Veteran character actor Charles Durning died yesterday in his Manhattan home. The Malmedy Massacre was exhaustingly investigated by the First Army. Of course all those who have writen on that massacre have emphasised one or other point of view according to their preference: som tried to whitewash the Germans others of course have pointed out how bestial they have been. From there he worked in a variety of plays. And even though the obituaries now are saying he didnt like to talk about his war experiences, he shared everything with me. 98.255.89.22 (talk) 09:00, 6 July 2013 (UTC), Oldbubblehead. There tends to be a correlation between the quality of character actors and how big of a character they are themselves. He was transported to the 24th Evacuation Hospital. Durning is not listed. I was watching Everwood this evening, and I saw Mr. Durning on it. - According to another source, Durning and 12 others were levied out of C/386 AAA/AW on 23 May 44, just two weeks before D-Day and assigned to the 17th Replacement Depot; he arrived in Normandy still assigned to a detachment of that Depot (as Old bubblehead noted). The stockily built Charles Durning was one of Hollywood's most dependable and sought after supporting actors. Verify your free subscription by following the instructions in the email sent to: Search the largest free Veteran Job board to find jobs with veteran-friendly companies. Such is the life of Charles Durning. Durning is the only survivor of a unit that landed on Omaha Beach that June 6 in 1944. So when was he a member of Third Army, during or after the war?EnigmaMcmxc (talk) 13:23, 26 December 2012 (UTC), It seems to me we should be able to track down (and then link to) Durning's Silver Star citation, which would provide date, circumstances and probably unit of assignment at the time. That place that no one knows about horrifying things we keep secret. Incredibly subjective. Unfortunatley, the secondary sources have most of his info wrong. few survivors of the attack on American POWs at Malmedy, Belgium. For his injuries, Durning received his second Purple Heart. Drafted at age 21, he was first assigned as a rifleman with the 398th Infantry Regiment, and later served overseas with the 3rd Army Support troops and the 386th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion. Hollywood is such a crazy thing. Has he really said this. And then you'd do three to six plays every year down on Lafayette Street new plays by new writers: Sam Shepard, David Mamet, David Rabe, John Ford Noonan, Jason Miller.". [10] Additional awards included the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead device and two bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal. Part of the reason he was willing to talk may have been because I told him some of my fathers war experiences from the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Durning served as a soldier in World War II, during which he was awarded a Silver Star, three Purple Heart medals, and a Good Conduct Medal. 3 Ways to Recover from a Blown Salary Negotiation, 3 Ways to Gather Intel for Your New Civilian Job, 3 Tips that Can Increase Your Chances for Job Fair Success, WWII Vet and Actor Charles Durning Dies in NYC, Actor Charles Durning to be Interred at Arlington, Sign up for a free Military.com membership, 14 High-Paying Jobs for Low-Skill Communicators, 10 Things We Know for Sure About Modern Veterans, 7 Ways Your Dream Job Is Holding You Back. "I had no money at all, and he [Joseph Papp] didn't pay much. After recovering for six months, he was put back on the front lines to combat the German Ardennes offensive. Other men could probably have the same luck. I only know two things. "I was the second man off my barge, and the first and third man got killed.". Well I should maybe have taken part earlier to this discussion. However, I just recently found out about his heroism during WWII which included being in the first wave on Omaha Beach at Normandy, being one of the few survivors of the Malmedy Massacre and being awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. He played the role of Jack Jameson in Wendy Wasserstein's final play, Third (2005), with Dianne Wiest at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre. A lot of that is released through acting. The problem here is that this regiment arrived in the ETO very late (mid-March 45), and was plugged into the then-reconstituting 106th Infantry Division to replace one of the two regiments destroyed during the Bulge. --rogerd 12:35, 27 December 2006 (UTC), I will put an {{NPOV}} template at the top of the page. http://news.yahoo.com/durning-king-character-actors-dies-nyc-075353360.html, While the article notes there appears to be some confusion at Durning's war record (which unit he was with at any particular moment etc), I think the Third Army [art needs to be clarified. On June 6, 1944, 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. Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 - December 24, 2012) was an American actor, with appearances in over 200 movies, television shows and plays. Kaspazes talk 13:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC), User:Monkeyzpop has made an edit to this article about some statement that Burt Reynolds supposedly made on a TV show, that he is disputing. Charles Durning was born on 1923-02-28. Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, to Louise Marie (Leonard), a laundress, and James Gerald Durning. In 2005, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a Marine veteran in "Call of Silence," an episode in the television series NCIS, first broadcast November 23, 2004. ", The Charles Durning Collection is held at the Academy Film Archive. One possible explanation for his not being mentioned on this, or vocal generally on World War II, is that I found him listed in Halliwell's Filmgoers Companion as born in 1933. - While many individual service records were indeed destroyed by fire, the General Orders which issued Silver Stars were stored at other locations - such as in the unit files - that have been archived at other facilities. Further thoughts on this would be helpful. Durning was honored with three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. We don't have to resolve the discrepancies, but we should at least note them. The Hollywood Historic. Durning married his second wife, Mary Ann Amelio, in 1974. A Tiger's Tale. Mr. William J. Stepp - 12/23/2009 . He was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge, and was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmedy massacre of American POWs, perpetrated by a battlegroup under Joachim Peiper of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. "Concert on Memorial Day", Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Television, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Durning&oldid=1134219393, Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners, United States Army personnel of World War II, Articles with dead external links from May 2020, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles needing additional references from December 2022, All articles needing additional references, Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata, Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata, Articles with dead external links from April 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, U.S. First Infantry Division, U.S. 100th Infantry Division, Old Dogsborough / Ted Ragg / Ignatius Dullfeet, Episode: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses and Other Stories", WWII campaign , good conduct and service medals, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 15:50. While working as an usher in a burlesque theatre, he was hired to replace a drunken actor on stage. Co. X176ADec. 18, 1944 - Dec. 31, 1945. The Pursuit of Happiness. My father was a Malmedy survivor and I have done extensive research into the massacre and its aftermath. Today's #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Charles Durning, who served as an infantryman during World War II and later became a prolific actor. Durning was simply not there. the men who were in the pasture and who managed to escape the slaughter are all identified and have been interrogated by the US Army as their testimonies where the first material on which the judges would rely during the process. [2] Durning's best-known films include The Sting (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Muppet Movie (1979), True Confessions (1981), Tootsie (1982), Dick Tracy (1990), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Like Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy, Charles Durning was a highly-decorated soldier in World War II before he began an acting career. (LOS ANGELES TIMES) Charles Durning, a Tony Award-winning actor whose prolific work in films and television included supporting roles in the classic comedy "Tootsie" and the TV sitcom. Worse, the 398th's own regimental history of its participation in WWII has a list of all its medal awardees; Mr. Durning is not listed as earning any medal of any kind with that unit. He also appeared in Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972) with Barbara Hershey and John Lithgow. In March 1945, Durning was moving into Germany with the 398th Infantry Regiment when he took a bullet to the chest. He was honored with the Life Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony on January 27, 2008. During this period, he segued into television and movies. Soldiers of Kampfgruppe Peiper summarily killed eighty Preceding unsigned comment added by Deemery (talk contribs) 16:08, 26 December 2012 (UTC), In 1943 you joined the army, enlisting as an Army Ranger. On the other side there are based on what the Germans say (at least those who are ready to admit they actually were there: curiously if you listen at the men of Peiper, almost all were miles away from that particular place a that particular time): most of the times, this is presented as an unfortunate accident due to the fact that some US PoWs had tried to escape. He appeared in John Frankenheimer's I Walk the Line (1970) starring Gregory Peck, and three Brian De Palma movies: Hi, Mom! [18] The Huffington Post compared the two men, calling them "character actor titans".[19]. [4] Given the scores of thousands of trained infantry replacements prepositioned in Britain in anticipation of D-Day casualties (over 88,000 replacements of all types had been 'stockpiled' in the UK by 7 Jun 44), it defies belief that the Rangers would accept a last minute replacement who was not even infantry qualified. One one side they are based on the testimonies made by the American survivors, which must been seen as relations made by guys who had escaped to an almost promissed death, who were under shock, often wounded and who had some difficulties to make a coherent relation of the facts. He holds the Silver Star for valor and three Purple Hearts for wounds he suffered. I would hope that the editors of this page would at least mention that there is controversy surrounding the many versions of his wartime service and that official records are at odds with many points. Nothing more. the men in the pasture, and the other men who escaped the massacre because for one or other reason they were not at the crossroads when and where they were supposed to be when the massacre occured (I think for instance to a man the artillery observer battalion who had been left in Malmedy because he suddenly fell ill: he escaped the massacre but is not a survivor). [3][4] His parents were of German, Irish and English descent[5] Durning was raised Catholic. [1](No mention made of service with an antiaircraft unit), In populating the Infobox, I made the assumption that