William Duell was was known for his role as Andrew McNair in the musical “1776” (the one actor who stayed throughout the entire run of the show and was never understudied; the show opened on Broadway on March 16, 1969 and closed on February 13, 1972, after 1,217 performances).
Duell rercreated his role in the 1972 film version, then returned to the show during its 1997-98 Broadway revival as Caesar Rodney.
Duell is also known for his playing Johnny, the shoe shine guy who gives out every bit of exposition, in the television series “Police Squad!” and one of the ensemble inmates in the Oscar winner “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975, below).
A graduate of Green Mountain Junior College (now Green Mountain College), Illinois Wesleyan University, and Yale University, a theatre scholarship at GMC is named after Duell.
he later served in the United States Navy as a medic during World War II.
He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and earned a Master’s Degree from Yale University Drama School in New Haven, Connecticut, where he befriended Paul Newman. (Wikipedia/IMDb)
Happy Birthday, William Duell!