Sandy Duncan

Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress of stage and television. Her more notable traits are her pixie cut blonde hairdo and her perky demeanor. Among her more prominent roles are the title role in the Broadway production of Peter Pan, and Sandy Hogan on the sitcom The Hogan Family.

Career
She started her entertainment career at age 12, working in a local production of The King and I for $150/week.

In the mid-1960s, Duncan was one more unknown actress in Los Angeles, when she was selected for a part in a TV commercial for United California Bank (which years later became part of Wells Fargo Bank). Portraying a bank teller who finds it impossible to pronounce the name of customer "Nicholas Janopoporopolus", despite several tries, she apologetically asks "Do you mind if I just call you 'Nick'?" She performed for a short while on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, in 1968.

In 1970, she was named one of the "most promising faces of tomorrow" by Time magazine. Also that year, she starred in the Broadway revival of 'The Boy Friend' where she received excellent reviews. Duncan made her feature film debut co-starring opposite Dean Jones in the Walt Disney family comedy The Million Dollar Duck. She then was cast as Amy Cooper in the Paramount film version of Star Spangled Girl based on the Broadway play by Neil Simon. Both films performed poorly at the box office.

In the fall of 1971, Duncan starred as Sandy Stockton in the CBS television comedy series Funny Face. The show was put on the CBS Saturday night schedule between All in the Family and The New Dick Van Dyke Show. Although critics dismissed the series, they praised Duncan, especially columnist Cleveland Amory, who described her in his TV Guide review as "a wonderful comedienne". Ratings at first were low, with the series starting in the low #50s. Shortly after the series premiere, Duncan underwent eye surgery to remove a benign tumor. The resulting surgery cost her the sight in that eye but did not - despite the urban myths to the contrary - result in her being fitted with a prosthetic eye. Production was suspended after the 12th installment had been filmed. (The original pilot of the show which had been discarded served as the 13th and final episode.) By now, Funny Face had shot to #17 in the Nielsen ratings and was deemed the best liked new fall show of the season. Even though Duncan's operation was successful and her recovery was rapid, CBS suspended production on the series until the following fall. Duncan received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role In A Comedy Series. In September, 1972, the show returned as The Sandy Duncan Show with new writers and a revised format. It was scheduled on Sunday nights at 8:30 P.M. Critical reaction was similar, and without the strong Saturday night lead-in of All in the Family, the ratings sank, and after the 13th episode, CBS canceled the program.

In 1976, Duncan played the title role in a television musical adaptation of Pinocchio, which featured Danny Kaye as Mister Geppetto and Flip Wilson as the Fox. Also that year she was a guest star in an episode of the first season of The Muppet Show. Her performance as Missy Anne Reynolds in the miniseries Roots earned her another Emmy Award nomination.

It was then that she went back to Broadway for many years. Her 1979 stint as the title role in Peter Pan won her accolades. Duncan also had replacement roles in My One and Only and Chicago.

She has also been nominated for a Tony Award three times: in 1969 as Featured Actress (Musical) in Canterbury Tales, in 1971 as Best Actress (Musical) in The Boy Friend, and in 1980 as Best Actress (Musical) in Peter Pan.

In 1972, an animated version of Sandy (providing her own voice) appeared in "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde", an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

In 1978, she starred in Disney's The Cat from Outer Space alongside Ken Berry, Harry Morgan and Roddy McDowall.

She also had a stint as the commercial spokesperson for the introduction of Nabisco's Wheat Thins during the 1980s.

In 1984, she starred in a song and dance review called 5-6-7-8...Dance! at Radio City Music Hall.

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. Sandy filled the "mother" role as "aunt" Sandy Hogan, the patriarch's sister. Then, she did the first three Barney and the Backyard Gang videos as Michael and Amy's mother.She left Barney because she thought the videos were not going to go popular then she quit, then when the show Barney & Friends came out she was surprised. She has been in many traveling stage productions, including The King and I.

She has also lent her voice talents to animated characters; Vixey in the 1981 Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound, in 1984 she was the speaking and singing voice of Firefly in the pilot episode of My Little Pony, in 1994 she was the voice of Queen Uberta in The Swan Princess, and in 1999 she was the singer and narrator in episodes of Mickey Mouse Works.

In 2003 she appeared in the rotating cast of the Off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom.

In May 2008 she performed one of the lead roles in the musical No, No, Nanette; a production of the City Center's annual Encores! series in New York City. In April 2009 she performed the lead role in the play Driving Miss Daisy at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas.

In September 2009 she played the lead role in Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" at the Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, PA.

Personal
She was born in Henderson, Texas, and grew up in Tyler, Texas.

In the fall of 1971, during her first season of the television series Funny Face, she was treated for a tumor behind her left eye, which damaged the optic nerve. She lost sight in the eye, but is still able to move it normally.

She met singer-actor Bruce Scott in Your Own Thing, and from either 1968-72 or 1969-71 they were married.

Her second marriage was to Dr. Thomas Calcaterra from 10 January 1973-79. Dr. Thomas Calcaterra is a head/neck oncologist who practices at UCLA Medical Center Division of Head and Neck Surgery and teaches surgery at UCLA Medical School. They met when Duncan had the tumor removed from behind her left eye.

Since 21 July 1980 she has been married to Don Correia. They have sons Jeffrey (b. 1983) and Michael (b. 1984). "I gained 60 pounds with each baby—it's just the way I do pregnancy" she said.

In Taylorville, Illinois (about 30 miles southeast of Springfield, Illinois) a street was named "Sandy Duncan Drive" in her honor, due to the fact that her character, Sandy Stockton, from Funny Face and The Sandy Duncan Show was from Taylorville, Illinois.