Sandy Duncan

Forever known, fairly or not, as a perky, pixie-cut performer, Sandy Duncan earned Tony nominations for her wonderful theatrical turns in "Canterbury Tales," "The Boy Friend" and "Peter Pan." The epitome of all-American charm, Duncan shined in such fluff as "Million Dollar Duck" (1971) and "Star Spangled Girl" (1971) and received an Emmy nomination for starring in "Funny Face" (CBS, 1971). That series became "The Sandy Duncan Show" (CBS, 1972) after filming was suspended while she underwent surgery for a tumor, which left her without vision in one eye. So pervasive was the subsequent urban legend that Duncan had a prosthetic eye, that the joke was referenced, decades later, most notably on "Family Guy" (Fox, 1999-2002; 2005- ). Although she earned another Emmy nomination for a powerful dramatic turn in the miniseries "Roots" (ABC, 1977), Duncan seemed more comfortable in featherweight family fare like "The Cat from Outer Space" (1978); animated projects like "The Fox and the Hound" (1981), "My Little Pony 'n Friends" (syndicated, 1984-87), and "The Swan Princess" (1994); and a ubiquitous series of Wheat Thins commercials. Her highest-profile screen role, however, came when she controversially replaced Valerie Harper as the sunny matriarch of the retooled "The Hogan Family," formerly known as "Valerie" and "Valerie's Family" (NBC, 1986-1990; CBS, 1990-91). Artistically gifted and endlessly charismatic, Sandy Duncan achieved pop culture immortality based more on the strength of her persona and her body of work than on any one role in particular.