Actress Patricia Modell dead at 80

BALTIMORE, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Actress and philanthropist Patricia Modell has died at Gilchrist Hospice in Baltimore, her family said. She was 80.

The Baltimore Sun confirmed her death following a long illness Wednesday, but said the cause was unknown.

The wife of former Ravens owner and president Art Modell worked frequently in theater, television and film in the 1950s and 1960s, then later left the spotlight to focus on her charity work.

Among her small-screen credits were "Perry Mason," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Maverick," "The Rifleman," "The Donna Reed Show," "The Dick Powell Theater," "People's Choice," "Twilight Zone," "Peyton Place" and "General Hospital." She also appeared in the movies "Homicidal" and "I Saw What You Did."

"She was a woman who didn't have to do anything, because of her very successful husband, but she did so much," her friend Nancy Grasmick, recently retired state superintendent of schools, told the Sun. "She had an absolute dedication to children who really had struggles in life, whether it was poverty, disability or any kind of abuse."

The Sun said Modell is survived by her husband, two sons and six grandchildren.