Biography
Before he became an actor, Charles Durning, the son of an Army officer, continued in his father's footsteps with valor and distinction, earning a silver star and purple heart. Durning held down several "joe jobs" -- iron worker, elevator operator, cabbie, waiter, and dance instructor -- until turning to acting in the late 1950s. Fresh from the national tour of The Andersonville Trial, Durning began his long association with Joseph Papp in 1962, distinguishing himself in Shakespearean roles. He made his earliest film appearance in Ernest Pintoff's Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965). Durning's film roles increased in size and importance after his interpretation of a crooked cop in the Oscar-winning
The Sting (1973). He went on to appear in several
Burt Reynolds films, most memorably as the singing governor in
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). That performance landed him an Oscar nomination, as did his spin on "Concentration Camp" Erhardt in the 1983 remake of
To Be or Not to Be.
In 1975, Durning was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of ulcerated police lieutenant Moretti in the theatrical feature
Dog Day Afternoon (1975); he finally won that award 15 years later for his work as "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald in the TV miniseries
The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Other notable film roles to his credit include Peter Stockmann in the
Steve McQueen-produced
An Enemy of the People (1978),
Dustin Hoffman's "suitor" in the cross-dressing classic
Tootsie (1982) (he later co-starred with Hoffman in the 1984 stage revival of Death of a Salesman), and the foredoomed Waring Hudsucker in the Coen Brothers'
Hudsucker Proxy (1994).
On television, Durning played Lt. Gil McGowan on the daytime soap
Another World, officer Frank Murphy in The Cop and the Kid (1975), Big Ed Healey in
Captains and the Kings (1976), Studs' dad in
Studs Lonigan (1979), private-eye Oscar Poole in
Eye to Eye (1985), the title character in PBS' I Would Be Called John: Pope John XXIII (1987), crooked industrialist Dan Packard (the old
Wallace Beery role) in
Dinner at Eight (1989), and Dr. Harrlan Eldridge in the
Burt Reynolds TV vehicle
Evening Shade (1990-1994), an assignment which afforded the far-from-sylph-like Durning his first nude scene.
While his television and film career have continued to be prolific, Durning has also continued to earn acclaim for his stage work. In 1990, he won a Tony Award for his performance as Big Daddy in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide