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{{Short description|American actress and singer (1921–2015)}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Patsy Garrett
| image = Publicity_Photo_of_Patsy_Garrett.jpg
| caption = Publicity Photo of Patsy Garrett
|birth_name = Virginia Garrett
|birth_date = {{birth date |1921|5|4}}
|birth_place = [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2015|1|8|1921|5|4}}
|death_place = [[Indio, California]], U.S.
|othername =
|occupation = Actress, singer
|yearsactive = 1928–2014
|awards = [[Young Artist Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award|Young Artist Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award]]
}}

'''Virginia "Patsy" Garrett''' (May 4, 1921 – January 8, 2015) was an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a radio performer at the age of seven, Garrett is best known for her seven years on [[Fred Waring|Fred Waring's ''Pleasure Time'']] radio show during the 1940s, as well as for her recurring television and film roles; as nosy neighbor Mrs. Florence Fowler on ''[[Nanny and the Professor]]'' (1970–1971), school secretary Miss Hogarth on ''[[Room 222]]'' (1972–1973), as Mary Gruber in the ''[[Benji]]'' series of motion pictures beginning in 1974, and as a commercial spokesperson for [[Nestlé Purina PetCare|Purina]] Cat Chow cat food.

==Career==
Active on stage, screen and television beginning with a dance recital at age four, Garrett had her own children's radio show in [[Richmond, Virginia]] by age seven.<ref name="Classic Images">{{cite web|url=http://www.nannyandtheprofessor.com/PatsyGarrettArticle.pdf|title=Patsy Garrett, Adored by Cats, and Named by Dempsey|author=Richard Sackley|date=January 2010|work=Classic Images|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061222/http://www.nannyandtheprofessor.com/PatsyGarrettArticle.pdf|archivedate=2013-10-23}}</ref> At the age of seventeen, Garrett was a regular on [[Fred Waring]]'s national radio show ''"[[Fred Waring|Pleasure Time]]"'' as a comic singer from 1938 to 1945.<ref name="The Victoria Advocate">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19390907&id=GFIdAAAAIBAJ&pg=2977,2558947|title=Whiteman, Waring Bands To Be Heard For Chesterfield|date=September 7, 1939|work=The Victoria Advocate}}</ref><ref name="The Free Lance-Star">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UAVfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1965,1818304&dq=patsy-garrett&hl=en|title=Singing, Dancing and Band Stars to Give Show Here|date=October 24, 1945|work=The Free Lance-Star}}</ref> During this time, she was approached by [[Cole Porter]] to promote a ballad ("[[Begin the Beguine]]") which he had written for a new musical.<ref name="Classic Images"/> In 1981, Garrett was honored by the [[Young Artist Award|Young Artist Foundation]] with its [[Young Artist Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award|Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award]] recognizing her achievements within the entertainment industry as a [[child actor|child actress]] and singer.<ref name="Young Artist Awards 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms3.htm|title=3rd Annual Youth in Film Awards|accessdate=March 31, 2011|work=YoungArtistAwards.org}}</ref>

In the late 1960s, Garrett provided cartoon voiceovers for a number of [[Hanna-Barbera]] projects, including ''[[The Banana Splits Adventure Hour]]''. A small part as the mayor's wife in a 1969 [[Elvis Presley]] movie, ''[[The Trouble with Girls (film)|The Trouble with Girls]]'', reportedly led to a lifelong friendship with the singer. While working on the film, Garrett frequently baked cookies for the cast. Presley's schedule usually meant his arriving late on the set, which in turn meant that he missed out on the treats. Garrett baked him a special batch which he brought with him to [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] where he was scheduled to perform. As she was passing through Las Vegas, Garrett reportedly phoned Presley not for tickets, but for the return of her baking tin.<ref name="Classic Images"/>

U.S. television audiences of the 1970s may remember Garrett for another recurring role in a series of commercial messages as the "[[Ralston Purina|Purina]] Cat Chow Lady." A post-production trick involving the controlled forward motion and reversal of the film had Garrett dancing the "chow-chow-chow" with a cat in a good-humored parody of the [[Cha-cha-cha (dance)|cha-cha-cha]].<ref name="Daily News of Los Angeles">{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LA&p_theme=la&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EF5135C91014D08&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Girl Scout Founder is Next Role for Veteran Actress|date=March 11, 1987|work=Daily News of Los Angeles}}</ref>

==Later years==
In 2000, the [[TV Land]] cable television channel aired the original Purina commercials as part of their "Retromercials" series of fondly remembered national television ads of the past. On November 28, 2004, California's Desert Theater League awarded Garrett its lifetime achievement award.<ref name="The Desert Sun 1">{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1795002401.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+28%2C+2004&author=Bruce+Fessier&pub=The+Desert+Sun&desc=Chow+chow+chow+girl+gets+her+due&pqatl=google|title=Chow chow chow girl gets her due|date=November 28, 2004|work=The Desert Sun|access-date=July 7, 2017|archive-date=March 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307154630/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/doc/439684690.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov%2028,%202004&author=Bruce%20Fessier&pub=The%20Desert%20Sun&edition=&startpage=&desc=Chow%20chow%20chow%20girl%20gets%20her%20due|url-status=dead}}</ref> She continued to appear in local theater productions in and around the [[Palm Springs, California]], area.<ref name="Classic Images"/><ref name="The Desert Sun 2">{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1975781401.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+04%2C+2010&author=Palm+Desert+Sun&pub=The+Desert+Sun&desc=Plenty+of+live+entertainment+in+valley&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131191535/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mydesert/access/1975781401.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+04,+2010&author=Palm+Desert+Sun&pub=The+Desert+Sun&desc=Plenty+of+live+entertainment+in+valley&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Plenty of live entertainment in the valley|date=March 4, 2010|work=The Desert Sun}}</ref> She died on January 8, 2015, after a brief illness.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/people-news/actress-patsy-garrett-dies-at-93-1201407386/|title=Actress Patsy Garrett Dies at 93|work=Variety|date=16 January 2015 |accessdate=17 January 2015}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1962|| ''[[The Chapman Report]]'' || Older Married Woman || Uncredited
|-
|1964|| ''[[Dear Heart]]'' || Millicent || Uncredited
|-
|1967|| ''[[Divorce American Style]]'' || Phoebe || Uncredited
|-
|1969|| ''[[The Trouble with Girls (film)|The Trouble with Girls]]'' || Mrs. Gilchrist ||
|-
|1973|| ''[[Wicked, Wicked]]'' || Mrs. Griswald - Housekeeper ||
|-
|1974|| ''[[The Parallax View]]'' || Woman #1 ||
|-
|1974|| ''[[Benji (1974 film)|Benji]]'' || rowspan="2"|Mary ||
|-
|1977|| ''[[For the Love of Benji]]'' ||
|-
|1991|| ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'' || Shop-at-Home Anchor Person 2 || (final film role)
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0308185|Patsy Garrett}}
* {{tcmdb name|id=68869|name=Patsy Garrett}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061222/http://www.nannyandtheprofessor.com/PatsyGarrettArticle.pdf Patsy Garrett] article in [[Classic Images]], January 2010

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Patsy}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from Atlantic County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Musicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:American women singers]]
[[Category:American radio actresses]]
[[Category:Singers from New Jersey]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Palm Springs, California]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:Actors from Atlantic City, New Jersey]]

Patsy Garrett - Revision history

imported>Ernsanchez00: Changed the category