Frances is Charles' sister because of the spelling of the name (instead of Francis), based on my experience (admittedly OR) and "Frances is a human name, the feminine version of Francis." Get special job alerts, offers and insider tips on making the most of your military experience in the civilian workforce. He landed at D-Day, was in the Battle of the Bulge, and was part of the Malmady Massacre. As you know, that is a critical difference. While pursuing an acting career, Durning, a professional ballroom dancer, taught at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in New York City. But I didn't know until last week that Durning was not only a veteran of World War II, but a genuine hero, awarded a Silver Star, three Purple Heart medals, and a Good Conduct Medal. Before the war was over, Durning received a third Purple Heart and the Silver and Bronze Stars for valor. On TV, Durning had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as the Barone family's long-suffering parish priest, Father Hubley. He told me he was fond of my father because he was, in his opinion, one of only a handful that he felt was actually telling the truth most of the rest had either intentionally or unintentionally blown their stories up over the years into hugely embellished tales that contradicted each other and played loose with the facts. Subsequently, he performed in roughly 50 stock company productions and in various off-Broadway plays, eventually attracting the attention of Joseph Papp, founder of The Public Theater and the New York Shakespeare Festival. A guy goes and risks his life for his country, performs incredibly heroic feats in war, and when he finally passes away, the main thing hes known for is play-acting movie characters ranging from a sketchy governor to a horny Nazi. PFC Durning was one of only a few soldiers to escape and survive the subsequent notorious Malmedy massacre. Date of Birth. Durning at the 2008 National Memorial Day Concert in, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast, National Board of Review Award for Best Cast, Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor Series, Miniseries or Television Film, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, "Los Angeles Times: Archives No Bleeps for Durning's Role", "Durning Takes On The 'Peasant Pope' For Pbs", "WWII Soldier, character actor Charles Durning to be interred at Arlington", "Military urban legends versus true tales: real life stories prove more interesting", "Speech by Consul General of France Philippe Larrieu", "VA Voluntary Service National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans", "Charles Durning, Oscar-nominated king of the character actors, dies at 89 in NYC", "An Appraisal Remembering Jack Klugman and Charles Durning", "Charles Durning, Jack Klugman Deaths Bring New Appreciation For Character Actor Titans", "McCaslin, John, TownHall.com (cached) "Stars by example", Hayes, Richard L., Osprey Publishing. He was part of the landing forces at Normandy during the initial invasion of France by Allied forces. (2000). Again, kudos to Oldbubblehead. Every service member leaves the military eventually. He said, we all are. --65.190.163.190 02:09, 23 May 2006 (UTC). The stockily built Charles Durning was one of Hollywood's most dependable and sought after supporting actors.Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, to Louise Marie (Leonard), a laundress, and James Gerald Durning. Thinking about how veterans of that era typically talk about the Army with regard to administrative matters only confirms this feeling that such records may be largely inaccurate. They were fighting at Bitche, France, 200+ kilometers from Malmedy at the time of the Massacre. Howell's threads since he came on the old Shooters site before it closed down and he has been a lightning rod from day one. Oldbubblehead (talk) 06:18, 18 June 2013 (UTC). Finally, this story about Durning present at the crossroad is running on several websites since many years. He was a great character actor, a tremendous military hero, and a really good guy (plus a Democrat) whom I got to spend a day with in 2004. Just because someone else makes a statement about the subject of this article, doesn't mean that it deserves mention here. Earlier in the discussion somebody (rightfully) pointed out General Reynold's sentence "Few of these accounts are based on fact, and most are embellished and inaccurate". Zodiac. Of all the thousands of units in the ETO? Before jumping into your new job all gung-ho, you would do yourself a great disservice if you didn't do your research. Although he. Charles Durning will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. I now think that whoever said that was correct. Discuss here please. He was 89. Working through Hollywood contacts we heard that veteran character actor Charles Durning was a keen Democrat (even though his wife was a staunch Republican and literally tried to keep him from associating with us). 386th Anti Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (semi-mobile). Charles Durning will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. Shearonink (talk) 18:54, 10 June 2019 (UTC), North American military history task force, United States military history task