SANDY DUNCAN Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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SANDY DUNCAN

Name: Sandra Kay Duncan                                                                 
Born: 20 February 1946 Henderson, Texas, U.S.                                           
                                                                                         
Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American singer and             
actress of stage and television. Her most notable trademarks are her pixie               
blonde hairdo and her perky demeanor. She was born in Henderson, Texas. Among           
her most prominent roles is playing Sandy Hogan on the sitcom The Hogan Family.         
                                                                                         
A brilliant dancer, she also captivated Broadway audiences with her engaging             
personality. In 1970, she was named one of the "most promising faces of tomorrow"       
by TIME magazine. After a short role on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, in           
1968, she starred in the television series Funny Face (later renamed The Sandy           
Duncan Show). Her performance as Missy Anne Reynolds in the miniseries Roots             
earned her an Emmy Award nomination. In 1976, she was a guest star in an episode         
of the first season of The Muppet Show. It was then that she went back to               
Broadway for many years. Notable performances include her 1979 stint as the             
title role in Peter Pan, My One and Only, and Chicago.                                   
                                                                                         
She has also been nominated for a Tony Award three times: as Best Supporting or         
Featured Actress (Musical), in 1969 for Canterbury Tales, and as Best Actress (Musical), 
in 1971 for a revival of The Boy Friend, and in 1980 for Peter Pan.                     
                                                                                         
In the 1970s, during her first season on Funny Face, she was treated for a tumor         
behind her left eye, which damaged the optic nerve. She lost the sight in the           
eye, but is still able to move it normally. This led to the                             
cancellation of Funny Face, but during the following season, she returned to her         
character of Sandy Stockton in The Sandy Duncan Show.                                   
                                                                                         
In 1987, she joined the cast of Valerie's Family (which was previously titled           
Valerie, and soon to be retitled The Hogan Family) after Valerie Harper left the         
show abruptly over financial matters. Sandy filled the "mother" role as "aunt",         
Sandy Hogan, the patriarch's sister.                                                     
                                                                                         
In 1988, she did the first three Barney and the Backyard Gang videos as Michael         
and Amy's mother. She has been in many traveling stage productions, including           
The King and I.                                                                         
                                                                                         
She has also lent her voice talents to animated characters; in 1984 she was the         
speaking and singing voice of Firefly in the pilot episode of My Little Pony,           
and in 1994 she was the voice of Queen Uberta in The Swan Princess.