"They basically said you have no talent and you couldn't even buy a dime's worth of it if it was for sale," Durning told The New York Times.ĭurning grew up in Highland Falls, New York, and was 12 years old when his Irish-born father died of the effects of mustard gas exposure in World War One. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts until he was kicked out. He was nominated for Emmys for the TV series Rescue Me, NCIS, Homicide: Life on the Street, Captains and the Kings and Evening Shade, as well as the specials Death of a Salesman, Attica and Queen of the Stardust Ballroom.ĭurning was a fan of Jimmy Cagney and after returning from harrowing service in the second World War he tried singing, dancing, and stand-up comedy. Other notable Durning movie roles included a cop in Dog Day Afternoon, a man who falls in love with Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing character in Tootsie, Dick Tracy, Home for the Holidays, The Muppet Movie, North Dallas Forty and "O Brother Where Art Thou? Whorehouse was one of 13 movies Durning made with friend Burt Reynolds, as well as Reynolds' 1990s TV sitcom Evening Shade. Starting Over Photos THE FRONT PAGE, Herb Edelman, Vincent Gardenia, Charles Durning, Jack Lemmon, 1974 TRUE CONFESSIONS, Robert De Niro (far left), Charles Durning (front), Ed Flanders, Susan Myers, 1981, (c) United Artists DOG DAY AFTERNOON, Charles durning (front), 1975 DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES, Charles Durning, 1972 SPY HARD, Charles Durning, 1996, (c)Buena Vista Pictures THE CHOIRBOYS, Charles Durning, Tim McIntire, Lou Gossett, Jr., 1977 THE CHOIRBOYS, Charles Durning, Louis Gossett, Jr., Perry King, Clyde Kusatsu, Stephen Macht, Tim McIntire, Randy Quaid, Chuck Sacci, Don Stroud, James Woods, 1977 DEATH OF A SALESMAN, DUSTIN HOFFMAN, CHARLES DURNING, 1985 TOUGH GUYS, Charles Durning, 1986, (c)Buena Vista Pictures HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Charles Durning, 1995, (c)Paramount THE CHOIRBOYS, Charles Durning, 1977 TILT, Charles Durning, 1979, (c) Warner Brothers TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, Charles Durning, 1977 ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, Steve McQueen, Charles Durning, 1977, doctor examining patient HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Dylan McDermott, Charles Durning, Robert Downey Jr.Durning was nominated for supporting-actor Oscars for playing a Nazi in the 1984 Mel Brooks comedy To Be or Not to Be and the governor in the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1983. Though never an above the title name, Durning's durable presence in all genres of television and film made him a one-of-a-kind performer beloved by all. Always busy well into his senior years, Durning delivered one quality performance after another and was especially good as Denis Leary's womanizing father on "Rescue Me" (FX, 2004-2011). After wooing a cross-dressing Dustin Hoffman in the hit comedy "Tootsie" (1982), Durning was a regular on the popular sitcom "Evening Shade" (CBS, 1990-94), while landing notable supporting turns in films like "The Hudsucker Proxy" (1994). From there, he stole scenes in "North Dallas Forty" (1979) and "The Muppet Movie" (1979), while in the following decade he earned Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actor for "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) and "To Be or Not to Be" (1983). Two years later, he earned considerable praise for playing a Brooklyn cop who negotiates with Al Pacino's bank robber in the classic crime thriller "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975). After working as a nightclub dancer and instructor, the WWII veteran broke into acting in the 1960s on the New York stage, which lead to him being discovered by director George Roy Hill and cast as a corrupt cop who harasses Robert Redford in "The Sting" (1973). A veteran character actor who was a widely recognizable face in film and on television for over five decades, Charles Durning earned his place as a dependable presence often playing pugnacious tough guys and authority figures.
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