Carmen Duncan
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy datesTemplate:Use Australian English Template:Infobox person
Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years.
She was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actress for the 1980 film Harlequin, and was also known for the film Don't Let It Get You. Her other film appearances include Touch and Go (1980) and Turkey Shoot (1982). She played Iris Wheeler in the American soap opera Another World from 1988 to 1994.
Duncan appeared in numerous theatre roles between 1970 and 2015.<ref name=AusStage>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life and career
Duncan was born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1942.<ref name="herald">Template:Cite news</ref> She graduated in 1961 from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney.<ref name="Canberra Times">Template:Cite news</ref> Duncan was known to Australian audiences as a character actress in television, stage and films, as well as having appeared in television commercials. Her television roles included the series Hunter (1967)<ref name="SBS" /> and she appeared in the evening soap opera Number 96 playing Helen Sheridan in 1973.<ref name="Canberra Times" /> A role on the soap Certain Women followed. She later had an ongoing role in Skyways,<ref name="SBS" /> and guest starred in several episodes of A Country Practice as Terence Elliott's wife, Rowena.<ref name="News_au">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=herald /> Her film roles included Turkey Shoot (1982) and its 2014 reboot.<ref name="Canberra Times" />
Duncan emigrated to the United States in the 1980s, where she acted on television.<ref name=herald /> From October 1988 to September 1994, she portrayed Iris Carrington Wheeler on the American daytime soap opera Another World.<ref name="SBS" /> She succeeded Beverlee McKinsey in the role after a long absence. Many of her critics, including TV GuideTemplate:'s Michael Logan, remarked that her accent sounded less American than her counterparts, making her seem out of place in the serial. As an actress, she generally used a Cultivated Australian accent, which is similar to Received Pronunciation.
After leaving the Another World role in the mid-1990s, Duncan returned to Australia, where she acted in guest roles on television series and lampooned her former soap opera image on television commercials. In 2000, she was diagnosed and treated for early stage breast cancer. In 2003, she appeared as Anna Denton on CrashBurn.<ref name=herald /> In 2004, she returned to the United States to fill in for Eileen Fulton as Lisa Grimaldi in three episodes of As the World Turns<ref name="SBS" /> while Fulton was on emergency medical leave. Duncan became a member of Actor's Equity in 1962 and the federal council of the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance.<ref name=herald />
Activism
Duncan retired from acting in 2006 and became a fundraising manager for the GO Fund, a New South Wales charity associated with gynaecological cancer.<ref name="SBS" /><ref name="GO Fund">Template:Cite web</ref> She served as an ambassador for the Breast Care Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women.<ref name="SBS" />
Personal life
Duncan lived in Sydney. She had two children. Her younger sister is actress Paula Duncan.<ref name=herald />
Carmen Duncan died on 3 February 2019 from breast cancer, aged 76.<ref name="herald" /><ref name="News_au" />
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Don't Let It Get You | Judith Beech | Feature film<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1967 | Is Anybody Doing Anything About It? | Herself | Film short |
| 1969 | Ready When You Are, C.B. | Teleplay | |
| 1969 | A Christmas Carol | Teleplay | |
| 1969 | You Can't See 'round Corners | Myra Neilson | Feature film<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1970 | Strange Holiday | Castaway Nurse Kate | Feature film |
| 1973 | And Millions Will Die! | Jill Brennan | TV movie |
| 1976 | Mama's Gone A-Hunting | Helena Stevens | TV movie |
| 1978 | Cries From a Cold Aquarium | Film short | |
| 1980 | Harlequin | Sandra Rast | Feature film<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1980 | Touch and Go | Millicent | Feature film<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1982 | Turkey Shoot | Jennifer | Feature film<ref name="Canberra Times" /> |
| 1982 | Now and Forever | Astrid Bonner | Feature film |
| 1983 | Skin Deep | Vanessa Corey | TV movie |
| 1983 | Platypus Cove | Margaret Davis | Feature film |
| 1984 | Run Chrissie Run! | Eve | Feature film |
| 1984 | The Gamble | Liz | Film short |
| 1985 | Bootleg | Rita | Feature film |
| 1995 | Frailejon | Mother Narration | Film short |
| 1997 | Allie & Me | Poppy | Feature film |
| 2000 | Ihaka: Blunt Instrument | Mrs. Renton | TV movie |
| 2002 | Counterstrike | President Elinor Shaw | TV movie |
| 2002 | The Junction Boys | Mary Harmon | TV movie |
| 2003 | Liquid Bridge | Vera McCallum | Feature film<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 2008 | Forget Me Not | Shelly | Film short |
| 2010 | The Bris | Rita | Film short |
| 2013 | Truth Is... | Mum | Film short |
| 2014 | Turkey Shoot | President Sheila Farr | Feature film<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 2016 | Veov Drive | Melody Day | Film short |
