Pamela Duncan(1924-2005)
- Actress
Pert and pretty Brooklyn-born actress Pamela Duncan made brief movie
news in the 1950s as a "B" level performer and would be best remembered
for her damsel-in-distress participation in two of
Roger Corman's cult turkeys --
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
and The Undead (1957), both
co-starring Richard Garland. She played
a dual role in the latter. Known for her exceptional fresh-faced
beauty, she won several local pageants as a bobbysoxer on her way up.
Deciding to pursue a movie career, she made her debut in
Whistling Hills (1951) and
appeared in small bits for the most part. In addition to her two prime
sci-fi roles, she also enacted the role of Mike Hammer's secretary in
the low-budget film whodunit
My Gun Is Quick (1957).
Pamela was also a decorative presence on many major TV programs, especially westerns, such as Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951), The Roy Rogers Show (1951), The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954), Colt .45 (1957), Laramie (1959), Death Valley Days (1952) and Maverick (1957). She also provided pleasant distraction on crime-solving dramas including Perry Mason (1957), Peter Gunn (1958), Mr. Lucky (1959) and The Detectives (1959). Following her brief "15 minutes" of fame, her career quickly phased out in the early 60s. Out of touch for decades, she appeared out of nowhere in the Oscar-nominated documentary Curtain Call (2000), a documentary that focused on the lives and careers of the residents of the Lillian Booth Actors' Fund of America Home in Englewood, New Jersey. She lived there for the last ten years of her life. The 80-year-old Pamela suffered a stroke and died at the home on November 11, 2005. She left no survivors.
Pamela was also a decorative presence on many major TV programs, especially westerns, such as Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951), The Roy Rogers Show (1951), The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954), Colt .45 (1957), Laramie (1959), Death Valley Days (1952) and Maverick (1957). She also provided pleasant distraction on crime-solving dramas including Perry Mason (1957), Peter Gunn (1958), Mr. Lucky (1959) and The Detectives (1959). Following her brief "15 minutes" of fame, her career quickly phased out in the early 60s. Out of touch for decades, she appeared out of nowhere in the Oscar-nominated documentary Curtain Call (2000), a documentary that focused on the lives and careers of the residents of the Lillian Booth Actors' Fund of America Home in Englewood, New Jersey. She lived there for the last ten years of her life. The 80-year-old Pamela suffered a stroke and died at the home on November 11, 2005. She left no survivors.
