THE BEAT QUEEN FOREVER!

Fresh-faced and hopeful, Billie Carol is the ideal role model.  As played by Patty Duke in 1965, she left an indelible impression on young moviegoers.  BILLIE'S GOT THE BEAT not only celebrates the original high-spirited movie, but adapts and re-imagines Billie sequel stories, originally intended for TV and animation.  They take the Beat's possibilities to a whole new level!

ONE OF NATURE'S BEAUTIFUL THINGS

This charming photo had made the Internet rounds in black-and-white, but seeing it in its original color is a revelation.  "Billie was a force of nature," actress Patty Duke commented in a recent interview.  She certainly seems in a comfort zone here! 

EVEN THE BEAT NEEDS A BREATHER

Relaxing in between takes on location while filming BILLIE, Anna aka Patty Duke requires the comfort of a jacket; underneath she's wearing the Harding High track suit.  Still on display are the actress' pretty legs.  "Many people are turned-on by Billie," Anna revealed in one of her last interviews.  "There is something irresistible about her.  She's boyish but also soft, female, although very often she's tough.  I wish I could have played her years later, as an adult married woman." 

TOMBOY ON THE TOWN: BILLIE GROWS UP!

It's a short step from teen tomboy to young woman, and Billie Carol (played knowingly by Anna/Patty Duke in 1965) is clearly beginning to understand feminine wiles and social game-playing the more she interacts with potential suitors.  As an experienced man of the world, I'd offer to buy this seductive young lady a drink... even if the law limited her to a soda or milkshake.  Seriously, Anna looks absolutely charming in full "Billie" mode, wearing her dance attire and posing in an offbeat location (could easily be "Billie's European Vacation -- filled with romance, danger, excitement, and of course... the Beat!").

LEGGY, LOVELY...AND LETHAL ON THE TRACK!

That's our Beat-empowered heroine!  Anna relaxes on the set during the filming of Billie's first major run against the male athletes of Harding High.  She's decked out in a green top for the only time in the film, and it compliments the equally pleasing powder-blue sweat shirt and Harding track suit she usually runs around in.

BEAT GIRL!

Anna found time during the shooting of BILLIE to demonstrate a different kind of Beat.  The shoot was a fast one, with creative personnel from "The Patty Duke Show" easily adapting their skills from small screen to large (very large; anamorphic Panavision, along with Technicolor).

COACHED BY RAFER!

Famed Olympian athlete Rafer Johnson helped Anna through some difficult hurdles as she prepared for her strenuous role as BILLIE in '65.