At just 11 years old, Patty McCormack won widespread acclaim for her haunting performance in the 1956 psychological thriller The Bad Seed. Portraying the seemingly innocent yet deeply unsettling Rhoda Penmark, McCormack captivated audiences and critics alike, becoming one of the youngest performers ever nominated for an Academy Award. Author Stephen King even hailed it as one of his favourite horror flicks. Now, nearly 70 years after the film’s release, the actress - who is 80 now - looks remarkably different from the chilling child star who once terrified moviegoers.
The actress recently joined the It Happened in Hollywood podcast, where she opened up about the highs and lows of being thrust into fame at such a young age. Patty credited her "pretty solid family" for keeping her grounded, noting that they "weren’t that impressed" by her sudden success. "It didn’t rock their world, so that was helpful," she shared. Her mother wasn’t much of a stage mom either, she added. "She was more surprised, I think, at the turn of events than anything, because it wasn't a planned future for me. It came by accident."
The movie was a huge success, earning more than $4 million at the box office and receiving four Oscar nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Patty. In Stephen King’s book Danse Macabre about the horror genre, he mentioned it was one of his favorite horror films. But in the aftermath of The Bad Seed’s success Patty said, "I did my best to separate myself from that role and reputation."
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© Getty Images for TCMShe also admitted that over time, the performance didn’t bring her much recognition, as people back then rarely paid attention to actors' earlier work. "For a long time… it was something that didn't get discussed because it was a past achievement," she explained.
"Back then, there was that awful, awful thing of being a one-hit wonder," she explained. In the 1960s, she worked in international low-budget films as an "ingénue," but she admitted, "never did they connect my past with what I was doing in the present."
© Corbis via Getty ImagesOver time, however, the film became something of a cult classic. "People started to appreciate the history of people's careers," Patty explained. "Also, my character was kind of cool." A friend told her people identified with Rhoda because she "went against the grain of what was expected."
"That was an important thing for everybody in life as they were questioning their own sexuality, choices that they were free to make, stuff like that," she added. "Rhoda had a lot of stuff for a seemingly delicate little girl."
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyPatty has continued to have a flourishing career since her days as a child star. Her credits include a role on the 1979 sitcom The Ropers, as Liz La Cerva in the award-winning TV show The Sopranos and Pat Nixon in Frost/Nixon. She’s also kept up working on stage.
Now, at 80, she said, "I have great freedom now. You have to be old enough where it doesn’t matter."
