Biography

Duane Whitaker, a native of Lubbock Texas, has spent the last 40 years as one of Hollywood's most entertaining hyphenates. As an actor, Whitaker is most recognized as Maynard, the sadistic pawn shop owner in Quentin Tarantino's, Pulp Fiction. Of course, you don't walk onto the set of a ground breaking film like Pulp Fiction without paying your dues. From the time he arrived in Hollywood, Duane's face has been seen frequently on the stage and small screen. Some of his very early television credits include, Sledge Hammer, Murder She Wrote, Highway to Heaven, L.A. Law, Rosanne, and Quantum Leap. More recent appearances include Rush Hour, Instant Mom, Justified, Medical Investigation, I'm With Her, The Ex List, The Bridge and a haunting portrayal of a former child abuse victim on an episode of Cold Case. Duane has appeared in over seventy-five feature films. Among his favorites are Edge of Town, Natasha Hall, Broke Sky, Lionhead, Dead Letters, Sam Borowski's Night Club and of course, Pulp Fiction. It is in the Horror genre, however, that Whitaker has anchored a large part of his work. He has been a part of no less than eight Horror Franchises, including From Dusk Til Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (which he also co-wrote), Feast, Tales From The Hood, Rob Zombie's Devil's Rejects and Halloween 2, Children of the Corn: Genesis, Puppetmaster 5, and Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. Other Horror appearances include, American Nightmares, Albino Farm, Trailer Park of Terror, The Haunted Sea, and Deadly Dreams. He has written, directed or produced, Together & Alone, Stripteaser, Camp Utopia, Backroad Motel and Eddie Presley. The latter stars Duane in a masterful turn as a despondent Elvis Presley impersonator teetering on the fine line between a triumphant comeback or a nervous breakdown. It was adapted from Whitaker's successful stage play. He has recently branched out into Faith-Based Films, appearing in Daniel Roebuck's Saint Nick of Bethlehem, The Hail Mary, Getting Grace, Lucky Louie, and Rickey Borba's, My Brother's Crossing. Duane received the honor of the American Cinematheque hosting a screening of his two most personal films, Eddie Presley and Together and Alone at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Together and Alone was screened for a second time by the American Cinematheque at The Steven Spielberg Theater along with Garrett Clancy's Dead Letters, which Duane co-stars in. It was screened a third time through the American Cinematheque at the Los Feliz Theater in 2022. Duane Whitaker is also a playwright. His plays have been produced in Los Angeles and New York and he has been teaching a popular Film Acting class in Los Angeles for almost 30 years. Most recently, (2026), Duane produced and co-stars in, Adam Minarovich's, Once Upon A Time In Macon.
- IMDb mini biography by: Mike Muscat