death.
The actor described his late parents as "pretty ordinary, pleasant people" in an interview with Closer Weekly, adding that they were always "social." So it understandably came as a horrible shock when they were brutally killed by a pair of teenagers, Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz. "My father kicked these two young men out of the bar at some point in the evening. So they went and drank elsewhere ... and came back to the bar to kick his a**," the actor recalled, sharing the tragic details of their confrontation. "When they stepped in the bar with their guns, they shot him. There was nobody else in the bar, so they shot both my mother and my father."
Not all Duffy family members agree justice was served
Everyone who knew Patrick Duffy or his parents were understandably shocked by their violent deaths at the hands of Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz, who were quickly tracked down. As the Associated Press reported in 1987, the teenagers were convicted and given 75-year sentences for each murder, in addition to 30 years each for robbery and assault charges (per UPI, Wentz later received an additional 10 years, explaining that "the Miller jury sent a message that Sean Wentz was the triggerman.")
Duffy's sister, Joanne, who became a police officer, was reportedly disappointed that they hadn't been given a death sentence. The famous actor was able to find peace, however. "My sister immediately was on a campaign, wanting punishment," Patrick Duffy admitted to The Times in 2012, sharing how some of the Duffy family disagreed with his pragmatic approach. "My attitude is they're already punished. They created the cause for the misery of their lives to come." Even the news that Miller would be released on parole in 2007, after Wentz admitted that he was the sole gunman, didn't shake the "Step by Step" alum.
"I'm okay with that. My sister's not," Duffy revealed, observing that the pair weren't master criminals. "They're stupid young men, really stupid young men."
Patrick Duffy's Buddhist beliefs helped him with grief
As he told The Times, Patrick Duffy managed to cope with his parents' murders because of Buddhism, which his wife, Carlyn Rosser, helped him discover.
Recalling how they initially met on a tour bus, he admitted, "I only converted because I wanted to sleep with her." However, Duffy added, "And now I do it because it's such a part of my life." As well as curing his vocal cords, the Nichiren tradition of Buddhism improved his outlook. "I'm invulnerable to suffering," the star insisted, although he revealed that he understandably still felt pain over his parents' untimely deaths. "There's a difference between pain and suffering. Suffering is self-inflicted."
"When my parents were murdered, I went through all the emotions of the horrific event of shock and anger and everything, but I never felt disconnected from them," the actor continued, adding that he had a better understanding of life and death due to his faith. "I never felt that immediate loss. I did not know why then, but in retrospect it was a result of being Buddhist for 15 years." Duffy later explained that he believed he was "completely responsible for his grief" in an interview with The Guardian. "If I'm suffering because of it, it's my karma that I have manifested in this lifetime in this particular set of circumstances."
The Dallas alum's TV mother died
"Dallas" was a big part of Patrick Duffy's life, so when his on-screen mother, Barbara Bel Geddes, died of lung cancer in 2005, he paid tribute to the legendary actor.
"When Barbara joined the cast of 'Dallas,' as Miss Ellie, I considered her to be like Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell, and Ethel Barrymore — a real 'name' in American theater," he told Entertainment Weekly, reflecting on how intimidating he found Bel Geddes at first. "But you'd never have known it. ... It was remarkable, her ordinariness despite that pedigree." Duffy also revealed that the cast and crew of "Dallas" affectionately called her "BBG" on set. "She was the mama figure," he added.
When the show was brought back for a revival in 2012, Duffy admitted that it was different without Bel Geddes. "Barbara is a big piece of our history, and it's important to me to honor her," he insisted, according to TV Week. "To come back with Linda Gray as Sue Ellen and Larry Hagman in his J.R. hat, and then see the words Ellie Southworth Ewing Farlow on the gravestone made me think, 'Oh, that's right — she's gone.'"
Patrick Duffy's wife died in 2017
While Carlyn Rosser was a source of peace for Patrick Duffy throughout difficult times in his life, she was also the center of additional grief. Rosser tragically died from cancer in 2017 at age 77, after 43 years of marriage. "It was a surprise when she passed. There was no indication," Duffy told Closer Weekly. "You reach a certain age and you realize the road ahead is much shorter than the road behind."
He shared the devastating news with his Twitter followers, writing that his late wife would be with him "eternally" despite her death. "On this day 6 months ago my heart stopped," Duffy wrote in part that June. "Yet I live on as she wishes." The former "Step by Step" star also thanked all his fans for their "love and concern," assuring everyone that he would be fine.
"There are no mistakes in life. I can mend every fence I've broken and create value out of everything I've done if I'm given enough time," Duffy later explained to Closer Weekly. "I have done and I still am doing OK."
He still considers himself a 'married man'
Patrick Duffy's fans were heartbroken when he revealed in 2019 that he still considered Carlyn Rosser to be his wife. "I can hear her. I can see her," the actor shared with Closer Weekly. "I know what she would expect of me, and I try and live up to that." Duffy also admitted that he still felt the absence of Rosser sometimes, however. "I feel close to her all the time [but] what I miss most is her touch," he confided. "I still consider myself a married man."
The actor also spoke about how important his two sons, Padraic and Conor, were during his mourning period. According to Closer Weekly, Duffy's older son, Padraic, has worked in theater as a writer and managing director, whereas the younger Conor (pictured, above) followed in his famous dad's footsteps by appearing in shows like "Arrested Development" and "Good Girls" as an actor.
"My boys were there as stalwarts," Duffy noted. "But I also realized that, as much as they were trying to buttress old Dad up, I'm probably more adjusted to this set of circumstances than they are."
Patrick Duffy found love again with Linda Purl
Patrick Duffy never imagined that he would find love again, but in late 2020, People reported that he was dating "Happy Days" actor Linda Purl, as previously mentioned. Duffy revealed that their "incredibly happy relationship" came as a shock to him, admitting, "I never thought for a minute this would happen again."
As the "Doomsday Mom" co-stars told Closer Weekly in June 2021, they got closer throughout the COVID-19 national lockdown, speaking on Zoom every night. "So we explored all our history, our past, our loves. We listened to music together and covered all that ground you normally cover over months of dating," Duffy observed. "It was a time to really get to know one another with no outside influences to encumber you." Linda compared the early days of their relationship to "a very Victorian process," adding that life was "full of surprises."
"Patrick and I weren't looking for this. We didn't expect it or see it coming when our paths crossed. Don't ever give up," she insisted. And Duffy was equally effusive, telling the outlet that he looked forward to every moment together and adding, "I am stunned every time that I realize this amazing woman loves me. It's just like, wow!"
Although Patrick Duffy has experienced tragedy and loss in his life, he doesn't have any regrets. Overall, as he previously told Closer Weekly, "I have worked hard to make the best of life, and it's been good to me."