Duane Case was born on 12 December 1950 in Los Angeles, California. In 1965, Duane was cast in the role of Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Following the success of the movie, Duane appeared in two more small roles before leaving the movie industry and the acting profession behind.

Duane pursued a degree in geology and has worked in the field designing and developing computer software for geologists and geophysicists. Today, Duane lives in Washington with his wife Petra and is working in wildlife and forestry.