Duncan Henderson, an Oscar-nominated producer and longtime member of the Director Guild of America’s national board, died Tuesday in Valencia, Calif. of pancreatic cancer, DGA representatives confirmed to PvNew. He was 72.
Henderson worked as a unit production manager, assistant director and producer on several notable films, receiving an Oscar nomination for producing Peter Weir’s 2004 “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” Other films he had production credits on include “Dead Poets Society,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “G-Force,” “The Way Back,” “Battleship,” “Oblivion,” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” and “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”
“A DGA member for over 40 years, Duncan’s level of passion, service and commitment was beyond exemplary,” DGA president Lesli linka Glatter said in a statement. “It is difficult to overstate how much Duncan meant to the DGA and his fellow members. His love for his Guild and its members shone brightly.”
Henderson joined the DGA in 1980 after graduating from DGA-Producer Assistant Directors Training Program; he would later become a trustee for the program in 2004. He served 10 terms on the Guild’s Western AD/UPM Council starting in 2002, including a term as the council chair. He was elected onto the guild’s national board in 2005 and served eight consecutive terms. He served on the DGA’s Negotiations Committee for the 2005, 2008, 2014, 2017 and 2020 negotiation cycles, and as a delegate for the DGA Biennial Conventions. In 2020, he was awarded the DGA’s Frank Capra Achievement Award, which is given to an assistant director or unit production manager for exemplary service to the guild and achievement in the industry.
He also served as an assistant director on films like “Halloween II,” “Big Trouble” and “Rocky IV.” As a DGA trainee, he worked on the films “American Gigolo” and “Heaven’s Gate.”
Henderson is survived by his wife Michelle and four children.
