Catherine Duncan

Catherine Duncan (17 March 1915 – 14 August 2006) was an Australian documentary filmmaker, actor, playwright, film researcher, script writer, film critic, archivist, and collagist. She is most well known for her work in radio broadcasts and short documentary films.

Catherine Duncan
Born(1915-03-17)17 March 1915
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Died14 August 2006(2006-08-14) (aged 91)
Paris, France
NationalityAustralian
Other namesKatie Duncan
Occupation(s)Actor, Director, Playwright,
Partner(s)Roy Braddon Mitchell (1933- ? (divorced), Kim Keane (1937-1945) (divorced) (2 children), Roger Copillet (1954-1971) (his death)

Early life

Catherine Duncan was born in 1915 in Launceston, Tasmania, to parents Gordon and Claire Duncan. Claire grew up immersed in the arts through her mother, who was an actress and producer herself.[1] Duncan began acting by participating in Allan Wilkie's Shakespearian Company when it visited Launceston.[2] When Duncan turned 16, she enrolled at the University of Melbourne to pursue an arts degree.[3] While enrolled, she joined the Union Theatre Repertory Company and became their lead actress.[3]

Personal life

Duncan was married three times. Her first husband was Roy Mitchell, who later became a program director for Radio Australia.[4] The two were only married for four years before getting a divorce. Next, Duncan met Kim Keane, a journalist with whom she had two children, Micheal and Margarita.[5] In 1947, they divorced and Duncan decided to leave her children with her parents and move to Europe. On her way there, she met Roger Copillet, the first officer on the ship. They married in 1954 and she spent some years living with him in Paris.[4][6]

Career

Duncan began her career on stage by joining Melbourne's Worker's Theatre Group after university. Her first success as a playwright was when she won the Sydney Theatre League's Playwriting competition in 1937 for The Sword Sung.[3]

Duncan also had a successful radio career where she performed and wrote shorts on air.[3] For her success in radio, she was recognized with an inaugural Macquarie Award in 1946.[3]

TitleDuncan's RoleTheatre/MediaDate
How to Escape from PrisonScriptwriterABC Radio Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC1936-09-13
Money With MenacesScriptwriterABC Radio Brisbane, South Brisbane, QLD1940-03-13
No Time For ComedyActorTheatre Royal, Sydney, NSW1941-02-08
Private LivesActorTheatre Royal, Sydney, NSW1941-03-15
Ladies in RetirementActorTheatre Royal, Sydney, NSW1941-03-29
Soak the RichPlaywrightAdelaide, SA1941-04-03
Mr. Smart GuyActorMinerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW1941-05-10
Moon Upside DownScriptwriterABC Radio Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC1942-09-30
We The LivingPlaywrightMelbourne, VIC1945-01-01
Children in UniformActor[7]2GB, Sydney1946-04-07
Sons of the MorningPlaywrightNew Theatre, Sydney, NSW1945-06-23
Sons of MorningPlaywrightRockhampton Little Theatre Inc, Rockhampton, QLD1947-05-01
RoundaboutAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-03
The Rose and CrownAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-03
The VerdictAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-03
Among Those PresentAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-04
The Hands of HardouinAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-04
SganarelleAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-05
Her Husband's ConsentAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-06
Dragons in the CavesAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-06
And Now- The JourneyAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-04-06
Pictures on the WallAdjudicatorNational Theatre, Launceston, TAS1957-10-06
The Hermit CrabScriptwriterABC Radio, Melbourne, VIC1957-10-06

Filmography

By the end of 1945, Duncan grew tired of radio and began to make documentary films with the Australian National Film Board and made documentaries to promote Australia to prospective immigrants.[3] A few of her works were:

FilmYear
This is the Life in Geelong1949
The Meeting Place1948
Christmas Under the Sun1947
Men Wanted1947
This is the Life1947

Catherine Duncan also worked together with radical film maker Joris Ivens and Marion Michelle on a documentary called Indonesia Calling.[6] Duncan worked as a scriptwriter for the film, while Ivens was the Director and Michelle was the cinematographer.

Recognition

The Catherine Duncan Cup, awarded to the winner of an annual competition for Tasmanian amateur theatre groups, was named in her honour.[8]

Further reading

References
  1. "Catherine Duncan". AusStage. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. O'Brian, Angela (1989). The road not taken: political and performance ideologies at Melbourne New Theatre 1935-1960. Monash University, Melbourne. Thesis.
  3. Keane, Michael Duncan (2011). Views from the Balcony: a biography of Catherine Duncan. Melbourne. ISBN 9781921394577. OCLC 756059678.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Henningham, Nikki. "Duncan, Catherine (1915 - 2006)". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Australian Women's Archives Project. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  5. "Catherine Duncan Has Little Time On Her Hands". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 792. Victoria, Australia. 8 May 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 13 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Williams, Deane (December 2014). "Catherine Duncan: As Others See Us". Screening the Past. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. "Radio Acting Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 14 April 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 12 January 2020 – via Trove.
  8. "Of Interest to Women". The Examiner (Tasmania). Vol. CVII, no. 336. Tasmania, Australia. 26 February 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 17 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
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