Self-promoting, gregarious Bill Duggan is no stranger to the world of media.1 A smiling and photogenic subject, Bill attended Santa Clara University in California’s Silicon Valley. He was even a contestant – William Duggan – on Bob Barker’s The Price is Right, though by the end of the show he seemed more like he was on Biggest Loser. Omnipresent in small entertainment roles, he has hosted Home Garden and Television’s “Curb Appeal,” and is now probably best known as one of the four team members of Discovery Channel’s “Doing DaVinci.”
His “Context” on the Show
The truly strange part is that as open and outgoing as he is, Bill is definitely lower in pecking order in that department than either Flash Hopkins or Val Sykes. Bill works ‘in wood’ with Flash. Considerably younger than Flash, he assists the old guy in his shenanigans. Since Flash is most comfortable working on larger projects, such as his “whale,” he is sometimes more comfortable with a chainsaw than with a jigsaw. On jobs requiring greater precision, the result can be a fiasco.
To Date on DaVinci
Doing DaVinci is the Discovery Channel‘s latest and greatest reality-TV program, having broadcast its first six appearances starting in the Fall season of 2008.
The basic team members begin with the head, Dr. Jonathan Pevsner, along with his four-man crew, Val Sykes, Jurgen Heimann, Flash Hopkins, and of course, Bill Duggan. There also have appeared other members and guests depending upon the needs of the individual episode. Some specialty techniques and safety measures have dictated these additional personnel.
The episodes that have appeared through the first-half of 2009 have included,
Episode 1: Leonardo’s Tank
Episode 2: Leonardo’s Siege Ladder
Episode 3: Leonardo’s Scythe Chariot
Episode 4: Leonardo’s Machine Gun
Episode 5: Leonardo’s Self-propelled Carts
Episode 6: Leonardo’s Catapult
What Bill Adds
Perhaps the persona Bill Duggan adds to the Team is that of playful scamp. In the sense that Bill seems mischievous, playful. He certainly does provide youth and vigor to the team. Let’s hope, since he works most closely with Flash Hopkins, that he doesn’t become a casualty in matters of safety and prudence.
Val Sykes has indicated the Design Team for Doing DaVinci has finished another un-aired episode and is forging ahead on others.2 Expect to see the youthful Bill Duggan come into his own as the Discovery Channel‘s eminently successful series Doing DaVinci, progressively unfolds.
Discovery Channel, The public looks forward to your further materialization of the works of artist, designer, and inventor Leonardo DaVinci. Don’t let us down!
Note: For more on Doing DaVinci, click here.
1Bill Duggan
2Val Sykes