force, http://www.historynet.com/magazines/world_war_2/3030591.html, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, http://westlaonline.com/wcnp_article.php?articleid=5, http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-today/25135-they-also-served-celebrities-uniform-ww2.html, http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/04/france_honors_charles_dur.php, http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1401379.php/France_says_Viva_Charles_Durning_actor_and_war_hero, http://www.legiondhonneur.fr/shared/fr/ordresdecorations/fhist.html, http://stephane.delogu.free.fr/hs12-07.pdf, http://m.web2carz.com/article/article.php?articleId=2097, http://news.yahoo.com/durning-king-character-actors-dies-nyc-075353360.html, http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/04_SS/2_WWII/indexes/army/Army-D.html, http://www.arrse.co.uk/military-history-militaria/87046-actor-charles-durning-talks-about-d-day.html, http://nmisscommentor.com/random-firings/charles-durning-obit-in-the-new-york-times/comment-page-1/#comment-126171, http://www.web2carz.com/people/who-you-know/2097/charles-durnings-war-heroism-exaggeration-fabrication, https://web.archive.org/web/20071201183644/http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1%2C1002%2C271%7C91918%7C1%7C10%2C00.html, http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1%2C1002%2C271%7C91918%7C1%7C10%2C00.html, https://web.archive.org/web/20060625095909/http://www.army.mil/soldiers/apr1999/news/index.html, http://www.army.mil/Soldiers/apr1999/news/index.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Charles_Durning&oldid=1084065080, This article has not yet received a rating on the project's, This article has been checked against the following, A news item involving Charles Durning was featured on Wikipedia's, Reading the remarks by the French Consul General (no doubt prepared by a careless researcher using limited references to accomplish the job in a rapid period) only mentions. he and the rest of his company were captured and forced to march through a pine forest at Malmedy, the . Page Views (PV) 55.51. Photograph: NBC via Getty Images. However, I just recently found out about his heroism during WWII which included being in the first wave on Omaha Beach at Normandy, being one of the few survivors of the Malmedy Massacre and being awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. Total mustering out pay was $300 $100 was paid at the time. The worksheet shows (additionally) Foreign Service Pay of $128.43 for the period 1 Dec 45 to 24 or 26 Jan 46 $7072/month depending on how it was pro-rated. But while I don't know Durning and have only met him once, he is close with several close friends of mine, and I asked them to ask him about the Malmedy thing. It's right at the beginning of the movie. Copyright 2023 Military.com. It is hard to see where Mr. Durning would have earned a Silver Star with this unit. Charles is related to William Pershing Durning and Jeff M Durning as well as 1 additional person. discussion above, today's AP story on Mr. Durning's death says he was "captured in the Battle of the Bulge and survived a massacre of prisoners." He was one of only a few soldiers to survive the Malmedy massacre when German soldiers opened fire on nearly 90 prisoners of war. If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with, If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with, This page was last edited on 22 April 2022, at 10:34. Charles Durning, who overcame poverty, battlefield trauma and nagging self-doubt to become an acclaimed character actor, whether on stage as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" or in film as. Nightmares are indeed an indicator of PTSD, but not everyone who has experienced stress or has nightmares is suffering from a "disorder". Having a successful career in the military is a major accomplishment. They have also lived in La Mesa, CA and Flagstaff, AZ. Depot/ Repl. Durning, 84, will receive the award for fostering the "finest ideals . Captured during the Battle of the Bulge, Durning, was one of the few survivors of the Malmedy massacre when German troops opened fire on dozens of American prisoners. The Service Stars (or campaign stars or battle stars) came in bronze or silver. He agreed to give us a day, I pulled together an amazing crew of industry veterans (including the very best cameraman I ever got the joy of working with they were all Democrats willing to donate their time for the campaign), we found a location north of L.A., and within a couple days were out there filming. The Sting. The 85-year-old added to that resume Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk. Before I make any changes to his page, I have asked for some clarification from the Wikipedia powers that be. #253) CHARLES DURNING: Great War Hero, Great Actor, but Malmady Survivor? Below the table, you can find all the information about his birthday. But he leaves behind an interesting question: was he at the Malmedy Massacre? Durning was drafted into the U.S. Army just in time to fight in World War II. Durning appeared in more than 100 movies, in role Durning, who was wounded twice more, was captured and was one of the few survivors of the Malmedy massacre when German troops opened fire on dozens of American prisoners. Durning's memorable roles included the Oscar-winning The Sting (1973) and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon (1975), along with the . Durning was drafted into the U.S. Army just in time to fight in World War II. Although he displayed a passion for entertaining others, a high school teacher told him that he was talentless in art, language, and math and was better suited to working in an office. Also, we got Paul Newman to do the voiceover which was fun I directed him over the phone but he did his performance at the end of a recording session for the animated feature, Cars, and he was very old by then so most people didnt even recognize his voice (which was a lesson to me in voice talent). To Be or Not to Be. Blacks later book, The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion goes into more detail about the 2nd Ranger Battalion. 5. [11] His badges included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Badge with Rifle Bar, and Honorable Service Lapel Pin.[9]. Don't know whether you have seen this discussion of Mr. Durning's service: View more newsletters on our Subscriptions page. According to his TV Guide biography, Durning left home at age 16 and later enlisted in the Army..