Johnny Duncan at the time of writing is in his mid-80's and in good health, living with his wife Susan, and enjoying life not far from where his life began.
He started out on a small farm near Kansas City in 1923. As a child growing up during the Great Depression, Johnny danced up a storm in local towns, and with the money he saved he was able to pay out his parent's overdue mortgage to the banks. Not long after, he ran a little dance school with his little girl pal, Lou, teaching locals kids how to tap dance.
Not long after, an agent helped him make it to L.A. on a $50-a-month contract. He got roles playing juveniles with the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys and other movie roles. You can see him working the radio in the Bogart classic Convoi vers la Russie (1943). During the war he met Lana Turner and taught her the Lindy Hop (Jitterbug). At the age of 26, he became the second Boy Wonder, in the 15-part serial Batman and Robin.
Off the set, you could find Johnny out on his Triumph 600 on the weekend in the canyons around Calabasas with mates like Lee Marvin, Larry Parks, Keenan Wynn and Clark Gable, or at dinner parties held by Jimmy Cagney. During the '50s, Johnny made fewer films after Ouragan sur le Caine (1954) (also with Bogart), but he did play another sailor in a film with Rita Hayworth, whom he described as the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. You can also spot him in the legendary Ed Wood flick Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and getting his head chopped off in Spartacus (1960). Nowadays, you can still spot him at the occasional movie convention, signing photos from Batman and Robin and The East Side Kids.
