Bud Duncan (October 31, 1883 – November 25, 1960) was an American actor of the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

, most known for his early work with silent film comedian

Lloyd Hamilton Lloyd Vernon Hamilton (August 19, 1891 – January 19, 1935) was an American film comedian, best remembered for his work in the silent era. Career Having begun his career as an extra in theatre-productions, Hamilton first appeared on film in ...

. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1912 and 1942.

Early life

Duncan was born on October 31, 1883 in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a traveling salesman and ventriloquist and Duncan joined his act at age 6.Balducci, Anthony (2009). ''Lloyd Hamilton: Poor Boy Comedian of Silent Cinema''. McFarland. . p. 18. Although his father sent him to a military school, Duncan started taking on more acting roles after graduation and eventually ended up in vaudeville.

Career

During his early vaudeville career, Duncan worked with vaudeville actors such as

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...

and Kolb and Dill.Balducci, p. 19. His first work in the film industry was for the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...

and he later played Jeff in the Nestor Film Company's film adaptations of the ''

Mutt and Jeff ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newsp ...

'' comic strips."Spotlight of Silent Star "Bud" Duncan"
Shortly after the ''Mutt and Jeff'' series ended, Duncan returned to vaudeville, where he first encountered

. He and Hamilton were hired by the

Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to V ...

for a series of one-reelers as the comedy duo, ''Ham and Bud''. Duncan even briefly headlined the series by himself after Hamilton broke his heel in 1915. The series ended when the Kalem Company was sold to

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

in 1917 and Duncan briefly headlined another series for the Schiller Production Company called "Bud and His Buddies." Duncan also co-starred as Casper with

Thelma Hill Thelma Hill (born Thelma Hillerman; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American silent screen comedian and one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties. Early life Hill was born Thelma Hillerman on December 12, 1906, in Emporia, Kansas. ...

in Larry Darmour's series based on the ''

Toots and Casper ''Toots and Casper'' is a family comic strip by Jimmy Murphy, distributed to newspapers for 37 years by King Features Syndicate, from December 17, 1918 to December 30, 1956. The strip spawned many merchandising tie-ins, including books, dolls, p ...

'' comic strips.

Later career

Duncan was mainly limited to bit roles during the sound era and he largely retired from films in the early 1930s. After voicing the title character on the radio program, ''

The Cinnamon Bear ''The Cinnamon Bear'' is an old-time radio program produced by Transco (Transcription Company of America), based in Hollywood, California. The series was specifically designed to be listened to six days a week between Thanksgiving and Christma ...

'', he briefly returned to the film industry to star as

Snuffy Smith ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'', originally ''Take Barney Google, F'rinstance'', is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck. Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a large international readership, appearin ...

in two films for

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

in the early 1940s. Duncan died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

on November 25, 1960 at the age of 77."Bud Duncan at Thanhouser"

Selected filmography

* ''

Red Hicks Defies the World ''Red Hicks Defies the World'' is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Harry Carey. Cast * Charles Murray - Red Hicks * Edward Dillon - O'Shea, the Fighting Irishman * Dorothy Gish - Hicks' Sweetheart * Kate Toncray - Hick's Mother * ...

'' (1913) * ''

Almost a Wild Man ''Almost a Wild Man'' is a 1913 Canadian silent short black and white film directed by Dell Henderson, written by William Beaudine and starring Dorothy Gish. Cast * Charles Murray as McDoo * Gus Pixley as The Wild Man * Edward Dillon as Rooly, ...

'' (1913) * ''

A Whirlwind of Whiskers ''A Whirlwind of Whiskers'' is a 1917 silent film short comedy directed by Alfred Santell and starring Lloyd Hamilton, Bud Duncan and Marin Sais. It was produced by the Kalem Company and released by the General Film Company. Cast *Lloyd Hamilton ...

'' (1917) * ''

Maggie Pepper ''Maggie Pepper'' is a lost 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Ethel Clayton. This film is based on a hit 1911 play by Charles Klein which was a winning success for stage actress Rose Stahl at the Harri ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Haunted Ship ''The Haunted Ship'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Forrest Sheldon and starring Dorothy Sebastian, Montagu Love and Tom Santschi.Munden p.327 It is based on a story ''White and Yellow'' by Jack London. Cast * Dorothy Sebastia ...

'' (1927) * ''

'' (1927-1929) series, co-starred with

* ''

Riders of the Rio ''Riders of the Rio'' is a 1931 American western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and starring Lane Chandler, Sheldon Lewis and Ben Corbett.Pitts p.280 It is an independent film, independently-produced second feature, shot partly location sho ...

'' (1931) * ''

Private Snuffy Smith ''Private Snuffy Smith'' (reissued as ''Snuffy Smith, Yardbird'') is a 1942 American army comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring Bud Duncan as comic-strip character Snuffy Smith and Edgar Kennedy as his commanding officer. A se ...

'' (1942) * ''

Hillbilly Blitzkrieg ''Hillbilly Blitzkrieg'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Roy Mack that was a sequel to ''Private Snuffy Smith''. The film is also known as ''Enemy Round-Up'' (American TV title). Plot Nazi spies mistake Snuffy Smith's moonshine for ...

'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Bud 1883 births 1960 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New York City People from Brooklyn