Great find r62. More about Patty:
This self-described tomboy grew up in Bohemia, Long Island, the only girl in a family with three brothers. “I was basically the fourth boy,” she says, recounting a high school career during which she mastered voc-tech skills like woodworking and auto mechanics and excelled in athletics, adding, “But to my Mom, I was always her little girl!” Today, Patty still finds time to play tennis and golf. And, when Bernadette is in a show, you can find her playing second base on the Broadway Show League, even taking MVP one season.
“All through my childhood, my father owned greenhouses and we all worked there part-time; when my brothers left home, I became partners with my dad.”
After high school graduation in 1976, Patty decided to forego college, working with her father until 1978, when a chance encounter led to a job at the Westbury Music Fair.
“I’d always see shows there growing up. After one concert I met a prop man, Perry Raitt, Bonnie’s uncle. He mentioned that he was looking for a motor for an older car,” she remembers. “I found the motor for him and he gave me a job.”
Her duties included driving, catering, stage managing, wardrobe, loading/unloading, even painting the stage. During this period, Patty met Bernadette and began working for the star in the early 1980s.
“At that time Bernadette was living in Los Angeles, which I love,” says the native New Yorker, who admittedly prefers the sunshine and sunnier dispositions of the West Coast. “I love all of California. Sometimes, I still hope Bernadette will decide to do a series so we can be based there full-time.”