Jean Byron, 80; Actress Played Patty Duke’s Mother on ‘60s TV Show

Jean Byron, 80, an actress best known for portraying Patty Duke’s mother on the 1960s TV series “The Patty Duke Show,” died Feb. 3 from an infection following hip replacement surgery in Mobile, Ala.

As Natalie Lane, she was Duke’s “Mommo” on the ABC show that aired from 1963 to 1966. When the cast came together for a 1999 reunion show, Byron and Duke reconnected and began speaking every Sunday, they both said at the time.

Byron was born Imogene Burkhart in Paducah, Ky. That was the same name her close friend Max Shulman gave the recurring character he wrote for her on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (CBS, 1959 to 1963). She also appeared in dozens of other television shows before retiring in 1985.

In the 1950s, she appeared in B-movies such as “Voodoo Tiger,” “Serpent of the Nile” and “Jungle Moon Men” and was briefly married to the actor Michael Ansara.