Kenne Duncan


Kenne Duncan was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction. He also appeared in over a dozen serials.

Early years

Duncan was born Kenneth Duncan MacLachlan in Ontario, Canada.
Before he became an actor, Duncan enjoyed riding, and for a time he worked as a jockey. His accomplishments in that field included winning the steeplechase at Blue Bonnets raceway in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Career

Duncan is best known, in some circles, for his work with Ed Wood. Duncan appeared in five Wood productions: Night of the Ghouls, Trick Shooting with Kenne Duncan, Crossroad Avenger, The Sinister Urge, and The Lawless Rider, a film Wood did with Yakima Canutt in the Director's chair. Duncan's final appearances on screen were Wood's low-budget The Sinister Urge, and a bit part in an episode of Rawhide. He also made television appearances, especially westerns, such as The Cisco Kid, Bat Masterson, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Tombstone Territory. He retired from filmmaking in 1961 at age 58.
Duncan had a reputation for being a womanizer with his female co-stars, and had a reputation in Hollywood for being very well endowed. Actress Valda Hansen remarked "Kenne Duncan kept whispering obscene things in my ear, over and over between takes, such as "Do you like tongues?"....Finally I had had enough of the old wolf, so I screamed over the mikes on the set "Oh, shut up!"....and everyone cracked up." Filmmaker Ron Ashcroft recalled "Kenne had a book, and it was quite thick, of the women that he had in bed. He said there was over a thousand in there. A thousand women." Makeup man Harry Thomas saw Kenne Duncan naked at a Hollywood party once, and remarked years later to an interviewer "You know, all men are not created equal."

Death

On February 5, 1972, Duncan committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates twelve days before his 69th birthday. His friend Ron Ashcroft recalled "When he committed suicide, I couldn't believe it. He was tired of living. Just like George Sanders, he had seen everything, done everything. All he did was sit around and watch television." Duncan was buried at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Ed Wood was named executor of Kenne Duncan's estate, and he held a small memorial funeral in his backyard around the swimming pool. Wood and his wife and friends took turns walking onto the diving board where each of them in turn would deliver a brief eulogy of the man.

Selected filmography

Police Reporter A Man from Wyoming - Haley Derelict - Radio Man No Limit - Curly AndrewsGrief Street - Newspaper Reporter Lovers Courageous - Cowboy Probation - Wedding Rehearsal Attendant The Mouthpiece - Office Worker Shadow River Undercover Men - Blake HardyGallant Defender - Goose Neck Smith From Nine to Nine - John SommersetThoroughbred - Chick WilliamsCross My Heart - Steve KingMake-Up - LorenzoThe Last Curtain - GarsattiThe Colorado Kid - Sims LeatherFlash Gordon's Trip to Mars - Airdrome CaptainThe Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok - Blacksmith Frontier Scout - Crandall - HenchmanThe Spider's Web - Ram SinghFighting Thoroughbreds - Brady