PHS grad, actor Dukas dies
By Paul LaPann plapann@newsandsentinel.comPARKERSBURG - Parkersburg High School graduate Jim Dukas is being remembered as an actor who worked in films with Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Robert Redford and Jackie Gleason, appeared in a Broadway production with Woody Allen, was the voice in many radio and TV commercials and was a friend of actors Don Knotts and Paul Dooley.
Dukas, 83, died of cancer last Saturday in his New York City home. Dukas, the brother of Parkersburg City Councilman Demo Dukas, was a 1944 graduate of PHS and a graduate of West Virginia University. A resident of New York City for more than 50 years, Dukas lived on the top floor of a 14-floor apartment building on West 34th Street near the Lincoln Tunnel and Madison Square Garden.
Demo Dukas said Wednesday his brother would try to visit Parkersburg once a year and his last visit was in 2000. The two talked on the telephone on Sundays. Jim Dukas enjoyed stopping at Colombo's Restaurant while in town.
"Jim Dukas was a very funny man ... a nice and caring person who was quite a character," said Jimmy Colombo, co-owner of Colombo's. Colombo recalled that Dukas enjoyed slapstick comedy made famous by Charlie Chaplin.
Even though Dukas had made a name for himself in films and on Broadway, he never changed and was friendly when returning to Parkersburg, Colombo said.
Dooley, a 1945 graduate of Parkersburg High School who lives in California, considers Dukas to be his mentor in show business. "I studied acting because of him," Dooley said this week of Dukas.
Dooley, who has appeared in films such as "Breaking Away" and "Sixteen Candles" and appeared on numerous television shows, and Dukas were friends at PHS and later at WVU, where they palled around with Knotts. They both went to New York to act, with Dooley (whose last name was Brown before becoming a professional actor) staying for 30 years and Dukas never leaving.
Demo Dukas recalled that as young men Dooley, Jim Dukas and others would dress in costume and make films near the Ann Street train station. The two had the same interests in film and comedy back then, idolizing Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Dooley said.
At PHS, Dukas used his "wonderful" voice and diction as a member of the debate team, Dooley said. Dukas had a "fantastic" voice even as a teenager, recalling he was a disc jockey on Parkersburg radio station WPAR as a 14-year-old youth, Dooley said.
Dukas appeared in many commercials on camera and on the radio, Dooley said, including ones for Dove facial soap, Count Chocula and Frankin Berry cereals. He appeared in movies such as "Ironweed" with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, "Coogan's Bluff" with Clint Eastwood, "Brubaker" starring Robert Redford and "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" starring Steve McQueen. He was in Allen's Broadway play "Don't Drink the Water."
Because he didn't have a driver's license living in New York City, Dukas had to obtain a learner's permit to drive the getaway car in "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery," said his nephew Tom Dukas of Parkersburg.
Demo Dukas said his brother enjoyed working with Sinatra, Gleason and George C.?Scott. Dukas and Sinatra worked together in "The Detective," which was filmed in New York. He also considered McQueen to be a friend, Demo Dukas said.
"He loved live theater," Tom Dukas said of his uncle. He toured the nation in the stage show "The Visit" with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Dukas appeared on the TV show "Car 54" early in his career and "Edge of Night" soap opera.
Jim Dukas owned a home in Parkersburg and considered moving back here with his wife, Elaine "Laine," but never did, Demo said.
Dukas' collection of about 2,000 jazz and Big Band records have been donated to the Archive of Contemporary Music in New York. A memorial service will be held next month at The Players Club, which promotes the professional arts, in New York, with a Parkersburg memorial following at a later date.
He is survived by his wife of New York.
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Mroberts212
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01-09-09 3:54 PM
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The only part of this story that is incorrect is that Jim lived on the 14th floor of a 17 story apartment. I know this because Jim and his wife have been my neighbor for the past 17 years. I have to say, I never knew the success that Jim enjoyed as he was such a nice and down to earth person. He was always quick with a hello or a joke in the elevator. The love he showed for his wife was also quite evident. He will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
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spunky
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12-18-08 6:57 PM
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Condolence to the Dukas family. Reading this takes me back only a few years ago when Paul Dooley (Brown)was in town to see his brother Charley Brown. We sat at lunch at the Elks and Paul talked about the times , he, Don Knotts, and Jim Dukas had in Morgantown. That must have been a time. Paul Dooley said that when he went to California at Don's request there was already an actor by the name of Paul Brown and that is the reason he changed his name. His brother, rest his soul, Charley was in the motorcycle business in South Parkersburg for many years. Paul also played the character of Wimpy in the Popeye movie , I beleive. I'm sure Jim will be missed by many who knew him.
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HandeMan
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12-18-08 5:31 PM
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Heart felt condolences to the Dukas Family and friends so sorry for your loss! May the Lord be with you.
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