Patron Saint

LEE PATRICK
November 22, 1901 - November 21, 1982

Lee Patrick may never have become a megastar on the order of Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, or Barbara Stanwyck (who took roles intended for Patrick in Stage Door and Stella Dallas), but she is undoubtedly one of our Patron Saints here at Stirred, Straight Up, with a Twist.

Patrick was in every third movie that came out of Hollywood in the 1940's and 1950's, it seems, and the amount of bona fide gay classics she appeared in is staggering. Now, Voyager (1942), Mildred Pierce (1945), Caged (1950), Auntie Mame (1958), and Pillow Talk (1959) all benefitted from her always-compelling presence. If her career never progressed past character roles, thanks to an unflattering profile of Louella Parsons penned by her journalist husband, Lee Patrick nevertheless carved out a very fondly-remembered niche for herself in Hollywood. Like her best-known character, Effie in The Maltese Falcon (1941), she could be tough; she could be tender; and she was always terrific.