Died Today (December 24th): Charles Durning (1923–2012)

Charles Durning (1923–2012)

Born: February 28, 1923 in Highland Falls, New York, USA
Died: December 24, 2012 (age 89) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Married to: Mary Ann Amelio (1974 – 24 December 2012) (his death)
Carole Doughty (1959 – 1972) (divorced) (3 children)

[about arriving at Omaha Beach on D-Day] It’s hard to describe what we all went through that day, but those of us who were there will understand. We were frightened all the time. My sergeant said ‘are you scared, son?’ and I said ‘yes, I am’, and he said ‘that’s good, it’s good to be scared’, he said ‘we all are’. This guy in the boat, he turned to me and he threw up all over me, and I got seasick. He was scared. You’re not thinking about anything, you’re just thinking about you hope that shell that just went off isn’t going to hit this boat. Even the guys who had seen a lot of action before, and this was my first time, they were just as ashen as I was, and I was frightened to death. I was the second man off my barge and the first and third men got killed. First guy the ramp went down, the guy fell and I tried to leap over him and I stumbled and we both slipped into the water. We were supposed to be able to walk into shore but they didn’t bring us far enough. And I was in 60 feet of water with a 60 pound pack on, so I let it all go.

Hi Mom! 1970 dir. Brian DePalma Cast Robert De Niro Jennifer Salt THE HINDENBURG 1975 dir. Robert Wise Starring: George C. Scott Anne Bancroft The Hudsucker Proxy 1994 dir. Joel and Ethan Coen Cast Tim Robbins Jennifer Jason Leigh Dog Day Afternoon 1975 dir. Sidney Lumet Starring Pacino John Cazale

O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000 dir. Joel and Ethan Coen Starring George Clooney John Turturro The Sting 1973 dir. George Roy Hill starring Newman Robert Redford NORTH DALLAS FORTY 1979 dir. Ted Kotcheff Stars: Nick Nolte Charles Durning Tootsie 1982 dir. Sydney Pollack Starring Hoffman Jessica Lange THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE 1985 dir. Stan Dragoti Stars: Tom Hanks Dabney Coleman

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