Robin Duke

Robin Duke (born March 13, 1954) is a Canadian actress, comedian, and voice actress. Duke may be best known for her work on the television comedy series SCTV and, later, Saturday Night Live. She co-founded Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which toured Canada. She teaches writing as a faculty member at Humber College in Toronto.

Life and career

Duke was born in Etobicoke, Ontario. She went to high school with Catherine O'Hara at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke; they first met during a production of the play Harvey. In 1976 Duke joined O'Hara as part of the Toronto version of the stage comedy troupe The Second City, while also making several appearances in the troupe's television series, SCTV. Duke became a regular on SCTV from 1980–81. She joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1981, when O'Hara suddenly dropped out of that show.

NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) (1981-1984)

Duke was an actress and writer on SNL from 1981 to 1984. Duke was hired in place of Catherine O'Hara, who was chosen as a cast member when Dick Ebersol was hired following Jean Doumanian's termination and the termination for most of her cast members. O'Hara backed out after SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue yelled at cast and crew members for ruining the show during its sixth season. Duke's most popular character was probably Wendy Whiner, a woman who, with her equally whiny husband (Joe Piscopo), annoyed everyone she met. She is also remembered for appearing with Mr. T as the equally bizarre "Mrs. T" in a faux commercial for the real-life product "Mr. and Mrs. T's Bloody Mary Mix".