Carmen Duncan
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Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actress for the 1980 film ''
Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...
'', and was also known for the film '' Don't Let It Get You''. Her other film appearances include '' Touch and Go'' (1980) and '' Turkey Shoot'' (1982). She played Iris Wheeler in the American
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
'' Another World'' from 1988 to 1994. Duncan appeared in numerous theatre roles between 1970 and 2015.


Early life and career

Duncan was born in
Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega, New South Wales, Bega with the Riverina. ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, in 1942. She graduated in 1961 from the
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
(NIDA) in Sydney. Duncan was known to Australian audiences as a
character actress A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014 ...
in television, stage and films, as well as having appeared in television commercials. Her television roles included the series ''
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
'' (1967) and she appeared in the evening soap opera '' Number 96'' playing Helen Sheridan in 1973. A role on the soap '' Certain Women'' followed. She later had an ongoing role in ''
Skyways Skyways may refer to: *Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways ver ...
'', and guest starred in several episodes of ''
A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...
'' as Terence Elliott's wife, Rowena. Her film roles included '' Turkey Shoot'' (1982) and its 2014 reboot. Duncan emigrated to the United States in the 1980s, where she acted on television. From October 1988 to September 1994, she portrayed Iris Carrington Wheeler on the American daytime soap opera '' Another World''. She succeeded Beverlee McKinsey in the role after a long absence. Many of her critics, including ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' Michael Logan, remarked that her accent sounded less American than her counterparts, making her seem out of place in the serial. As an actress, she generally used a Cultivated Australian accent, which is similar to
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent of British English regarded as the Standard language, standard one, carrying the highest Prestige (sociolinguistics), social prestige, since as late as the beginning of the 2 ...
. After leaving the ''Another World'' role in the mid-1990s, Duncan returned to Australia, where she acted in guest roles on television series and lampooned her former soap opera image on television commercials. In 2000, she was diagnosed and treated for early stage breast cancer. In 2003, she appeared as Anna Denton on ''
CrashBurn {{Infobox television , image = , caption = , alt_name = , genre = Soap operaDrama , creator = Deborah Cox Andrew Knight , developer = , writer = ...
''. In 2004, she returned to the United States to fill in for
Eileen Fulton Eileen Fulton (born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty; September 13, 1933) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is known for her television role as Lisa Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'', which she played almost continuo ...
as Lisa Grimaldi in three episodes of ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...
'' while Fulton was on emergency medical leave. Duncan became a member of Actor's Equity in 1962 and the federal council of the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance.


Activism

Duncan retired from acting in 2006 and became a fundraising manager for the GO Fund, a New South Wales charity associated with gynaecological cancer. She served as an ambassador for the Breast Care Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women.


Personal life

Duncan lived in Sydney. She had two children. Her younger sister is actress Paula Duncan. Carmen Duncan died on 3 February 2019 from
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
, aged 76.


Filmography


Film


Television


Theatre


References


External links

*
Irises: The Unofficial Beverlee McKinsey and Carmen Duncan Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Carmen 1942 births 2019 deaths Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses People from Cooma Actresses from New South Wales Deaths from breast cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Drama teachers Australian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses