1902-1972
Western heavy Kenne Duncan (first name pronounced "Kenny") was born Kenneth Duncan MacLachlan in Ontario, Canada on this day in 1902 (many sources cite his birth year as 1903, but I am going by what is listed on the his grave marker). Though he is mostly remembered for his western and serial roles, or his roles in Ed Wood films (depending on what kind of film buff one is), he actually got his start in films in the late 1920's. He first appeared in film as the character "Clint Scollard" in the silent short Almost Human in 1927. A dog pal film starring character actor Frank Austin (known for his role in Roland West's The Monster from 1925) and featuring Fearless the Dog in his next to last role, the film had Duncan in a supporting role and was directed by Robin Williamson, who was the first director of Laurel and Hardy comedy shorts. He appeared in three more silent films, all in 1928, with the b-grade adventure Police Reporter representing his first work in a serial. His next two short films--Saps and Saddles and The Secret Outlaw--marked his first appearances in westerns. Both films were directed by Walter Fabian and were produced by Universal. His first film with sound came as an extra in the Gary Cooper World War I romantic film A Man from Wyoming, released in July of 1930. His first acting credit in a speaking role came the following year in the Clara Bow musical No Limit (January 1931). He then started a long career of appearing in westerns, largely as the heavy, often credited as "Kenneth Duncan." An actor with this type background, would naturally lead to a television career, as cowboy extras and heavies as guests were always needed, but Duncan's television debut did not come on any such show and, in fact, came shockingly early. He acted in the series "The Green Archer." Based on an Edgar Wallace novel, it of course started out as an old fashioned theatrical serial, and released both domestically and internationally so (complete with compacted versions for theatrical rentals); it was decided to adapt it also for very early television broadcast--though far more people saw it at the movie house! This would certainly not be his last theatrical serial gig (!), and, undoubtedly, it was in one of these that Edward D. Wood Jr. first saw him. He also appeared in a couple of b-grade horror films of the 1940's, but only as a extra (such as "murder victim" in The Phantom Speaks from 1945). As you can imagine, he was indeed a shoe-in to appear in actual television westerns; and he had a large number of guest roles in the genre, including on: "The Cisco Kid" (where he got to play one of the good guys for a change, he was twice the sheriff), "The Lone Ranger," "The Range Rider," "The Gene Autry Show," "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok," and "Death Valley Days" just to name a few. Anyone who has seen Tim Burton's Ed Wood is aware that Depp's Ed Wood pitched a "Dr. Acula" plot to a studio executive...well Duncan was the real Dr. Acula. Wood cast him in the lead role of what would become Night of the Ghouls, along with Tor Johnson as Lobo, of course. Wood had him trade in his cowboy hat for a turban...an idea that he no doubt got from seeing Duncan in the 1938 and 1941 serials The Spider's Web and The Spider Returns. Ultimately, he would appear in five of Wood's productions, including one that was intended to be a television pilot. He also became a life-long friend of Wood and many of the exploits Depp's Wood is shown having with Bela Lugosi in Burton's films actually occurred with Duncan and Wood, in the 1960's. Duncan did not do much acting in the 1960's and none, save one, short after 1961. He had long struggled with alcoholism. He also had begun to struggle with other forms of ill health, some likely related to numerous injuries over the years of cowboy work on location shoots. He did make an appearance in the five minute short film Superman vs. the Gorilla Gang (directed by Donald Glut) in 1965, and that was it for his acting career. Duncan suffered a stroke in 1971, that, along with other ill health woes, weighed on him heavily enough to take his own life with a deliberate overdose of barbiturates on the 5th of February in 1972, just shy of his 70th birthday. He had made Wood the executor of his will and Wood held a wake for him after his funeral in a pool. His actual funeral was the event that Burton borrows heavily from for the funeral of Lugosi in his film. He is buried at Grand View Memorial Park, the other cemetery (and it's oldest) in Glendale, California.
 | ||
| [source: Randy (Find a Grave)] |
 |
| As Dr. Acula in The Night of the Ghoul (1959) |
 |
| with Tor Johnson |
No comments:
Post a Comment