Watson B. Duncan III (1915-1991) of Charleston, South Carolina, taught English, Speech, and Drama at Palm Beach Community College for 43 years, from 1948-1991. His energy and passion kept his students enthralled and earned him the nickname, “the Pied Piper of English Literature.”
Duncan’s drama students in the 1950s included future actors Burt Reynolds and Monte Markham, who remained lifelong friends with their mentor. Reynolds, whom Duncan is credited with “discovering,” gave his teacher his only film role in Gator (1976). Terry Garrity, author of The Sensuous Woman (1971), so enjoyed his teaching that she took all of Duncan’s classes twice. When her father died three days after Duncan, her family delayed services so Garrity could attend her professor’s funeral. Other students included Edward M. Eissey, who became president of the college from 1978-1997, and Duncan’s future wife of 38 years, Martha Ann “Honey” Harper.
Duncan was still teaching two classes per day and giving weekly talks to finance his Watson B. Duncan Scholarship Fund when he died at age 76. He was named Distinguished Floridian of the Year in 1980 and National Professor of the Year for community colleges in 1985. Among many other honors during his lifetime were the naming of two buildings: Watson B. Duncan Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens, and the Watson B. Duncan Theatre at Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth.