She was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly on January 12, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a police officer who had immigrated from Eire. Patsy was the youngest of 5 youngsters and she or he attended St. Paul’s Cathedral College. Then her mom enrolled her in knowledgeable dancing faculty to “maintain her off the streets”. When she was an adolescent she began performing in vaudeville. She labored with comic Frank Fay for 3 years. In 1927 she made her Broadway debut in Harry Delmar’s Revels. Patsy additionally appeared in Earl Carroll’s Vanites and Three Cheers with Will Rogers. After showing a number of vitaphone shorts she was signed by producer Hal Roach in 1933. She changed Zasu Pitts as Thelma Todd’s accomplice in a collection of comedy shorts. The duo made twenty-one movies collectively together with Magnificence And The Bus, Prime Flat, and Executed In Oil. Patsy’s comedic performances delighed audiences and she or he grew to become often known as “The Queen of the Wisecracks”. She later mentioned “These had been the happiest days I had in photos. The enjoyable Thelma and I had making these foolish two-reel comedies is one thing that comes solely as soon as in a lifetime.” Sadly in August of 1933 she was severely injured in a automotive accident. The driving force, nightclub entertainer Jean Malin, was killed within the accident. Though she by no means grew to become an A-list star she continued to work steadily.
She had supporting roles in Pigskin Parade, Merrily We Reside, and Topper Returns with Billie Burke. Patsy was a lesbian and instructed reporters she had no intention of ever getting married. Some studios did not wish to rent her as a result of she was so open about her sexuality. She had a long-term relationship with actress Wilma Cox that ended within the early Nineteen Forties. By this time she was ingesting closely and making headlines for her erratic habits. Patsy was thrown out of a number of Hollywood nightclubs after getting drunk. Throughout World Conflict 2 she toured america entertaining the troops. She determined to take a break from performing and moved to New York Metropolis. Patsy began relationship Tallulah Bankhead and labored as her secretary. In 1955 she returned to the stage in a manufacturing of Expensive Charles. She additionally appeared on the televison reveals Bonanza and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Patsy had a small function within the 1968 horror movie Rosemary’s Child. Then in 1971 she received a Tony award for her efficiency in No No Nanette. Her ultimate function was in a 1979 episode of The Love Boat. After struggling a stroke in 1981 she moved right into a nursing dwelling. On September 24, 1981 she died from pneumonia on the age of seventy-one. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.
Patsy with Thelma Todd
