Pat Sheehan
Playboy centerfold appearance
October 1958
Preceded byTeri Hope
Succeeded byJoan Staley
Personal details
BornPatricia Ann Sheehan
(1931-09-07)September 7, 1931
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 2006(2006-01-14) (aged 74)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)

Patricia Ann Sheehan (September 7, 1931 – January 14, 2006), also known as Patricia Sheehan Crosby, was an American actress and model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for October 1958 and a contract player for NBC.

Early years

She was the daughter of Arthur E Sheehan Sr and Gladys A Larson. Her siblings were Arthur and Edward Sheehan. In October 1949, she won the local Miss Milkmaid pageant, which launched her career. Sheehan was Miss San Francisco of 1950, having performed a monologue. Her prize was a Gensler Lee diamond ring. She took honors for Miss San Francisco and flew to Santa Cruz, California to take part in the 1951 Miss California Pageant where she placed 6th. Sheehan dated and married George von Duuglas-Ittu on January 9, 1951, in Carson City, Nevada. Her first son Franz Nicholas Gregory von Duuglas-ittu was born October 21, 1951 [1] They divorced on January 6, 1954.[2][3]

Career

Pat Sheehan began appearing on Queen for a Day and the Colgate Comedy Hour in the early 1950s, as well as modeling for various magazines. She was discovered by Howard Hughes who signed her for his films The French Line and Son of Sinbad. She posed for magazines such as TV Fan, People Today, and TV Guide.

She was in movies such as Kismet, Man with the Gun, Daddy Long Legs, and The Adventures of Hajji Baba.

She was signed to NBC in January 1956, starring in The NBC Comedy Hour, with appearances on The Milton Berle Show, Texaco Star Theater, and The Chevy Show. Agnes Moorehead was her acting coach during this period, while Meredith Willson was her vocal coach. Her co-star, Jonathan Winters said of her, "Pat Sheehan? Lovely, yes lovely." She appeared in an episode of Blondie and had a dramatic role in an episode of Matinee Theater.

She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for October 1958, tied with Mara Corday. Her centerfold was photographed by Sam Wu. Her centerfold was in Space Cowboys. Gigi was her last movie, in 1958.

She dated Frank Sinatra, Phillip Lambro, and Rod Taylor.[4] Shortly after Bing Crosby's first wife, Dixie Lee, died of ovarian cancer, he started dating Sheehan. Eventually, Crosby proposed to her. On May 4, 1958, she married Crosby's son, Dennis Crosby in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Tropicana Hotel where she was a showgirl. They had two children: Dennis Jr. and Patrick Anthony, and Franz Nicholas Gregory who Dennis adopted from the previous marriage in December 1958, rechristened Gregory Crosby.[5][6] They divorced on July 3, 1964.[7]

Later life

In her later years, Sheehan lived in Beverly Hills, California with her friend Gloria Haley Parnassus (Jack Haley's daughter). She was employed with Gucci, and did her last interview in 1995 for The Playmate Book: Five Decades of Centerfolds. After surviving cancer, she died of a heart attack on January 14, 2006, in Beverly Hills, California, aged 74 and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.[8][9] Her sons, Dennis and Patrick, died years later.

Legacy

In addition to being the first Playmate to tie for Playboy's Playmate of the Month, Pat Sheehan was the first bit player to be signed to a television contract. She was known as one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, often being labeled as "Television's Marilyn Monroe" and "The Blonde Rita Hayworth." Mike Connolly described her as “The Rich Man's Jayne Mansfield” while they performed alongside each other in The Tropicana Holiday. Kathryn Crosby described her as "the warmest, friendliest girl I've ever known."[10] On April 26, 2019, she was posthumously inducted into the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology Hall of Merit. Her authorized biography, Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet by Samuel Clemens was published by Sequoia Press on May 22, 2020. A lot of her photographs, memorabilia, and footage are archived at the San Francisco History Center, the San Francisco Public Library, the Bancroft Library, and the Los Angeles Public Library.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1954 The French Line Model uncredited
The Adventures of Hajji Baba Handmaiden uncredited
1955 Kismet Harem Girl uncredited
Daddy Long Legs (film) Jervis' Date uncredited
Son of Sinbad Harem Girl uncredited
Guys and Dolls one of the Hot Box Girls Goldwyn Girl, uncredited[11]
Man with the Gun Blonde uncredited
1958 Gigi Blonde uncredited
2000 Space Cowboys Cameo

Television

  • Queen for a Day (recurring episodes, 1952-1953), Model
  • The Bob Hope Show (recurring episodes, 1954) Dancer
  • Place the Face (1955) TV Episode
  • The Colgate Comedy Hour, episodes #5.19 and 6.7 (1955) TV Episodes, Mildred
  • The NBC Comedy Hour 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.10, and 1.17 (5 episodes, 1956) TV episode, Herself
  • The Milton Berle Show (recurring episodes, 1956), Dancer
  • The Jimmy Durante Show (recurring episodes, 1955-1956), Dancer
  • Inside Beverly Hills (1956) TV Episode, Self
  • Salute to Baseball (1956) TV Episode, Self
  • Home (May 24, 1956) TV Episode, Self
  • The Chevy Show (1956) TV Episode, Dancer
  • Matinee Theater (March 1956 and April 12, 1956) TV Episodes, Bohemian Artist
  • The George Gobel Show (1956) TV Episodes, Blonde
  • Truth or Consequences (1956-1957) TV Episodes, Self
  • People are Funny (1957) TV Episode, Miss Univac
  • Blondie (1 episode, 1957) The Other Woman (1957) TV Episode Librarian,

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pat Sheehan - the Private Life and Times of Pat Sheehan. Pat Sheehan Pictures".
  2. ↑ "Milestones, Dec. 29, 1958". Time. December 29, 1958.
  3. ↑ "Dennis Crosbys Divorced". The New York Times. July 4, 1964.
  4. ↑ Clemens, Samuel (2020). Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet. Sequoia Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0578682822.
  5. ↑ "Pat Sheehan - the Private Life and Times of Pat Sheehan. Pat Sheehan Pictures".
  6. ↑ "Milestones, Dec. 29, 1958". Time. December 29, 1958.
  7. ↑ "Dennis Crosbys Divorced". The New York Times. July 4, 1964.
  8. ↑ Lentz, Harris M., III (2007). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland & Company. p. 338. ISBN 978-0786429332.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Pat Sheehan Profile". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ Kathryn Crosby (March 1, 1983). My Life with Bing. Collage Books Inc. p. 147. ISBN 0938728091.
  11. ↑ Kurtti, Jeff (1996). The Great Hollywood Musical Trivia Book. New York: Applause Books. p. 41. ISBN 1-55783-222-6.
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