Jan Duggan (born Genevieve Hussey; November 6, 1881 – March 10, 1977)
was an American film and stage actress.
Early life
Duggan was born Genevieve Hussey in St. Louis, Missouri.
She was the daughter of George W. Hussey Sr. and Mary E. Flynn, she had three siblings. Her father died from a gunshot wound in 1894 in an act that was considered a homicide.
Voice lessons and breathing exercises that were administered for her frailty in childhood helped to prepare her for her career. She sang in light opera and in concerts in St. Louis and taught voice lessons after she moved to Dallas.
Career
Duggan started her theatrical career in 1933 after she was cast as the "Bowery Nightingale" in the revival of ''
The Drunkard'' in the Los Angeles Theatre Mart. Her film career started in 1934, when
W. C. Fields interpolated ''The Drunkard'' into his 1934 film comedy ''
The Old Fashioned Way''. Fields worked well with Duggan, and she became one of the comedian's favorites; he cast her in several of his films. Some of her other films of the 1930s include ''
Wagon Wheels'', ''
The County Chairman'', ''
A Damsel in Distress'', and ''
Mountain Music'' during the 1930s. During the 1940s she appeared in ''
Manhattan Heartbeat'', ''
The Big Store'', and ''
Dudes Are Pretty People'', among others.
For 20 of the 24 years from 1933 through 1957, Duggan sang between the second and third acts of ''The Drunkard'' at the Theater Mart in Los Angeles. She estimated that the number of performances exceeded 7,300.
Personal life
Duggan died on March 10, 1977,
[ in Anaheim, California, aged 95. She was buried in Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.][Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.]
Filmography
Film
* '' The Old Fashioned Way'' (1934) - Cleopatra Pepperday
* '' Wagon Wheels'' (1934) - Abby Masters
* '' Forsaking All Others'' (1934) - Mrs. Cobal - Costumer (uncredited)
* '' The County Chairman'' (1935) - Abigail
* ''Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
'' (1935) - Thrilled Passenger in Pilot House
* '' Reckless'' (1935) - Chairwoman (uncredited)
* '' Alimony Aches'' (1935) - (Andy Clyde
Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967), was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned some 45 years. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer Day''. H ...
short subject) -- Mary Clyde
* ''I Live My Life
''I Live My Life'' is a 1935 American comedy-drama film starring Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne and Frank Morgan. It is based on the story "Claustrophobia" by A. Carter Goodloe.
Plot
Bored socialite Kay Bentley travels to Greece on her wealthy f ...
'' (1935) - Aunt Mathilde, Loud Singer
* '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' (1936) - Actress at Ford's Theatre (uncredited)
* '' Drift Fence'' (1936) - Carrie Bingham
* '' Small Town Girl'' (1936) - Florence (uncredited)
* '' Easy to Take'' (1936) - Miss Higie
* '' Mountain Music'' (1937) - Ma Burnside
* '' New Faces of 1937'' (1937) - Opera singer at audition (uncredited)
* '' Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' (1937) - Supt. of Nurses
* ''Life Begins in College
''Life Begins in College'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. It marked the Ritz Brothers' first starring role in a feature film.
Plot
The action takes place at Lombardy College, founded "to give the Indian nations of ...
'' (1937) - Telephone Operator (uncredited)
* '' A Damsel in Distress'' (1937) - Miss Ruggles
* '' Midnight Intruder'' (1938) - Mrs. Randolph
* '' Scandal Street'' (1938) - Vera Veazy
* '' Kentucky Moonshine'' (1938) - Nurse
* '' One Wild Night'' (1938) - Mrs. Halliday
* '' The Wages of Sin'' (1938) - uncredited
* '' Thanks for Everything'' (1938) - Miss Twitchell
* '' You Can't Cheat an Honest Man'' (1939) - Mrs. Sludge (uncredited)
* '' Inside Story'' (1939) - Flora
* '' The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'' (1939) - Mrs. Winthrop
* '' The House of Fear'' (1939) - Sarah Henderson
* '' Here I Am a Stranger'' (1939) - Landlady (uncredited)
* '' My Little Chickadee'' (1940) - Uppity Little Bend Woman (uncredited)
* '' Manhattan Heartbeat'' (1940) - Wife
* '' The Bank Dick'' (1940) - Mrs. Muckle - Mother in Bank (uncredited)
* '' Las Vegas Nights'' (1941) - Flirtatious Dowager (uncredited)
* '' The Big Store'' (1941) - Henry's Wife (uncredited)
* '' The Richest Man in Town'' (1941) - Penelope Kidwell
* '' Dudes Are Pretty People'' (1942) - Dude Ranch Guest
* '' Calaboose'' (1943) - Radio Girl (voice, uncredited)
* '' The Meanest Man in the World'' (1943) - Mrs. Throckmorton (uncredited)
Select Stage Credits
* '' The Drunkard'' (1933-57)
References
External links
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggan, Nan
1881 births
1977 deaths
American film actresses
American stage actresses
19th-century American actresses
Actresses from St. Louis