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IMDbPro

Arthur Duncan(1925-2023)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Arthur Duncan
Arthur Duncan was drafted into a dance team with two friends while in school. He initially resisted, but they insisted he give it a try. He liked it, and began to take tap lessons.

For a few years Arthur worked in Australia, where he was a popular performer who was even offered his own TV show. Feeling that he was too young and experienced for the responsibility that would have come with the show, he turned it down. He explained that he was working regularly, so he didn't miss much. While in Australia he met and worked with Ken Delo, who he would later work with for many years on the Lawrence Welk show.

After returning to the US, Arthur asked an acquaintance in the business to inquire if Lawrence Welk had any interest in adding a performer like Arthur to his show. After a long wait, he was asked to an audition, and then a few months later to make a guest appearance. After another couple of guest appearances, Arthur appeared with the show during a run in Lake Tahoe. At the end of the last show there, Lawrence asked Arthur out onto the stage, commented to the audience that Arthur had become popular with them, and announced that he'd like Arthur to "join the Welk musical family". Arthur accepted, and thus began a run of decades on the show, during which it was very rare not to see Arthur have a tap solo, along with other dance numbers with fellow members of the cast.

It shouldn't go without mention that when Lawrence Welk put Arthur Duncan on his show, black performers were generally not well received by TV audiences of the time. Welk showed real courage in breaking the color barrier, and Arthur Duncan obviously won the admiration and respect of both live and TV audiences with his incredible talent, good humor, and pleasant personality.

(The above is based on an interview of Arthur Duncan on the Lawrence Welk shows syndicated on PBS).
BornSeptember 25, 1925
DiedJanuary 4, 2023(97)
BornSeptember 25, 1925
DiedJanuary 4, 2023(97)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos6

Arthur Duncan in The Betty White Show (1954)
Arthur Duncan
Bunny Briggs, Steve Condos, Arthur Duncan, Harold Nicholas, Pat Rico, Howard 'Sandman' Sims, and Jimmy Slyde in Tap (1989)
Sammy Davis Jr., Gregory Hines, Steve Condos, Arthur Duncan, Harold Nicholas, Howard 'Sandman' Sims, and Jimmy Slyde in Tap (1989)
Arthur Duncan

Known for:

Tap (1989)
Tap
6.5
  • Arthur
  • 1989
Stratford Johns in Softly Softly (1966)
Softly Softly
7.0
TV Series
  • PC Gurney
Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)
Columbo
8.3
TV Series
  • Tap Dancer
Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
The Red Skelton Hour
8.1
TV Series
  • Tap Dancing Florist

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Arthur Duncan, Natasha Mynhier, Hannah Kallaoun, Chloe Arnold, Jeff Hammerton, and Cameron James Elie in In A Beat (2019)
    In A Beat
    • Arthur Duncan
    • Short
    • 2019
  • Moses Supposes (2013)
    Moses Supposes
    • Diction Coach
    • Video
    • 2013
  • Tap Heat
    • Lead
    • Short
    • 2004
  • Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)
    Columbo
    • Tap Dancer
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder (1992)
    Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder
    • Mr. Simms
    • TV Movie
    • 1992
  • Tap (1989)
    Tap
    • Arthur
    • 1989
  • Stratford Johns in Softly Softly (1966)
    Softly Softly
    • PC Gurney
    • TV Series
    • 1968
  • The Concert
    • TV Movie
    • 1961
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
    The Red Skelton Hour
    • Tap Dancing Florist
    • TV Series
    • 1953

Soundtrack

  • Tap (1989)
    Tap
    • performer: "Challenge"
    • 1989
  • The Lawrence Welk Show (1955)
    The Lawrence Welk Show
    • performer: "There Will Never Be Another You"
    • performer: "Take the 'A' Train"
    • performer: "With Plenty of Money and You", "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" ...
    • TV Series
    • 1965–1979

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Discogs
  • Alternative name
    • Art Duncan
  • Born
    • September 25, 1925
    • Pasadena, California, USA
  • Died
    • January 4, 2023
    • Moreno Valley, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Carole Carbone2019 - January 4, 2023 (his death)
  • Children
    • Sean Carbone
  • Relatives
      Mabel Duncan(Sibling)
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2020.

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