|
Hot Videos
Female Celeb
Wallpapers
|
Charles Durning (born February 28, 1923) is an American actor of stage and screen.
Early life
Born in Highland Falls, New York, to an impoverished Irish American Catholic family, which he left as soon as possible to ease the financial pressure on his mother.
Military service
Durning served as a soldier in World War II, during which he was awarded a Silver Star, three Purple Heart medals, and a Good Conduct Medal. He was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 21, and landed on D-Day in the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. Some sources state he was in the 1st Infantry Division at the time, but it is unclear if he was a rifleman or in an artillery unit by 1944.
On Omaha Beach itself, Pvt. Charles Durning was among the first troops to land. Drafted early in the war, he was first assigned as a rifleman with the 398th Infantry Regiment, but later served overseas with the 3rd Army Support troops and the 386th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion.
Durning was wounded by an “S” Mine on June 15, 1944, at Les Mare des Mares. He was transported by the 499th Medical Collection Company to the 24th Evacuation Hospital. By June 17, he was back in England at the 217th General Hospital. Although severely wounded by shrapnel in the left and right thigh, right hand, the frontal region of the head and the interior left chest wall, Durning recovered quickly and was determined to be “fit for duty” on December 6, 1944. Durning was present for the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter-offensive in December 1944.
He was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge, and was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmedy massacre of American POWs, perpetrated by a battlegroup under Joachim Peiper of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. "He escaped with two others, and returned to find the remainder murdered.
After being wounded in the chest, Durning was repatriated to the United States where he remained in army hospitals, receiving treatment for both physical and psychological wounds, until discharged with the rank of Private First Class on January 30, 1946.
Durning has said that he still suffers from nightmares about his war experiences (which is common among veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder, although Durning himself is not confirmed to have suffered PTSD). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his extraordinary portrayal of a Marine veteran in "Call of Silence", an unusual episode of the television series NCIS, first broadcast November 23, 2004. Clearly drawing on his first-hand knowledge of the lingering effects of battle-induced stress, Durning's character turns himself in to authorities, insisting that he must be prosecuted for having murdered his buddy during ferocious combat on Iwo Jima six decades earlier. The real truth of the incident only becomes known for certain when the guilt-stricken veteran goes through a cathartic reliving of the battlefield events.
Durning is well-known for participating in various functions to honor American veterans. He was the chairman one year of the U.S. National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans.
Post-war career
After the war, Durning worked various jobs. While working as a ballroom dance instructor (he had some training in classical dance) he was noticed and cast in the New York Shakespeare Festival. He has since performed in some 32 plays, and in 1990 he won the Tony Award for "Featured Actor in a Play" for his role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
One of Durning's best-known roles is the corrupt policeman Lieutenant Snyder who doggedly pursues the young con artist Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) in the 1973 classic The Sting. Since then he has amassed over 100 film and TV credits, including Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, Dog Day Afternoon (with Al Pacino), the sci-fi classic The Final Countdown, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. In 1979, he played Doc Hopper, the main villain in The Muppet Movie. In Tootsie he plays a suitor to a cross-dressing Dustin Hoffman. The two actors worked together again in a 1985 TV production of Death of a Salesman. In 1993, Durning guest starred in the Sean Penn-directed music video for "Dance with the One That Brought You" by Shania Twain.
More recently he has played a benevolent father to Holly Hunter in Home for the Holidays (1995), a savvy southern state governor ("Pappy" O'Daniel) in O Brother, Where Art Thou, and as Victor Rasdale in Dirty Deeds. In 1996 he played Lew in the romantic comedy One Fine Day. He also had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005) as the Barone family's long-suffering parish priest, Father Hubley. He also played the voice of recurring character Francis Griffin in the animated series Family Guy until 2007.
For his roles on television, Durning has earned four Emmy Awards. He has also received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1982 and for To Be or Not to Be in 1983.
He can currently be seen on the television show Rescue Me, playing the father of Denis Leary's character. His daughter Jeanine Durning is a well known New York based modern dance performer and choreographer.
| Latest news about Charles Durning |
Quick Synopses Of A Few Movies From Around The World | Pj News ...Cast includes Richard Jordan, Jami Gertz, Jason Patric, Lukas Haas, Charles Durning, Peter DeLuise, Adrian Pasdar, Sarah Douglas, Frank Talk, Terrence Mann, and Kelly Bishop. (194 minutes,'86). The Believer: A brutal evaluation of a ... Continue reading
Check Out These Excellent Movie Commentaries And Watch One Tonight ...Cast includes James Spader, Mandy Patinkin, M. Emmett Walsh, Charles Durning (98 minutes,'93). Dracula – Gloomy retelling of the Bram Stoker classic, with Langella's esteemed Broadway characterization lost among trendy terror gimmicks ... Continue reading
Deep Dish: Deeper Dish with Frances SternhagenLoved Charlie Durning and loved having the chance to play an interesting, somewhat witty character who really had little to do with the rest of the story. She was just fabulous for the sake of being fabulous. I also love that Tennessee ... Continue reading
Discover The Useful Emotional Allure Of Motion Picture Enjoyment ...Cast includes Charles Durning, Louis Gossett, Jr., Perry Baron, Clyde Kusatsu, Stephen Macht, Tim McIntire, Randy Quaid, Don Stroud, and James Woods. (119 minutes,'77). AI Artificial Intelligence – In the near future, scientist Hurt and ... Continue reading
Charles Durning | cine101 : The ultimate resource for 1920 to 2010 ...charles-durning Before he became an actor, Charles Durning, the son of an Army man, continued in his father's footsteps with valor and distinction, earning a silver star and purple heart in World War II. Durning held down several “joe ... Continue reading
Hugo Chavez on LGBT Persecution and Marriage Equality - Towleroad ...His answer reminds me of Charles Durning's musical number in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas... Posted by: Michael W. | Nov 19, 2009 5:53:03 PM. Cyndi Lauper's tour Bring Ya To The Brink was supposed to end in Caracas Venezuela but ... Continue reading
mental_floss Blog » 6 Famous Veterans from TVI believe that the actor Charles Durning, is the most decorated WWII veteran still alive. posted by harold on 11-11-2009 at 11:30 am. Bob Keeshan -Captain Kangaroo of children's TV – fought at Iwo Jima ... Continue reading
Pitchpull: Charles DurningThe scene is in "Tootsie", and Dustin Hoffman enters the bar where Durning sees him not "in drag" for the first time. The Charles Durning character, who has been a little sweet on "Tootsie", slowly comes to the realization that Hoffman ... Continue reading
HAS JEFF BRIDGES' OSCAR MOMENT FINALLY ARRIVED? « YOUR AD HERE ...... Francis Ford Coppola, Joseph Cotten, Penelope Cruz, Macaulay Culkin, Joan Cusack, Blythe Danner, Ted Danson, Hope Davis, Bruce Davison, Benicio Del Toro, Bruce Dern, Brad Dourif, Robert Downey, Jr., Charles Durning, Robert Duvall, ... Continue reading
OLD people on tv - Official Aruba Community ForumCaptain Oveur ) is now doing a TV endorsement- 83 yo. Still alive and I am surprised or did not know. Nanette Fabray 89 yo. Za Za Gabor 92 yo (Eva died at 76 yo in 1995) Wilfred Brimley 75 yo. Olivia de Havilland 93 yo. Charles Durning ... Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Charles Durning pictures and Charles Durning biography
|
|
|
