Duane Whitaker

Whitaker was born in Abilene, Texas, the oldest child of Nathan Duane Whitaker Sr. (b. August 18, 1933 in Woodson, Texas) and Barbara Ella (née Hudson) (b. April 29, 1934 in Amarillo, Texas), a nurse. He has two younger sisters, Margaret Denise Whitaker (b. April 12, 1962) and Ramona Doyce Whitaker (b. March 24, 1963), both born in Lubbock, Texas.[1]

Duane Whitaker is probably best known for his role in Quentin Tarantino's popular 1994 film Pulp Fiction as Maynard, the sadistic pawn shop owner. He wrote and portrayed the title role in Eddie Presley (based on his own successful stage play). Whitaker also wrote, directed and appeared in Together and Alone.

Other notable roles include; a racist cop in Tales from the Hood, Boss Man in Feast, The Sheriff in Trailer Park of Terror, Luther in From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (which he also co-wrote), Buddy in Dead Letters, Winslow in Broke Sky, Mickey in Cordoba Nights and Dr. Bankhead in The Devil's Rejects and Road Rash in Hobgoblins.

Most recently Duane has appeared in the feature films Getting Grace, Give Till It Hurts, "The Great Illusion", "Three from Hell", Halloween II and "Lionhead." On TV, Duane appeared on the Cold Case episode "The Brush Man" and recently filmed a recurring role in the new FX Series The Bridge as well. Whitaker has also written numerous screenplays including "Stripteaser."

On March 31, 2010, American Cinematheque hosted a screening of Eddie Presley and "Together and Alone" at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2016 "Together and Alone" was shown again through the American Cinematheque at Spielberg Theater with "Dead Letters". Duane has also taught Film Acting classes in Los Angeles for nearly twenty years.

Duane is a graduate of Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas.

• Duane Whitaker at IMDb
• Actor's home page