![]() ![]() Durning made a big splash with a small but critical role in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), the Coen brothers' tribute to screwball comedies. Appearing in over 50 features covering a wide variety of genres, Durning's recent credits include Brenda Starr (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), and V.I. He also gave a full-bodied musical performance in The Muppet Movie (1979) as Doc Hooper, a nefarious frog legs restaurateur. ![]() Durning was a showstopper (and received an Oscar nomination) as the governor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Previously, he had appeared in several films including his debut, Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965), I Walk the Line (1970), and two early Brian De Palma films: Hi, Mom! (1970), as a surly building super, and Sisters (1973), as a tenacious detective. He appeared in 35 plays, including 22 of the Bard's, working with the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and James Earl Jones.Īfter catching Durning in the Broadway production of That Championship Season, producer George Roy Hill cast him in his breakthrough role of the corrupt Police Lt. Durning shifted gears to become a prolific actor on the New York stage, notably as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival. After a heroic interlude overseas in WWII, Durning worked as a singer and dancer in nightclubs before becoming half of a ballroom dance act, hoofing his way through upstate New York for 11 years. With his bulbous nose and beady eyes, Durning brings rousing good cheer to venal authority figures, humanity to his rubes, and heft to small character parts. ![]() Heavy-set and eternally middle-aged, Charles Durning is a character player of stage, film and television. ![]()
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