Arlene Duncan

Arlene Duncan
Born	Arlene Duncan Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	Kairene
Alma mater	Sheridan College
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1978–present

Arlene Duncan is a Canadian actress and singer from Oakville, Ontario.^[1] Her father is African Canadian, with ancestors from Nova Scotia. Duncan has appeared in more than 80 film and television roles, in addition to many theatrical productions. She is best known for her television role as Fatima, a diner owner in the CBC situation comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie.^[2]

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Early life and education

Arlene Duncan was born in Oakville, Ontario, to Alvin Aberdeen Duncan, a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran of World War II, and a Jamaican mother, Icilda.^[3] Her father's side of the family has been living in Canada for five generations.^[4] She is the great-grand-daughter of Benedict Duncan, a slave who fled Maryland through the Underground Railroad and became a sexton in Oakville.^[5] Her great-great-grandfather, Samuel Adams, moved to Canada in 1855. Duncan's family has been heavily involved in Oakville's Black community, her great-grandfather Jeremiah Adams was the groundkeeper of Turner Chapel (Oakville) and her father worked as Oakville’s resident Black historian until his death in 2009. Additionally, Duncan's mother founded the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton.^[6] Canadian Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey is Duncan's half-brother.^[7]

Duncan attended T. A. Blakelock High School in Oakville. During her time there, she was active drama and student band.^[8] She graduated from Sheridan College's musical theatre program.^[9]^[10] Duncan was a winner of the Du Maurier's Search for Stars contest and represented Canada at the Pacific Song Contest in 1979.^[11]^[12]

Career

In 1982, Duncan released her debut single "I Wanna Grove", which won her the Female Vocalist of the Year Award at the 1983 Canadian Black Music Awards in 1983. Duncan also has performed under the name Kairene,^[9] releasing the single "I Need a Man" under Radikal Records in 1993. She has additionally sung jingles for McDonald's, Pepsi and Toyota.^[13] In 1994, the Black Label Artists Coalition awarded Duncan for Outstanding Achievement in Dance/House Music.^[9]

Duncan has been active in musical and dramatic theatre. She has been involved in theatrical productions of Sophisticated Ladies, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, Once on This Island, The Mother Club, A Raisin in the Sun, Ain't Misbehavin', The Nutmeg Press, Recurring John^[14] and The Who's Tommy.^[9]^[15]^[16] Duncan won a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2012 for Outstanding Performance by a Female (Musical) for her performance in Caroline, or Change.^[17] Duncan's performance as Caroline in Caroline, or Change earned her a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2012 for Outstanding Performance by a Female (Musical)^[17] and a Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actress in a Musical.^[18]^[19]

Duncan has appeared in many movies and televisions, most notably portraying café owner Fatima Dinssa on the CBC Television series Little Mosque on the Prairie. Duncan played Harriet Tubman in the CBC Television Special All for One, for which she received an ACTRA Award. Duncan later reprised the role of Harriet Tubman in 1995 in CBS's Gemini Awards-nominated "Sing Out, Freedom Train".^[20]^[9]^[21] In recent years, she has also appeared in minor roles on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Suits, and A Dog's Journey. Duncan's most notable recent role has been as Velma Diggs in the ongoing CBC Television series Diggstown.^[22]

Duncan has cited Diana Ross, Salome Bey, and Melba Moore as influences.^[10]

Work

Film

Year	Film	Role
1979	An American Christmas Carol	Jennie Reeves
1987	The Liberators	Amanada^[23]
1988	All for One	Harriet Tubman^[15]
1995	Sing Out Freedom Train	Harriet Tubman^[15]
1996	Extreme Measures	E.R. Nurse
2000	Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble	Harriet
2001	Drop the Beat	Mrs. Brown^[13]
2001	Don't Say a Word	Aide
2002	The Scream Team	Sherriff^[24]
2003	Eloise at Christmastime	Lily
2005	Get Rich or Die Tryin'	Judge^[25]
2009	Chloe	Party Guest^[26]
2012	Silent Hill: Revelation	Teacher^[27]
2014	A Fighting Man	Mary^[28]
2017	Flint	Claire McClinton^[29]
2019	Easy Land	Mrs. Fraser
2019	A Dog's Journey	Hilda^[30]

