John Bowman Duncan (December 7, 1923 – February 8, 2016) was an American actor. In addition to managing several business ventures, he made appearances at comic book conventions and collectors' shows worldwide.
Biography
Career
Johnny Duncan learned to dance
Jitterbug
Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...
as a teen and by the age of 19, he had made his first major appearance in a dance role in the "King of Swing"
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially.
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
camp classic musical ''
The Gang's All Here''. This kicked off Duncan's career as a movie swing dancer and actor and led to numerous appearances in other films, and a contract with
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, where he appeared in productions with
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...
and
Jane Withers
Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show hostess. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list fo ...
. Notable roles include parts in ''
The East Side Kids'', ''
The Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...
'', ''
Mystery of the 13th Guest'' and the 1949 serial ''
Batman and Robin'' as
Dick Grayson
Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ' ...
/
Robin, the Boy Wonder. He was so young looking that he was twenty-five years old when he was hired to play the Boy Wonder.
He later appeared in bit parts in a number of films including ''
Plan 9 from Outer Space
''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' is a 1957 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had ...
''. He played a member of The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club in the classic Marlon Brando film ''
The Wild One
''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the ...
'' in 1952. His final film appearance was in the 1960 film ''
Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
''.
Personal life
Duncan made occasional appearances at movie conventions, often signing photos from ''The East Side Kids'' and ''Batman and Robin'' until his death in February 2016 at the age of 92.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
Interview with Johnny DuncanNPR profile of Johnny Duncan
1923 births
2016 deaths
American male film actors
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