Archie Duncan (26 May 1914 – 24 July 1979) was a Scottish actor born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. Duncan's father was a

regimental sergeant major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Austral ...

in the army and his mother was a postmistress. He attended Glasgow's Govan High School and worked as a welder in Glasgow shipyards for a decade. He began his career in repertory theatre and West End plays. His professional acting debut was in ''Juno and the Paycock'' in May 1944 at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow. Although he appeared in over 50 television series and movie roles, he is best remembered for

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...

in the 1954 series '' Sherlock Holmes'' and

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

in ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia ...

'' from 1955 to 1959. Duncan was replaced in the Little John role by Rufus Cruikshank for 13 episodes after Duncan was injured when a horse bolted toward spectators, mostly children, watching the location filming of the episode "Checkmate" on 20 April 1955. He grabbed the bridle, stopping the horse, but the cart it was pulling ran him over, causing a fractured kneecap and cuts and bruises. He received the

Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct The Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, formerly the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, acknowledged brave acts by both civilians and members of the armed services in both war and peace, for gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. Est ...

and £1,360 in damages from Sapphire films. He also played the ditch digger in the 1969 film '' Ring of Bright Water'' who dispatched the star otter Mij with his spade, towards the end. On 24 July 1979 Duncan died at home in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was 65.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Archie 1914 births 1979 deaths Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Male actors from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish male actors Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct