Background
Born in Montreal, Duffy grew up in Toronto, dropping out of Central Technical School to become a singer.
Born in Montreal, Duffy grew up in Toronto, dropping out of Central Technical School to become a singer.
The show finished its run in 1963.
In 1957, he was hired by Norman Jewison to appear as a comedian on the Canadian Broadcasting Company series Showtime. Duffy had his own Canadian Broadcasting Company variety show called Here"s Duffy that ran from June 1958 through October 1959. In 1961, he became a regular on Perry Como"s Kraft Music Hall, performing as one of the Kraft Music Hall Players, alongside Don Adams, Paul Lynde, Kaye Ballard and others
Duffy battled alcoholism after he started drinking while on the road with the Dorsey band.
In 1970 he began an 11-year run as captain of the home team on the charades game show Party Game, produced by Hamilton, Ontario-based CHCH-television lieutenant was through this show that Duffy picked up the nickname "Captain Jack." In 1971 he also hosted the Canadian Broadcasting Company-television series In The Mood, featuring appearances from some of the biggest names in big band jazz, including Benny Goodman and Count Basie. Duffy died of natural causes at age 81 in Toronto.
At age 19, he was hired as a studio singer with Canadian Broadcasting Company in Toronto and in 1948 he started a three-year affiliation with Tommy Dorsey, initially as a member of the vocal group Bob-O-Links. Duffy was performing as a member of the musical act the Town Criers in 1950 and would frequently appear on Canadian Broadcasting Company-television variety shows through the 1950s.