| 2018 | Hotel Mumbai | Lady Wynn | Feature film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Hungry Ones | Regular role: | TV series |
| 1966–1967 | Nice 'n Juicy | Guest role: Rosie Withers | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1966–1973 | Homicide | Guest roles: Barbara Scott / Sally Trevor / Gail Fisher | TV series, 3 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1967 | Hunter | Guest role: Rosie Glow | TV series, 3 episodes<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1967 | You Can't See 'Round Corners | Recurring role: Myra Neilson | TV series, 4 episodes<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1967 | Australian Playhouse | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1968 | The Battlers | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Riptide | Guest roles: Professor Karen Shaw / Kate Brett | TV series, 2 episodes<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1969 | Delta | Guest role: Diane | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Division 4 | Guest role: Irene Daly | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Link Men | Guest role: Carol Crane | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Matlock Police | Guest role: Lisa King | TV series, 1 episode<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1972 | The Spoiler | Regular role: Marie | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1973 | Catch Kandy | Recurring role: Mrs. Wayne | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1973 | Ryan | Guest role: Anne | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1973 | Number 96 | Recurring role: Helen Sheridan / Helen Sheridan Sellars | TV series, 15 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1974 | The Evil Touch | Guest role: Girl | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974–1975 | Certain Women | Recurring role: Beth Pearson | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1975 | Something Special | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1976 | Jackson High | TV pilot | |
| 1977 | Hotel Story | Regular role: | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1978 | Chopper Squad | Guest role: Gary's wife | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978–1981 | Cop Shop | Guest roles: Meredith Wade / Carla Hauser / Kim Morgan | TV series, 6 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1979 | A Place In the World | TV miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 1979 | The Young Doctors | Recurring role: Sylvia Marcus | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Skyways | Recurring role: Elaine MacFarlane | TV series, 30 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1981 | Intimate Strangers | Elodie | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1982; 1986 | A Country Practice | Recurring role: Rowena Elliott | TV series, 14 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1983 | Les traqués de l'an 2000 | ||
| 1984 | Special Squad | Guest role: Lorraine | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Super Sleuth | Margaret Little | TV movie |
| 1985 | Stock Squad | TV movie | |
| 1986 | Body Business | Cassie Fairchild | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Guest role: Jan Buchanan | TV series, season 2, 1 episode<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 1987 | Rafferty's Rules | Guest role: Stella Samuels | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1988–1994 | Another World | Regular role: Iris Carrington Wheeler / Iris Wheeler | TV series<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 1995 | Frailejón | ||
| 1996 | Women: Stories of Passion | Guest role: Faith | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Pacific Drive | Guest role: | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | The Lost World | Guest role: Kayla | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | All Saints | Guest role: Elizabeth Wallace | TV series, 1 episode<ref name="SBS">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2000; 2002 | Farscape | Revurring Guest role: Leslie Crichton | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Water Rats | Guest role: Geraldine St. Clare | TV series, 1 episode<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 2001 | Head Start | Guest role: Ellen | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Something in the Air | Recurring Guest role: Margaret Jenkins | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Always Greener | Guest role: Antonia Jones | TV series, 1 episode<ref name="SBS" /> |
| 2003 | CrashBurn | Regular role: Anna Denton | TV series, 13 episodes<ref name=herald /> |
| 2004 | As the World Turns | Reuuring role: Lisa Grimaldi | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | Winners & Losers | Recurring role: Prof Kerry Green | TV series, 10 episodes<ref name="News_au" /> |
| 2016 | Ash vs Evil Dead | Guest role: Lillian Pendergrass | TV series, Season 2, 1 episode |
| 2017 | Pulse | Guest role: Nora Johns | TV series, 1 episode |
Theatre
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
External links
- 1942 births
- 2019 deaths
- Australian film actresses
- Australian soap opera actresses
- People from Cooma
- Actresses from New South Wales
- Deaths from breast cancer in Australia
- Deaths from cancer in New South Wales
- Drama teachers
- Australian emigrants to the United States
- 20th-century Australian actresses
- 21st-century Australian actresses