William Duncan (December 16, 1879 – February 7, 1961), born in Dundee, Scotland was an actor, producer, writer, and director of film serials. He was a leading star, becoming one of the highest paid actors in the early film industry. Many of the films he starred in did not survive to the present day.[1] Duncan, who was Hollywood's first Scottish movie star, worked with the major studios of the day including the Selig Polyscope Company and Vitagraph.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2009)

William Duncan
Duncan in 1920
Born	December 16, 1879 Dundee, Scotland
Died	February 7, 1961(1961-02-07) (aged 81) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Inglewood Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actor Film director
Years active	1911 - 1940
Spouse(s)	Edith Johnson (married 1921–1961)

Career

Born in the Lochee area of Dundee in 1879,[1] Duncan came to the United States in 1890. He played football and participated in track at the University of Pennsylvania but left after two years. He worked as physical director at the McFadden Physical Culture Health Home and wrote for a magazine about physical culture. He also operated a gymnasium in Philadelphia and was a professional wrestler. Duncan debuted in vaudeville in 1906, after which he acted in stock theater companies in Memphis, Tennessee; Rochester, New York; and Philadelphia.[2]

He had a role in hundreds of serial episodes in a career spanning from 1911 to 1940, many of them Westerns. When William Duncan joined Vitagraph, his contract was worth $1,000,000 a year, which made him better paid than Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Mr. Duncan is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, USA. He appeared in films with Olympic swimmer Buster Crabbe (who played Flash Gordon in the 1930s).[1]

Family

His second wife was silent film actress Edith Johnson who sometimes costarred with him on screen. He and his wife had two sons and one daughter. The couple remained married until Duncan's death in 1961.[3]

Selected filmography

• The Telltale Knife (1911)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1912)
• The Fighting Trail (1917)
• Money Magic (1917)
• Aladdin from Broadway (1917)
• Smashing Barriers (1919)
• Hopalong Rides Again (1921)
• Steelheart (1921)
• Fighting Fate (1921)
• Where Men Are Men (1921)
• No Defense (1921)
• The Silent Vow (1922)
• The Fighting Guide (1922)
• When Danger Smiles (1922)
• The Steel Trail (1923)
• Playing It Wild (1923)
• The Fast Express (1924)
• Wolves of the North (1924)
• Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
• Three on the Trail (1936)
• Forlorn River (1937)
• The Frontiersmen (1938)
• Bar 20 Justice (1938)
• The Farmer's Daughter (1940)

References

• Hans J. Wollstein (2011). "William Duncan". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Duncan (actor).

• William Duncan at IMDb
• William Duncan at Find a Grave

This article about a film actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e