Charles Durning passes away

Charles Durning dies at 89

Charles Durning dies at 89 years of age.

Los Angeles Time announced in its obituary the death of the "king of secondary actors",  Charles durning, what died of natural causes at 89 last December 24th. The actor, who was still active, had a career of more than 100 films, dozens of television productions, two Oscar nominations, a Golden Globe, a Tony and an award for his entire career.

The corrupt agent of 'The hit'; the policeman who negotiates with Al Pacino en 'Dog afternoon'; Dustin Hoffman's crush on 'Tootsie'; the governor of 'The funniest house in Texas'; the tycoon of 'The big jump' or Pappy O'Daniel in 'O Brother!'. Charles Durning had all these faces and more.

Charles Durning was born into an Irish family of 10 children in 1923 and obtained an American passport serving the country in World War II, in which he was among the American soldiers who landed in Normandy. He had many other jobs: taxi driver, telegram delivery man, painter, tour guide, and even dance instructor. It was in a dance studio that he met his first wife, Carol. Durning was married twice and had three children.

His acting career began as a stage actor when producer Joseph Papp signed him to the New York Shakespeare Festival. At the cinema his first big role was that of a corrupt cop in 'The Sting' (1973), with Robert Redford. His portrayal of John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald in the television movie 'The Kennedys' earned him his only Golden Globe in 1990, although he was also nominated by the police lieutenant in 1975's 'Dog Day Afternoon' for his role in 'To be or not to be' in 1984 and for the miniseries 'Capitanes y reyes' in 1977. He never won an Oscar, but was nominated twice: once for singing and dancing in 'The funniest house in Texas' in 1982 and another the following year for his character as Nazi German in the remake of "To be or not to be" by Mel Brooks.

The actor also has a Tony for his role as Big Daddy in the Broadway presentation of 'The cat on the tin roof' in 1990. He has also been nominated for an Emmy numerous times thanks to the number of appearances he has made on the small screen, but he has never won any.

His most important award, the recognition of his entire career, would come in 2008 from his fellow professionals, the actors' guild. That same year he inaugurated his own star on the walk of fame and in one of the interviews he gave he rejected the idea of ​​retiring: "If they want me to go, they will have to kick me out."

The actor has been working until his last days. His latest work is still being filmed, 'Scavenger Killers', a 'thriller' about serial killers. He himself claimed, "I never turned down any role and never argued with any producer or director."

More information - Al Pacino will return to sit on the bench in "Paterno"

Source - fotogramas.es


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