Collins mentioned in interviews that hypnosis helped her recover from a nervous breakdown.[1] She later studied the art and came up with a nightclub act in which she would hypnotize volunteers from the audience.[1] She owned a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, where she would perform her act, as well as use hypnosis for therapeutic purposes.[1] She became known as the "Hip Hypnotist".[2] At her zenith, Collins earned $4,000 weekly.[1]
In 1966, Collins appeared as herself on The Lucy Show,[1] in an episode titled "Lucy and Pat Collins", on which she hypnotized Lucille Ball's and Gale Gordon's characters, Lucy Carmichael and Mr. Theodore J. Mooney. She also appeared in the film Divorce American Style.[1] Collins was seen on the panel shows What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret and on the game show Hollywood Squares.[3]
Collins resided in Beverly Hills until 1983. She then moved to Reno, Nevada, performing there and in Lake Tahoe through 1992, when she moved to San Bernardino with ill health.[4]
Among the celebrities whom Collins hypnotized were Steve Allen, Jill St. John, and Lloyd Bridges. Reportedly, she helped Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax cut down on his smoking habit, from one and a half packs a day to three cigarettes a day.
