John Joseph Duda (born March 19, 1977) is an American child actor best known for starring in the Christmas movie ''Prancer''.

Life

John Joseph Duda was born to Deborah Sullivan and John Duda Sr. in

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It shares borders with the ...

. He has two younger siblings, Sara (born 1978) and Kevin (born 1981). His mother was a nurse, and his sister was a musician actress. He is of Irish and Polish descent. In elementary school, Duda was an avid piano player and was part of the Oak Lawn singing group Kids Spectacular. He became passionate about acting at a young age. He graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. At Harvard he studied economics and was a stage manager and singer for the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group Din & Tonics. He worked as a teacher and mentor for middle and high school, earned a doctorate in education from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 2011, and founded multiple nonprofit organizations to benefit students. In 2013, Johnny married Lindsey Gandy. They have two children together. They work with orphanages and continue to work with students.

Career

At age ten, John Duda played

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, ''A Christmas Carol''. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by visits from the ghost of Jacob Marley, the G ...

as a boy in

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...

's 1987 presentation of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

''. Over 200 children auditioned for five roles available. His brother Kevin earned the part of Tiny Tim. The adaptation for the theatre's 10th anniversary of the play added minor scenes, some with young Ebenezer, giving John more time on stage. John was described as, "Already quite a professional... poised and articulate." Between rehearsals, John worked hard to advance his acting career by going to other auditions and recording tapes. Duda's first film acting role was in ''

Eyes of an Angel ''Eyes of an Angel'' is a 1991 American drama film starring John Travolta and directed by Robert Harmon. It was released in France, Sweden, and on television in the United States as ''The Tender''. It was released straight-to-video in 1994 un ...

'', which was filmed March 14, 1988, but not released until 1991. Duda's first movie to be released was his second role, ''Prancer,'' which was filmed from February 3 to April 15, 1989. In ''Rudy'', his brother Kevin played his only movie role alongside him. Many of the filming locations where Duda worked for various movies were in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, with others nearby in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Duda was praised for his performance in ''Prancer'' as Steve Riggs. "Duda is just right as the brother," wrote Kevin Thomas for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duda, John 1977 births Living people American male child actors 20th-century American male actors St. Ignatius College Prep alumni Harvard University alumni People from Oak Lawn, Illinois Male actors from Chicago