Charles Durning

Charles Durning (Highland Falls, New York, February 28, 1923-Manhattan, New York, December 24, 2012) was an American actor.

Biography

He was born in Highland Falls, New York State, the son of an Army officer. He was called up for World War II and participated in the landing of the allied forces in Normandy; in one of the battles he was wounded. Back in the United States he did various jobs. One of them was that of a ballroom dance instructor. He also did small roles on the stage, where he was seen by a producer, who hired him for the Shakespeare Theater Festival in New York. Since then, Durning has appeared in more than thirty plays, as well as a few movies.

Durning had his first major stage success in 1970, in the play That Champion Season, which won a Tony, America's highest theater award. A few years later, in 1973, he repeated this success by taking part in the film The Coup , with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, in which he played a corrupt policeman. The film won several Oscars. Durning was then 50 years old. He had worked continuously, but had not attracted attention as an actor. From then on things changed. He worked tirelessly as one of the most in-demand supporting actors. His acting skills allowed him to play a multitude of different roles, and his presence in the movies contributed significantly to his success.

Some of Durning's memorable performances included his role as a cop trying to negotiate with Al Pacino in Dog Afternoon, as President in Twilight's Last Gleaming, or Jessica Lange's father who falls in love with a Dustin Hoffman disguised as a woman in Tootsie. He was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor in 1982 for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and the following year for To be or not to be , the new version of Ernst's classic Lubitsch performed by Mel Brooks. He also continued acting on the stage, where he was equally considered a great character actor. In 1989 he won a Tony for best supporting actor for the role of his father in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which ran on Broadway.

Durning's ability to work also led him to participate in numerous films and television miniseries, in which he acted with famous actors, such as Dustin Hoffman and Burt Reynolds, and with which he also achieved considerable success. In 1975 he had been nominated for an Emmy Award, and 15 years later, in 1990, he won it for his role in the miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts .

Durning was married twice. He divorced his first wife in 1972, and the following year he remarried. He had three children by his first wife.

The actor passed away in Manhattan on December 24, 2012 of natural causes.

Filmography

The ballad of Buster scruggs

• Hunt for the Devil (2003)
• Jesus, Mary and Joey (2003)
• Death and Texas (2003)
• One Last Ride (2003)
• The Last Man Club (2002)
• The Naked Run (2002)
• Mother Ghost (2002)
• L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve (2001)
• Turn of Faith (2001)
• Lakeboat (2001)
• Never look back (2000)
• State and Main (2000)
• The Last Producer (2000)
• Very Mean Men (2000)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
• Hi-Life (1998)
• Jerry and Tom (1998)
• The last refuge (1998)
• The Secret Life of Algernon (1997)
• An unforgettable day (1996)
• Recon (1996)
• Spy Hard (1996)
• Home for the Holidays (1995)
• The grass harp (1995)
• The Last Supper (1995)
• I.Q. (1994)
• The big jump (1994)
• The music of chance (1993)
• V.I. Warshawski (1991)
• Sky Fatal (1990)
• Dick Tracy (1990)
• Cat Chaser (1989)
• Brenda Starr (1989)
• Ballet (1988)
• Far North (1988)
• Cop (1988)
• A Tiger's Tale (1988)
• The Rosary Murders (1987)
• Happy New Year (1987)
• Solarbabies (1986)
• Tough Guys (1986)
• Where the River Runs Black (1986)
• Big Trouble (1986)
• Stand Alone (1985)
• Stick (1985)
• The man with a red shoe (1985)
• Death of a traveler (1985)
• Hadley's Rebellion (1984)
• Mass Appeal (1984)
• I am or am not (1983)
• Two of a Kind (Such for which1983)
• Tootsie (1982).
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
• The dark night of the scarecrow (1981)
• Sharky's Machine (1981)
• True Confessions (1981)
• Die Laughing (1980)
• The end of the countdown (1980)
• When a Stranger Calls (1979)
• Starting Over (1979)
• North Dallas Forty (1979)
• The Muppet Movie (1979)
• Tilt (1979)
• The Greek Tycoon (1978)
• An Enemy of the People (1978)
• The fury (1978)
• The Choirboys (1977)
• Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
• Harry and Walter go to New York (Harry and Walter Go to New York)Mark Rydell (1976)
• Breakheart Pass (1975)
• Hindenburg (1975)
• Dog's late (1975)
• Front page (1974)
• The blow (1973)
• Sisters (1973)
• Deadhead Miles (1972)
• Doomsday Voyage (1972)
• Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)
• The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
• I Walk the Line (1970)
• Hi, Mom! (1970)
• Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965)

Awards and distinctions

Oscar Awards

Golden Globes

Awards of the Union of Actors