# Carmen Duncan

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.

## Early life and career

Duncan was born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1942. She graduated in 1961 from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. 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) and she appeared in the evening soap opera Number 96 playing Helen Sheridan in 1973. A role on the soap Certain Women followed. She later had an ongoing role in Skyways, and guest starred in several episodes of A Country Practice as Terence Elliott's wife, Rowena. Her film roles included Turkey Shoot (1982) and its 2014 reboot.
Duncan emigrated to the United States in the 1980s, where she acted on television. From October 1988 to September 1994, she portrayed Iris Carrington Wheeler on the American daytime soap opera Another World. She succeeded Beverlee McKinsey in the role after a long absence. Many of her critics, including TV Guide'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. 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 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.

## 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. She served as an ambassador for the Breast Care Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women.

## Personal life

Duncan lived in Sydney. She had two children. Her younger sister is actress Paula Duncan.
Carmen Duncan died on 3 February 2019 from breast cancer, aged 76.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1966 | Don't Let It Get You | Judith Beech | Feature film |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1980 | Touch and Go | Millicent | Feature film |
| 1982 | Turkey Shoot | Jennifer | Feature film |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2016 | Veov Drive | Melody Day | Film short |
| 2018 | Hotel Mumbai | Lady Wynn | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1963 | The Hungry Ones | | TV series |
| 1966–1967 | Nice 'n Juicy | Rosie Withers | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1966–1973 | Homicide | Barbara Scott / Sally Trevor / Gail Fisher | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1967 | Hunter | Rosie Glow | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1967 | You Can't See 'Round Corners | Myra Neilson | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1967 | Australian Playhouse | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1968 | The Battlers | | TV series |
| 1969 | Riptide | Professor Karen Shaw / Kate Brett | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Delta | Diane | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Division 4 | Irene Daly | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | The Don Lane Tonight Show | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969–1970 | Would You Believe? | Herself | TV series |
| 1970 | The Link Men | Carol Crane | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Matlock Police | Lisa King | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Spoiler | Marie | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1973 | Catch Kandy | Mrs. Wayne | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1973 | Ryan | Anne | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1973 | Number 96 | Helen Sheridan / Helen Sheridan Sellars | TV series, 15 episodes |
| 1974 | The Evil Touch | Girl | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974–1975 | Certain Women | Beth Pearson | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1975 | Something Special | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | Jackson High | | TV pilot |
| 1977 | The Celebrity Game | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1977 | Hotel Story | | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1978 | Chopper Squad | Gary's wife | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978–1981 | Cop Shop | Meredith Wade / Carla Hauser / Kim Morgan | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1979 | A Place In the World | | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1979 | The Young Doctors | Sylvia Marcus | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1979; 1984 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Skyways | Elaine MacFarlane | TV series, 30 episodes |
| 1981 | Intimate Strangers | Elodie | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1982; 1986 | A Country Practice | Rowena Elliott | TV series, 14 episodes |
| 1983 | Les traqués de l'an 2000 | | |
| 1984; 1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself with sister Paula Duncan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Lorraine | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Supersleuth | Margaret Little | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself with Trisha Noble | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1985 | Stock Squad | | TV movie |
| 1986 | Body Business | Cassie Fairchild | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Jan Buchanan | TV series, season 2, 1 episode |
| 1987 | Rafferty's Rules | Stella Samuels | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1988–1994 | Another World | Iris Carrington Wheeler / Iris Wheeler | TV series |
| 1991 | 1991 Australian Fashion Awards | Herself | TV special |
| 1991; 1996; 1997; 1999; 2000 | Good Morning Australia | Herself | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1991; 1996; 1997 | The Midday Show | Herself | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1991 | In Sydney Today | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | The Main Event | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1992 | Hard Copy | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993 | Sports Tonight | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993 | At Home | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993 | Tonight Live | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Frailejón | | |
| 1995; 1996; 2002 | This Is Your Life | Herself | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Women: Stories of Passion | Faith | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Monday to Friday | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Pacific Drive | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1999 | Beauty and the Beast | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1999 | Denise | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1999 | Laws | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | The Lost World | Kayla | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | E! Mysteries and Scandals | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | All Saints | Elizabeth Wallace | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000; 2002 | Farscape | Leslie Crichton | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Water Rats | Geraldine St. Clare | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Head Start | Ellen | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Something in the Air | Margaret Jenkins | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Always Greener | Antonia Jones | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | Whose House Is It Anyway? | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | CrashBurn | Anna Denton | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 2004 | As the World Turns | Lisa Grimaldi | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Making Liquid Bridge | Herself | Video |
| 2007 | Susie | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2011–2012 | Winners & Losers | Prof Kerry Green | TV series, 10 episodes |
| 2012 | Today Tonight | Guest - Herself with Denise Drysdale & Hazel Phillips | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2014 | The Morning Show | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2015 | Mornings | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2016 | Ash vs Evil Dead | Lillian Pendergrass | TV series, Season 2, 1 episode |
| 2017 | Pulse | Nora Johns | TV series, 1 episode |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Type |
| 1960 | The Life of the Insects | UNSW |
| 1960 | Gammer Gurton's Needle / Everyman | UNSW |
| 1961 | Peer Gynt | The New Auditorium, Kensington |
| 1961 | This Property is Condemned / The Strangest Kind of Romance / Strange Country | UNSW |
| 1961 | The Beggar's Opera | UNSW |
| 1961 | The Imaginary Invalid | UNSW |
| 1962 | A Man for All Seasons | Palace Theatre, Sydney, Union Hall, Adelaide |
| 1962 | Write Me a Murder | Palace Theatre, Sydney |
| 1963 | The Playboy of the Western World | UNSW Old Tote Theatre |
| 1963 | Make Me a Widow | |
| 1963 | Hamlet | |
| 1965 | After the Fall | Independent Theatre |
| 1966 | Cactus Flower | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Sydney |
| 1967 | The Dance of Death | Independent Theatre |
| 1967 | The Cocktail Party | Independent Theatre |
| 1967 | Getting Married | Independent Theatre, Playhouse Canberra |
| 1970 | Lunchtime | AMP Theatrette, Sydney |
| 1971 | A Scent of Flowers | |
| 1972 | Birds on the Wing | Macleay Theatre, Sydney |
| 1973 | A Patriot for Me | Independent Theatre |
| 1973 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |
| 1974 | Romeo and Juliet | |
| 1975 | The Austral Muse | Nimrod Theatre |
| 1975 | Down Under | Stables Theatre |
| 1977 | Next | St James Playhouse, Sydney |
| 1977 | Lovers | Plaza Cinema, Bondi Junction |
| 1978 | Bedroom Farce | Theatre Royal Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1981 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | SGIO Theatre |
| 1983 | Top Girls | Nimrod Theatre |
| 1987 | Blithe Spirit | Sydney Opera House, Glen Street Theatre, Canberra Theatre, Newcastle Civic Theatre |
| 2001 | On Approval | Glen Street Theatre |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced | Sydney Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2015 | The Credeaux Canvas | |
| 2015 | Anything Goes | Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, Sydney Opera House |