After his death, a David Coleman Dukes Memorial Scholarship was established at the University of Southern California School of Theatre. It is presented yearly to "a junior B.A. or B.F.A. acting student who shows exemplary dedication to the craft of acting." There is also an annual invitational tennis tournament named in his memory.
He collapsed and died whilst in Washington to film "Rose Red" (2002).
He was nominated for a 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Design for Living", at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
His wife, Carol Muske-Dukes, wrote a book titled "Life after Death", where a woman, upset at her husband for leaving her and their child, says to him, "Why don't you just die?". The next day, he dies of a heart attack on a tennis court. Shortly after the book was completed, David Dukes went to play tennis and died of a heart attack.
Received numerous death threats after he played a character who tried to rape Edith Bunker in "All in the Family: Edith's 50th Birthday: Part 1 (#8.4)" (1977) (10/16/1977).
Was Rob Reiner's first choice to play the adult "Gordy LaChance", the narrator of Stand by Me (1986), before being replaced by Richard Dreyfuss. In the first long shot of the adult Gordie, you can still see that it is Dukes, not Dreyfuss, sitting in the car. The story is about the character's first experiences with death. Ironically, Dukes died while appearing in another Stephen King adaptation.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1980 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for Martin Sherman's "Bent."