Charles Durning was born on 1923-02-28. Let's discuss the editing here please. He debuted in film in 1965's "Harvey Middleman, Fireman." I'm reluctant to cast any doubt on Mr. Durning's service, but the details are so vague and contradictory that they bear some examination. In any case, recovered soldiers were returned to units of their original branch. Rlevse Talk 03:28, 9 November 2009 (UTC), i'm confused because it seems that three purple hearts are claimed, but only two instances of being wounded are cited. The two fought with their bayonets, and Durning suffered further injury during the fight. The Battle of the Bulge started on 16 Dec 44, and the Malmedy massacre happened on 17 Dec 44. Historical Popularity Index (HPI) 44. The Malmedy massacre was a German war crime committed by soldiers of the Waffen-SS on 17 December 1944 at the Baugnez crossroads near the city of Malmedy, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945). The inability of anyone, to include his family, to produce these General Orders, or even cite the GO#, must arouse curiosity, to put it mildly. Born in Highland Falls, New York, on February 28, 1923, Durning became an actor relatively late. Born in Highland Falls, NY, Durning was reared solely by his mother Louise after his father, John, died when he was very young, leaving Louise to support her and her son by working as a laundress at the nearby West Point military academy. Who Is Charles Durning's Wife? WWII veteran, dance instructor and diversely talented stage & screen actor were 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. I've posted on this in the Military History WikiProject in the hope that maybe some better sourcing can be found. "Oldbubblehead (talk) 04:25, 17 July 2013 (UTC). Go for it - its obviously a field of study that you enjoy and you have the chance to make your name. 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. --Lebob-BE (talk) 20:11, 25 February 2009 (UTC), . Co. X176ADec. 18, 1944 - Dec. 31, 1945. Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.18.160.21 (talk) 03:07, 7 July 2009 (UTC), Every time I watch Star Wars episode IV (1977), I am certain I see Charles Durning as a foot soldier, Trying to defend the ship as Princess Leia records her message to Obi Wan in R2D2. Arlington National Cemetery has acknowledged some of these discrepancies and is in the process of re-cutting Durnings headstone. Charles Durning, a second World War hero who became one of Hollywood's top character actors in films like The Sting, Tootsie and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, has died, a New York City. [AlanM1(talk)] 23:36, 28 December 2012 (UTC) (Edited 23:39, 28 December 2012 (UTC)), Oldbubblehead (talk) 23:42, 16 April 2013 (UTC), I have received a copy of Durning's military records from the National Archives. Not because I wuld think that Mr. Durning did not do his duty during the war. In 2004 I was lucky enough to spend a day directing him in a television commercial for the Kerry campaign. He cut his teeth in Shakespearean productions staged by Joe Papp and, in 1972, won a Drama Desk award for his performance in That Championship Season on Broadway. (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. Charles Durning died on Christmas Eve, 2012, at age 89. 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. Durning was a boxer, ice-cream seller and dance instructor before establishing himself as an actor. David T Tokyo (talk) 05:40, 15 October 2008 (UTC), This is a major hole in the article. But, he did NOT survive the Malmedy Massacre. The French government apparently issued a statement mentioning Malmedy, but the closest I can come is this[1]. The French document being discussed is not. Also, in block 55, "ASR Score (2 Sep 45) 61"? Page Views (PV) 55.51. Steve Karras - who wrote the web2carz article - joined the discussion and provided additional data from his research. In 1972, director George Roy Hill, impressed by Durning's performance in the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play That Championship Season, offered him a role in The Sting (1973). 1935). 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). On TV, Durning had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as the Barone family's long-suffering parish priest, Father Hubley. I don't see this as accurate or fair. He was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge and was one of a few survivors of the attack on American POWs at Malmedy, Belgium. He also points out that During's records only mention Silver Star, not Silever Star Medal. 