Lory Patrick has died.
The Daily Mail reports that the Surf Party actress passed away “peacefully” on Jan. 26 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, her family shared on Thursday. She was 92.
Born in Beckley, West Virginia, Patrick had moved to Detroit before eventually settling in New York City. While in Manhattan, she landed modeling jobs and TV commercials, ultimately winning a role on the NBC game show Split Personality. After becoming a fan-favorite on the show, she decided to move out to LA to try her hand at acting in Hollywood.
Patrick’s first on-screen role was in an episode of The Loretta Young Show in 1961. That same year, she also appeared in an episode of The Case of the Dangerous Robin. Between 1961 and 1962, Patrick appeared in 15 episodes of the Western series Tales of Wells Fargo as Tina Swenson. Additional credits in the early ‘60s include General Electric Theater, Wide Country, Alcoa Premiere, It’s a Man’s World, Laramie, Wagon Train, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
In 1964, Patrick landed the role of Sylvia Dempster in the musical comedy Surf Party. Also starring Bobby Vinton, Johnny Fain, and Patricia Morrow, the film follows a young girl who travels to California with some friends to visit her brother. After they arrive, it doesn’t take them long to get into the swing of things and attract the attention of the local police sergeant. It was directed by Maury Dexter and written by Harry Spalding.
Patrick can also be seen in Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Her final acting credit, according to IMDb, is an episode of the family drama This Is the Life in 1967. After retiring from acting, Patrick was a columnist for a magazine and wrote a devotional book titled Hearing God, which won an “Excellence in Print” award in 200.
Lory Patrick was married to Harlan Ellison, a science-fiction writer, in 1966, and they divorced the same year. She was married to actor Dean Jones from 1973 until he died in 2015. Patrick is survived by her children, Caroline Jones, Deanna Demaree, and Michael Pastick; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.