February 20 - Sandy Duncan

On this day, in 1946, Sandra Kay Duncan was born in Henderson, Texas. Growing up in nearby Tyler, Texas, Sandy began her professional career when she was just 12, earning $150 a week in a local production of The King and I. after spending some time at Lon Morris Junior College, a Methodist school in Jacksonville, Texas, she left the Lone Star State for the Great White Way. She enjoyed moderate success, appearing in a number of productions throughout the Sixties (including her first run of Peter Pan, playing Wendy), culminating in a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress (Musical) for 1969's short lived production of Canterbury Tales. Around the same time she did get some recognition (at least in California) for a humorous commercial she did for the United California Bank (now a part of Wells Fargo) and some national attention for a brief stint on Search For Tomorrow, CBS' long running soap opera.

Image copyright CBS

The beginning of the Seventies saw the beginning of bigger and better things for Sandy, even if a lot of them ended up having limited runs. She earned another Tony nomination, this time for Best Actress (Musical) for the 1970 revival  of The Boyfriend. A year later she starred in the film version of Neil Simon's play The Star Spangled Girl opposite Tony Roberts. Later that year, Sandy landed the lead in a CBS sitcom Funny Face, loosely based on the 1957 movie. With a prime time Saturday night spot right after All in the Family, the show had everything going for it, except two things: critics praised Sandy but dismissed the show and a tumor was discovered behind Sandy's left eye. Filming of Funny Face was put on hiatus while Sandy went in for surgery. The tumor turned out to be benign but she lost all vision on her left side. Contrary to popular belief, she does not have a glass eye. Since her left eye still tracked with her right one, the decision was made to leave it alone. Sandy made a quick recovery from her surgery, but it was too late for Funny Face. Even though she earned an Emmy nomination for her work, the show ended after just 13 episodes. Sort of.

Image courtesy b98.tv

In the Fall of 1972, Sandy returned to television in a New and Improved version of Funny Face, now called The Sandy Duncan Show. The retooled show had essentially the same premise but a new cast (including Tom Bosley), new writers and a new time slot, on Sunday instead of Saturday. Once again, critics liked Sandy but hated the show. Without the strong lead-in of All in the Family, The Sandy Duncan Show also lasted just 13 episodes before being cancelled.

The rest of the decade saw Sandy appearing in several one-off productions. In 1976, she played Pinocchio in a musical adaptation on CBS that also starred Flip Wilson and Danny Kaye. She followed that up with an episode of The Muppet Show, starred in an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies (as herself) and grabbed another Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Missy Anne Reynolds in Roots, a rare dramatic role. She ended the Seventies by returning to Broadway for her biggest show yet: another production of Peter Pan, but this time she played the title role, earning a third Tony nomination.

Image copyright Disney

Sandy joined the Disney family in 1970 starring opposite Dean Jones in the mostly forgettable comedy The Million dollar Duck. In 1974, she had a television special called Sandy in Disneyland and returned to the park for another special in 1976, Christmas in Disneyland. Then in 1978, she starred in The Cat from Outer Space, with Ken Berry and Roddy McDowall. But it's arguable that her best known Disney role (or at least the one that still gets regular viewings) came in 1981 when she was the voice of Vixey, Tod's foxy girlfriend who helps him survive in the wild, for The Fox and the Hound.

Image copyright NBC

Sandy's big television success finally arrived in 1987 on The Hogan Family, but it wasn't without controversy. The Hogan Family had started life two years earlier as Valerie, starring Valerie Harper. When Valerie was renewed for a third season, Harper wanted more money, was denied and walked out on the show. While negotiations continued, the feud with the network got ugly. Harper's character ended up being killed off, Sandy was brought in as a replacement and the show survived for four more seasons, marking the first time a show named after an actor continued on without its marquee name.

Since The Hogan Family ended its run in 1991, Sandy had kept busy with, mostly, a variety of stage performances. She played Roxy Hart in Chicago for two years, toured the country in a production of The King and I (as Anna this time, not one of the kids) and returned to Broadway in 2016 as Madame du Maurier in Finding Neverland. What else will the 72 year old spitfire do in her career? Only time will tell, but I can almost guarantee its perkiness will make you smile.