Patty Duke Thanks Gay Fans

Valley of the Dolls star Patty Duke says gay fans of the 1967 cult film helped her overcome 40 years of humiliation over her performance, according to website Hollywood News. "I've come to enjoy that movie -- not that it's not still embarrassing," Duke says. "But thanks to the gay community, I can see it in a different way and have a good time with it."

Duke, who played booze- and pills-addicted star Neely O'Hara, loosely based on Judy Garland, in the adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's torrid best seller, will attend special screening events at Chicago's Music Box Theater Saturday. Festivities will include a costume parade and a sing-along screening of the film.

The film, while a box office success, was greeted with some of the most scathing reviews in motion picture history and developed an almost immediate following among gay viewers who were attracted by the film's camp elements.