Archie Duncan

Who was Archie Duncan?

Archie Duncan was a Scottish actor born in Glasgow.

Duncan's father was a regimental sergeant major in the army and his mother a postmistress. He attended Govan High School and began his career in repertory theatre and West End plays.

Although he appeared in over 50 television series and movie roles, he is best remembered for two—Inspector Lestrade in the 1954 series Sherlock Holmes and as Little John in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Richard Greene from 1955 to 1960. He died in London.

Duncan was briefly replaced in the Little John role by Rufus Cruikshank for about ten episodes after Duncan was injured when a horse bolted toward the spectators, mostly children, watching the location filming of the episode "Checkmate" on 20 April 1955. He grabbed the bridle stopping the horse but the cart it was pulling ran him over causing a fractured kneecap and cuts and bruises. He received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery Award and £1,360 in damages from Sapphire films.