Theresa Duncan
Encyclopedia
Theresa Duncan was an American
game designer, blog
ger, filmmaker
and critic
.
, near Detroit to Donnie and Mary Duncan. She had a sister, Deanna and a brother, Scott. Duncan was a writer, filmmaker, and computer-game creator who became known in the 1990s for developing the "girl-centric" (story-based) video games Chop Suey, Smarty Pants, and Zero Zero. She lived with Jeremy Blake
in Los Angeles
until 2007, when she and Blake moved to Manhattan
.
On her blog, Duncan listed her interests as "film, philology
, Vietnam War
memorabilia, rare and discontinued perfume, book collecting
, philately
, card and coin tricks, futurism
, Napoleon Bonaparte, the history of electricity."
s. The games were designed to be alternatives to a traditionally male-dominated field. They emphasize search and discovery over combat and conflict. Chop Suey, created with Monica Gesue, was named "1995 CD-ROM of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly
. She wrote and directed an animated film, The History of Glamour, which was selected for the 2000 Whitney Biennial. The film details the semi-autobiographical journey of a young woman from a small town to the glamour of New York; she ultimately rejects it all to return home to pursue her writing career.
Duncan's essays and film and literary criticism were published in Artforum
, Slate
, Salon, and Bald Ego. At the time of her death, Duncan was working on the film Nick's Trip with her longtime boyfriend Jeremy Blake.
apartment she shared with Blake on July 10, 2007. The official cause of death was suicide
as a result of the combined ingestion of Tylenol PM—a combination of acetaminophen and diphenhydramine
-- and alcohol. Blake is believed to have killed himself a week later, having been seen walking into the Atlantic Ocean
near Rockaway Beach
by an anonymous 911 caller. According to friends of the couple, Duncan and Blake believed that they were being followed and harassed by Scientologists
up to the point of their deaths.. After her death, two posts appeared on her web log (presumably written prior to her death). The last one appeared on New Year's Eve, 2007.
s Page Six reported that Bret Easton Ellis
is writing a screenplay about Duncan and Blake. Director Gus Van Sant
has signed on as a consultant for the movie, which is being produced by Braxton Pope and Andrew Weiner of Ithaka films along with Lionsgate.
The Law & Order
episode "Bogeyman" in season 18 is loosely based on the deaths of Duncan and Blake. In the episode, the body of the character paralleling Theresa Duncan has forensic evidence that calls into question her suicide, while the Jeremy Blake parallel character survives his suicide attempt. A case against him is disrupted by the cult group Systemotics, resulting in a near mistrial followed by a plea accepted after the ADA implies both he and the judge are connected to Systemotics.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game designer, blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, filmmaker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
.
Life
Theresa Lee Duncan was born in Lapeer, MichiganLapeer, Michigan
Lapeer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,841. Most of the city was incorporated from land that was formerly in Lapeer Township, though portions were also annexed from Mayfield Township and Elba...
, near Detroit to Donnie and Mary Duncan. She had a sister, Deanna and a brother, Scott. Duncan was a writer, filmmaker, and computer-game creator who became known in the 1990s for developing the "girl-centric" (story-based) video games Chop Suey, Smarty Pants, and Zero Zero. She lived with Jeremy Blake
Jeremy Blake
Jeremy Blake was an American digital artist and painter. His work included projected DVD installations, Type C prints, and collaborative film projects.-Biography:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
until 2007, when she and Blake moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
On her blog, Duncan listed her interests as "film, philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
memorabilia, rare and discontinued perfume, book collecting
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
, philately
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
, card and coin tricks, futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, Napoleon Bonaparte, the history of electricity."
Works
Duncan produced three video games distributed as CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s. The games were designed to be alternatives to a traditionally male-dominated field. They emphasize search and discovery over combat and conflict. Chop Suey, created with Monica Gesue, was named "1995 CD-ROM of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. She wrote and directed an animated film, The History of Glamour, which was selected for the 2000 Whitney Biennial. The film details the semi-autobiographical journey of a young woman from a small town to the glamour of New York; she ultimately rejects it all to return home to pursue her writing career.
Duncan's essays and film and literary criticism were published in Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, Salon, and Bald Ego. At the time of her death, Duncan was working on the film Nick's Trip with her longtime boyfriend Jeremy Blake.
Death
Duncan was found dead in the East Village, ManhattanEast Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
apartment she shared with Blake on July 10, 2007. The official cause of death was suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
as a result of the combined ingestion of Tylenol PM—a combination of acetaminophen and diphenhydramine
Diphenhydramine
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride is a first-generation antihistamine possessing anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, and sedative properties which is mainly used to treat allergies. Like most other first-generation antihistamines, the drug also has a powerful hypnotic effect, and for this reason...
-- and alcohol. Blake is believed to have killed himself a week later, having been seen walking into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
near Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach, Queens
Rockaway Beach is a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the South Shore of Long Island. The neighborhood is bounded by Arverne to the east and Rockaway Park to the west...
by an anonymous 911 caller. According to friends of the couple, Duncan and Blake believed that they were being followed and harassed by Scientologists
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
up to the point of their deaths.. After her death, two posts appeared on her web log (presumably written prior to her death). The last one appeared on New Year's Eve, 2007.
In popular culture
On November 30, 2008 the New York PostNew York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
s Page Six reported that Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
is writing a screenplay about Duncan and Blake. Director Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
has signed on as a consultant for the movie, which is being produced by Braxton Pope and Andrew Weiner of Ithaka films along with Lionsgate.
The Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
episode "Bogeyman" in season 18 is loosely based on the deaths of Duncan and Blake. In the episode, the body of the character paralleling Theresa Duncan has forensic evidence that calls into question her suicide, while the Jeremy Blake parallel character survives his suicide attempt. A case against him is disrupted by the cult group Systemotics, resulting in a near mistrial followed by a plea accepted after the ADA implies both he and the judge are connected to Systemotics.
External links
- The Wit of the Staircase, Duncan's blog
- The History of Glamour, a film by Theresa Duncan
- Mimi Smartypants Takes On the Assassins The New York Times, May 25, 1997
- The opposite of silence Ghost of a flea, July 25, 2007
- From Girl Games to Glamour Salon, Sept. 24, 1998
- No Pain, No Gain Slate, July 8, 2004 by Theresa Duncan
- Twin Bills, Selected for Gale's Best Literary Criticism
- Interview LAist, February 6, 2006
- Theresa Duncan Has Signed Off The Washington Post, August 1, 2007
- The Theresa Duncan Tragedy LA Weekly, August 1, 2007
- A Letter to Kate Coe: How You Got the Theresa Duncan Story Wrong August 9, 2007
- How Well Did Beck Know Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake? New York Magazine, December 11, 2007