| Patsy Garrett | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1921 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Virginia Garrett (birthname) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1962–1991 |
Virginia "Patsy" Garrett (born May 4, 1921, Atlantic City, New Jersey) is an actress best known for her recurring roles as nosy neighbor Mrs. Florence Fowler on TV's Nanny and the Professor (1970–1971), school secretary Miss Hogarth on Room 222 (1972–1973) and as Mary Gruber in the Benji series of motion pictures beginning in 1974.
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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. At the age of seventeen, Garrett was a regular on Fred Waring's national radio show as a comic singer. Soon, she was approached by Cole Porter to promote a ballad ("Begin the Beguine") which he had written for a new musical. Garrett appeared on a classic Chesterfield cigarette print advertisement from 1940 (shown at left).
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, 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 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.
U.S. television audiences of the 1960s and 1970s will remember Garrett for another recurring role in a series of commercial messages as the "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.
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. She continues to appear in local theater productions in and around the Palm Springs, California area. On November 28, 2004, the area's Desert Theater League awarded Garrett its lifetime achievement award. On May 7, 2011, family and friends gathered in Palm Desert, California to toast Garrett for her 90th birthday.
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