Charles Edward Durning was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.
27 Facts About Charles Durning
2.
Charles Durning was the son of Louise, a laundress at West Point, and James E Durning.
3.
Charles Durning's father was an Irish immigrant, and his mother was of Irish descent.
4.
On June 6,1944, Charles Durning was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and was in one of the first waves of American troops that landed on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
5.
Charles Durning was reassigned to the 398th Infantry Regiment with the 100th Infantry Division, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
6.
Charles Durning was discharged with the rank of private first class on January 30,1946.
7.
Charles Durning's badges included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Badge with Rifle Bar, and Honorable Service Lapel Pin.
8.
Charles Durning received the French National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French Consul in Los Angeles in April 2008.
9.
Charles Durning participated in various functions to honor American veterans, including serving as Chairman of the US National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans.
10.
Charles Durning was an honored guest speaker for 17 years at the National Memorial Day Concert televised by PBS every year on the Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend.
11.
Charles Durning was paid a special tribute at the May 26,2013, National Memorial Day Concert when "Taps" was sounded in his honor.
12.
Charles Durning made his film debut in 1965, appearing in Harvey Middleman, Fireman.
13.
Charles Durning appeared in Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues with Barbara Hershey and John Lithgow.
14.
Charles Durning played the role of Jack Jameson in Wendy Wasserstein's final play, Third, with Dianne Wiest at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E Newhouse Theatre.
15.
Charles Durning won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his powerful performance in The Westwood Playhouse's 1977 production of David Rabe's Streamers.
16.
Charles Durning doggedly pursues the young grifter, Johnny Hooker, only to become the griftee in the end.
17.
On TV, Charles Durning had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as the Barone family's long-suffering parish priest, Father Hubley.
18.
Charles Durning played the voice of recurring character Francis Griffin, the religious zealot father of Peter in the animated series Family Guy.
19.
Charles Durning appeared on the FX television series Rescue Me, playing Mike Gavin, the retired firefighter father of Denis Leary's character.
20.
Charles Durning's character turns himself in to authorities, insisting that he must be prosecuted for having murdered his buddy during ferocious combat on Iwo Jima six decades earlier.
21.
Charles Durning won a Golden Globe in 1990 for his supporting role in the television miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts, having had three previous nominations.
22.
Charles Durning received two Drama Desk Awards for his performances in That Championship Season and Third.
23.
In 1999, Charles Durning was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame on Broadway.
24.
Charles Durning was honored with the Life Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony on January 27,2008.
25.
The Charles Durning Collection is held at the Academy Film Archive.
26.
Charles Durning died of natural causes at his home in Manhattan on Christmas Eve December 24,2012, aged 89.
27.
Charles Durning married his second wife, Mary Ann Amelio, in 1974.