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1997–2004	Franklin	Officer Rabbit^[9]
2005–2008	Degrassi: The Next Generation	Mrs. Van Zandt^[24]^[15]	4 Episodes
2007–2012	Little Mosque on the Prairie	Fatima Dinssa^[1]	91 Episodes
2013	Covert Affairs	Patricia^[7]
2013–2017	But I'm Chris Jericho!	Ms. Lawrence^[24]	12 Episodes
2014–2017	Teenagers	Sandra	7 Episodes
2015	Suits	Emma Powell	2 Episodes
2018	The Rick Mercer Report	Announcer^[24]
2019–2020	Diggstown	Velma Diggs^[31]	6 Episodes

Theatre

Year(s)	Production	Role	Notes
1987	Sophisticated Ladies	N/A^[32]
1997	Ain't Misbehavin'	N/A	Played the role introduced by Armelia McQueen^[33]
1999	The Nutmeg Princess	Nutmeg Princess^[34]	Based on the book of same name
2011–2012	Caroline, or Change	Caroline^[10]	Won Dora Mavor Moore Award for Performance
2014	Recurring John	The Park Dweller^[14]
2014	The Mother Club	Marge^[35]
2014	Once on This Island	Mama Euralie^[36]

References

^ ^a ^b "A Pillar in the Community - Arlene Duncan". Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton. May 25, 2010. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
^ Brioux, Bill (January 9, 2007). "Little Mosque On The Prairie: CBC's 'Mosque' needs a miracle". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Levy, Genelle. "Ontarians should know more about the Black history of Oakville". TVO.org. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Zekas, Rita (May 30, 2009). "A little shopping, not on the Prairie". thestar.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Well-known actor/singer returns to help church celebrate its 169th anniversary" (PDF). The Oakville Beaver. September 14, 2001.
^ Levy, Genelle (December 1, 2020). "Ontarians should know more about the Black history of Oakville". TVO.org. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Arlene Duncan | TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Thomas A. Blakelock High School - Arlene Duncan". tab.hdsb.ca. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Williams, Paul (July 11, 2013). "Arlene Duncan". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c MacLean, Bill (December 15, 2011). "Arlene leaves the prairie for Caroline, or Change". Beach Metro Community News. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Canadian Singer to Visit New Zealand". Ottawa Citizen. 1 September 1979. p. 14. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
^ Bessey, Melissa (January 16, 2012). "Woman of the Week: Arlene Duncan". womenspost.ca. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Arlene Duncan | Black In Canada". www.blackincanada.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Cast". Recurring John. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Staff (February 23, 2017). "Arlene Duncan - Biography". Northernstars.ca. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Breon, Robin. "View of The Growth and Development of Black Theatre in Canada: A Starting Point | Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada". journals.lib.unb.ca. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "'Crash,' 'Caroline, or Change' big winners at Dora Mavor Moore theatre awards". Canadian Press, June 25, 2012.
^ "The 2nd Annual Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards". JAZZ.FM91. May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Kim's Convenience gets five thumbs up at Toronto Theatre Critics Awards". nationalpost. May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Quill, Greg (February 1994). "Freedom Train packed too full". The Toronto Star.
^ "The 1995 Gemini nominees". January 30, 1995. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Cowie, Del (March 4, 2020). "Surf's up: Vinessa Antoine is back in Diggstown and the stakes couldn't be higher | CBC Television". CBC. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "The Liberators". www.tcm.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Arlene Duncan". IMDb. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Little Mosque is big hit for Arlene Duncan". InsideHalton.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "CHLOE | a film by Atom Egoyan". www.sonyclassics.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "Arlene Duncan". Spicyonion.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Sumi, Glenn (April 24, 2014). "A Fighting Man". NOW Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Flint (2017), retrieved February 19, 2021
^ A Dog's Journey (2019), retrieved February 19, 2021
^ Karimjee, Abbas (April 16, 2019). "Interview With Arlene Duncan From CBC's Diggstown and Little Mosque on the Prairie-Exclusive In Depth". Abbas Karimjee's Weblog. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ Rochon, Lisa (June 15, 1987). "Ladies fitting tribute for the Duke". The Globe and Mail.
^ "Arlene Duncan: 'a little more sexual'". The Hamilton Spectator. March 15, 1997.
^ Wagner, Vit (March 13, 1999). "Music saves Princess". The Toronto Star.
^ Barnard, Elissa (March 5, 2014). "Playwright pushes boundaries; Peters tackles difficult subject of rape in black community in The Mother Club". The Chronicle Herald.
^ Sumi, Glenn (January 30, 2014). "Once On This Island". NOW Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2021.