‘80s Sitcom Star, 79, Makes Heartbreaking Admission About Her Brain Tumor
During a July 2025 interview with That's Classic, Duncan said she started feeling unwell while filming the 1971 sitcom, Funny Face. According to Duncan, she was "working like crazy," despite being "so ill."
"I had screaming headaches. My vision was already gone," said the actress.
Duncan said that MRIs and CAT scans were still in development, meaning doctors had a difficult time determining what was wrong. However, a doctor advised her to have her mother stay with her during the last week of filming Funny Face, which only lasted one season. Duncan said while her mother was staying over, her vision went completely white.
"I screamed for my mother," recalled Duncan during the interview.
Duncan said her mother called her doctor, who made a home visit. According to the Hogan Family star, he gave her "a shot to relax" amid her intense pain. Duncan shared that she believed the doctor was euthanizing her.
"I thought, 'They are putting me to sleep. They are putting me out. Goodbye.' I said okay. What am I going to do?" said Duncan.
After wrapping up filming Funny Face, Duncan was able to get exploratory surgery, which determined she had a brain tumor.
"They went in and hunted around and there was this big tumor attached to the back of the orbit of my eye," said Duncan.
Duncan also said while doctors were able to successfully remove the tumor, she ended up losing vision in her left eye because of the surgery.
"They removed the orbit and the tumor. And in doing that, they severed the optic nerve because it's such a thin little line. And it got cut. And that's when my vision went boom. And it was a 10-hour surgery and I woke up halfway through it," said the Broadway actress.
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