1. Veteran character actor Charles Durning died yesterday in his Manhattan home. Blacks later book, The Battalion: The Dramatic Story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion goes into more detail about the 2nd Ranger Battalion. . (2000). He was not a witness at the war crimes trial and he is not mentioned in any of the first person accounts of any of the survivors. Anyone have any further information??? Such is the life of Charles Durning. He noted that 1) It appears Durning did not leave the replacement system till March 44 (well after Malmedy); 2) Durning was nominally assigned to the 159th Inf Regt, then transferred to the 398th Inf Regt when the former was shipped stateside in the Fall of 45; 3)Although he was nominally assigned to those infantry regiments, he actually was on temporary duty with the 20th Special Services Bn (an entertainment unit); and 5) Mr. Karras says he knows for a fact that Arlington has cut a new headstone for Durning which omits the Bronze Star medal and two of his supposed Purple Hearts. Can anyone track what year was the first claim that Mr Durning claimed to be a Ranger? I realize that one will oppose the statement of the French consul. If such a trivial thing deserves mention (which IMO it doesn't), then you would need to provide a reference that someone else is the 2nd most decorated soldier of WWII. firefighter Member 12,730 Location: Syracuse, NY #4 Posted February 14, 2016 He did his service hink441 Member 5,410 Location: Virginia #5 Posted February 14, 2016 It also states that Durning was drafted in 1943 at the age of nineteens shortly before his twentieth birthday. [12] He 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. The suggestion that it should now be considered "definitive" is laughable, given that its origins are completely spurious.139.48.25.60 (talk) 18:33, 5 May 2009 (UTC), Some insight (OR) This information isn't currently usable in the article itself, since I'm not aware of a published source that can be cited. - After being wounded in Normandy, Mr. Durning was declared fit for duty on 6 Dec and transferred to the 10th Replacement Depot (in England) on 12 Dec 44. Born in Highland Falls, New York, Charles Durning was the ninth of ten children. Languages Editions (L) I am proposing the following as a new section on the Charles Durning page: "Controversy Surrounding Military Service - Has he really said this. LOS ANGELES - From World War II hero to dancer and award-winning actor, Charles Durning has lived a storied life. were returned to those kinds of units, infantrymen were returned to infantry units. 4. Can we really exclude that the speach could have writen by a lazzy (or gullible) employee who could simply have made a copy/paste of what he had found on a website without making any check? [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. "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. See: I have put some editing only text above the section warning editors not to edit that area. The statement of Reynolds does however not mean that the name of the survivors are wrong or unknown. 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. in the Battle of the Bulge, he and the rest of his company were captured and forced to march through a pine forest at Malmedy, the scene of an infamous massacre in . This may have been a mistake or perhaps not, but it would explain why an actor, in an age sensitive business, would not want to publicize a World War II war record. 2004 was still pre-Wikipedia time, so I had little to go on when a friend told me to ask him about Malmady. But I did. Total mustering out pay was $300 $100 was paid at the time. - On the other hand, if he were assigned to the 398th Inf Regt upon discharge from the hospital - as most accounts reflect - that raises even more serious questions. 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). And he was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmedy massacre of American POWs. Get special job alerts, offers and insider tips on making the most of your military experience in the civilian workforce. Photograph: NBC via Getty Images. 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. Whether you want to learn more about other famous veterans, polish up your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area, or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. He also played the voice of recurring character Francis Griffin, the religious zealot father of Peter in the animated series Family Guy. Again, am reluctant to cast aspersions, but not many men advertise their valor awards, but refuse to clearly state what units they served in. I've received the docs from Oldbubblehead (tnx!) What is the purpose of your discussion topic? He appeared on the FX television series Rescue Me, playing Mike Gavin, the retired firefighter father of Denis Leary's character. We'll never know the whole story of his war years.I used to hear the difference between a "sea story" and a fairy tale was a fairy . Stars in Khaki by Wise and Wilderson provides little information. At that time,in my pre-understanding of conversations I had with his spouse, Mr. Durning did not like to discuss his involvement in the landing at Omaha Beach that fateful day with The 1st. Zodiac. That can cause a number of types of confusion. We were frightened all the time. Share on Facebook; [3][17], On December 27, 2012, Broadway theaters dimmed their lights to honor him. 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? Whether true or not, the statements of the French Consul would not be admissible in any U.S. civilian or military court since they do not satisfy either the Best Evidence rule or the Hearsay rule. See: I have put some editing only text above the section warning editors to! The hope that maybe some better sourcing can be found total mustering out pay was $ 300 $ 100 paid. 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