Biography for
Charles Durning More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 February 1923, Highland Falls, New York, USA

Nickname

Chuck

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Ex-pro boxer, WWII veteran, dance instructor and diversely talented stage & screen actor are all inclusions on the resume of this perpetually busy US actor who didn't get in front of the cameras until around the time of his fortieth birthday ! The stockily built Charles Durning is one of Hollywood's most dependable and sought after supporting actors who first got his start in guest appearances in early 1960's TV shows. He scored minor roles over the next decade until he really got noticed by film fans as the sneering, corrupt cop "Lt. Snyder" hassling street grifter 'Robert Redford' in the multi award winning mega-hit The Sting (1973). Durning was equally entertaining in the Billy Wilder production of The Front Page (1974), he supported screen tough guy Charles Bronson in the suspenseful western Breakheart Pass (1975) and featured as "Spermwhale Whalen" in the story of unorthodox police behavior in The Choirboys (1977).

The versatile Durning is equally adept at comedic roles and demonstrated his skills as "Doc Hopper" in The Muppet Movie (1979), a feisty football coach in North Dallas Forty (1979), a highly strung police officer berating maverick cop Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine (1981), and a light footed, dancing Governor (alongside Burt Reynolds once more) in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Durning continued a regular on screen association with Burt Reynolds appearing in several more feature films together and as "Dr. Harlan Elldridge" in the highly popular TV series "Evening Shade" (1990). On par with his multitude of feature film roles, Durning has always been in high demand on television and has guest starred in "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996), "Monk" (2002) and "Rescue Me" (2004). Plus, he has appeared in the role of "Santa Claus" in five different telemovies!

IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Spouse

Mary Ann Amelio	(1973 - present) 2 stepchildren
Carol ?	(? - 1972) (divorced) 3 children

Trivia

Was trained in classical dance and was for a time in his early career, a dance instructor.

Has played Santa Claus five times to date, in It Nearly Wasn't Christmas (1989) (TV), Mrs. Santa Claus (1996) (TV), Elmo Saves Christmas (1996) (V), Mr. St. Nick (2002) (TV), and A Boyfriend for Christmas (2004) (TV).

Was one of a few survivors to the infamous massacre of American POWs by German SS troops at Malmedy, Belgium, during World War II. The surrendering engineering battalion, captured behind enemy lines when the main American forces retreated, were gathered together and brought to a large field. As the German guards backed away from the prisoners, machine guns that were hidden in trucks opened fire on them. Approximately 88 US soldiers died, a good number of them by a single shot at close range through the head, indicating that those who survived the initial volley were subsequently executed. Only about 20 of the group of approximately 100 managed to escape the massacre and make their way to American lines. The incident was re-created in Battle of the Bulge (1965) starring Henry Fonda.

During his days as a professional boxer he once fought on the same card as Jack Warden in Madison Square Garden.

Studied the Martial Arts earlier in his career

Won Broadway's 1990 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for portraying Big Daddy in a revival of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

His wife, Mary Ann, was his childhood sweetheart.

Served with the 1st Infantry Division in World War II. He landed at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 during the Normandy invasion. He was awarded several decorations, including the Combat Infantryman's Badge, Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and three Purple Hearts.

Former professional boxer.

Survived the bloody D-Day assault on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Took him 50 years to talk about his experiences of that day.

Was kicked out of the American Academy of Dramatic Art drama school because they thought he had no talent. Another famous thespian to be booted from the school was Jason Robards.

His first job in the entertainment field was as an usher at a burlesque house. His career officially started as a singer with a band at the age of 16, before going into acting. His first professional play was in Buffalo before he went off to war.

His breakthrough role occurred on Broadway in 1972 starring in "That Championship Season" where he was noticed by director George Roy Hill who cast him in his acclaimed Oscar-winning movie The Sting (1973).

His idol is James Cagney, who also proved he could be tough and dance, too.

Despite the wounds he received in WWII (he was shot in the legs and hip by machine-gun fire), he went on to become a professional dancer and dance teacher. He taught at the Fred Astaire studios and relied upon it when he couldn't find acting work.

At age 21, he was the only member of his unit to survive the Omaha Beach "D-Day" invasion on June 6, 1944. He was wounded in the hip and legs three days after he got off the boat. He still carries the bullet in his hip.

Was considered for the role of General Worden in The Dirty Dozen (1967).

He is the second youngest of five children. His sibling are James (1915-2000), Clifford (1916-1994), Frances (born 1919) and Gerald Durning (born 1926). His mother, Louise, was a laundress at West Point, and his father, James, was an immigrant who gained U.S. citizenship by joining the army.

His daughter, Jeanine Durning, is a well known New York-based modern dance performer and choreographer.

Personal Quotes

Dancing came easy for me. Acting came hard.

I would rather do a play because it's instantaneous. You go on the stage, and you know whether it's happening or not. Somebody asked me "what is acting?" And I said, "acting is listening." And if you ain't listening, nobody's listening.

I can't count how many of my friends are in the cemetery at Normandy, the heroes are still there, the real heroes.

[about arriving at Omaha Beach on D-Day] It's hard to describe what we all went through that day, but those of us who were there will understand. We were frightened all the time. My sergeant said 'are you scared, son?' and I said 'yes, I am', and he said 'that's good, it's good to be scared', he said 'we all are'. This guy in the boat, he turned to me and he threw up all over me, and I got seasick. He was scared. You're not thinking about anything, you're just thinking about you hope that shell that just went off isn't going to hit this boat. Even the guys who had seen a lot of action before, and this was my first time, they were just as ashen as I was, and I was frightened to death. I was the second man off my barge and the first and third men got killed. First guy the ramp went down, the guy fell and I tried to leap over him and I stumbled and we both slipped into the water. We were supposed to be able to walk into shore but they didn't bring us far enough. And I was in 60 feet of water with a 60 pound pack on, so I let it all go.

[on reaching Omaha Beach after falling in the water] I came up and I didn't have a helmet, a rifle, nothing. I hit the beach, the guys pulled me in who were already there, I'd lost everything; but they said 'you'll find plenty of them on the beach, rifles, helmets, that belong to nobody'. Nobody knew where we were supposed to go, there was nobody in charge, you were on your own. All around me people were being shot at, I saw bodies all over the place; but you didn't know if they were alive or dead, they were just lying there.

[about D-Day] We got behind this tank to protect ourselves; we're holding our own when they called us over to them. I asked the sergeant 'you want me to go first or you go first?' He said 'you go first, I'll be right behind you'. I heard an explosion, and I turned around, and his torso was here, and his body was over there.

Where Are They Now

(October 2002) In Off-Broadway production of "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui", Berthold Brecht's Nazi Allegory set in Chicago

(December 2007) Was the recipient of the 44th Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award for 2007.