Robin Duke (born March 13, 1954) is a Canadian actress, comedian, and voice actress. Duke may be best known for her work on the television comedy series '' SCTV'' and, later, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

''. She co-founded ''Women Fully Clothed'', a sketch comedy troupe which toured Canada. She teaches writing as a faculty member at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

and had a recurring role playing Wendy Kurtz in the sitcom ''

Schitt's Creek ''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons. Produced ...

''.

Early life

Duke was born in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. She went to high school with

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on '' Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), '' Beetle ...

at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke; they first met in homeroom class.

Career

In 1976, Duke joined O'Hara as part of the Toronto version of the stage comedy troupe

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...

, while also making several appearances in the troupe's television series, ''SCTV''. Duke became a regular on ''SCTV'' from 1980 to 1981. She joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1981 when O'Hara suddenly dropped out of that show. She now teaches at Humber College's Comedy Writing and Performance program, teaching Improv and Voice and Acting, it's been quoted by her that "class C is my favorite"

''Saturday Night Live (SNL)'' (1981–1984)

Duke was an actor and writer on SNL from 1981 to 1984. Duke was hired in place of Catherine O'Hara, who was chosen as a cast member in 1981 but had decided to return to ''SCTV'' instead. Duke's most popular character was probably Wendy Whiner, a woman who, with her equally whiny husband (

Joe Piscopo Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...

), annoyed everyone she met. She is also remembered for appearing with Mr. T as the equally bizarre "Mrs. T" in a faux commercial for the real-life product "Mr. and Mrs. T's Bloody Mary Mix".

Film acting credits

Duke went on to appear in such films as '' Club Paradise'' (1986), ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges f ...

'' (1993), '' Stuart Saves His Family'' (1995) and '' Portrait of a Serial Monogamist'' (2015), along with many television guest appearances.

Voice-over acting credits

Duke is also the voice of Penny in the children's animated television series '' George and Martha''. Her other voice roles include: *'' Bob and Margaret'' *'' Atomic Betty'' *'' Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse''

''Women Fully Clothed'' (2004)

In 2004, Duke along with

Kathryn Greenwood Kathryn Greenwood (born March 21, 1962) is a Canadian actress and comedian. She appeared on the American version of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' numerous times, and played Grace Bailey on the Canadian television drama series ''Wind at My Back ...

, Debra McGrath,

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film '' Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wa ...

and Teresa Pavlinek created Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe. The group has toured the United States, Canada and appeared in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival.

''Schitt's Creek'' (2016, 2019)

In 2016, Duke had a recurring role on ''

'' playing dress shop owner Wendy Kurtz in five episodes of season 2. The sitcom reunited Duke with her former ''SCTV'' castmate

Eugene Levy Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian ...

, and with Catherine O'Hara, whom she had replaced on ''SCTV''. Duke made another appearance as Kurtz in the Season 5 episode “Roadkill”.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Women Fully Clothed official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Robin 1954 births Actresses from Ontario Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian television personalities Canadian voice actresses Living people Canadian women comedians Canadian sketch comedians People from St. Catharines 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian women television personalities Comedians from Ontario Canadian Comedy Award winners