[ransacked]

Loved him in Tootsie...

[Perdogg]

ping

[military cop]

Rest in Peace, Ranger Durning.

Rangers Lead the Way.

[ConservativeStatement]

Three Purple Hearts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/movies/charles-durning-prolific-character-actor-dies-at-89.html?pagewanted=all

Then came World War II, and he enlisted in the Army. His combat experiences were harrowing. He was in the first wave of troops to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day and his unit’s lone survivor of a machine-gun ambush. In Belgium he was stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier, whom he bludgeoned to death with a rock. Fighting 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 which the Germans opened fire on almost 90 prisoners. Mr. Durning was among the few to escape.

By the war’s end he had been awarded a Silver Star for valor and three Purple Hearts, having suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds as well. He spent months in hospitals and was treated for psychological trauma.

[Dick Vomer]

I always thought Strother Martin was the king of character actors... but Dunning was an original!!

[Hoodat]

The Sting

[TwelveOfTwenty]

As an actor, I don’t remember anything about him, but we all benefit from his service. RIP and thanks.

[mass55th]

Another great actor and WWII hero lost to the ages. Thank you for your service Mr. Durning, on the battlefield, and on screen. Rest in peace.

[Southern Partisan]

RIP “Pappy O’Daniel”.

[fattigermaster]

He really was an excellent character actor in everything he did. God bless his family.

[DemforBush]

I always enjoyed Durning, whatever he was in. Two of my favorites were Tough Guys (great little movie, btw) and his guest appearance on NCIS as a WW 2 Marine haunted by his past. The former was a hoot, and the latter was one of the most moving performances I’ve seen on tv in a long time.

RIP, Mr. Durning. And Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah to all my fellow Freepers!

[bray]

Prayers for his family. Great actor.

Merry Christmas

[crazydad]

He was the cop in the most suspenseful movie ever “Have you,checked the Children”? “We traced the call, it’s coming from inside the house”! When a Stranger Calls.

[Swede Girl]

My favorite actor. A movie could be made of HIS life with his heroic actions in war, and his profession as an actor. Whatever he did, he did well. RIP Mr. Durning.

[DarthVader]

Prayers for Mr. Durning and his family. We salute this great American and hero.

[TribalPrincess2U]

That’s two!

[oh8eleven]

Charles Durning, who overcame poverty, battlefield trauma ...
A true American hero.
Compare him - and so many other actors of his generation who served in WWII - to today's Hollywood girly-men.
Godspeed Mr. Durning, you made America and the world a better place.

[Fast Moving Angel]

He was great as the slimy politician in “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, too. RIP.

[Ab Alius Domitor]

I resent the fact that they labeled him a “character actor”. Unless you give him credit as an actor and a person with character! I wish I would have had the opportunity to thank him for his service when he was alive. RIP sir!

[Boogieman]

He was one of those guys you’ve seen in a hundred roles, even if you never remembered his name. He was great as Pappy O’Daniel in “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”, and Detective Yablonski, Lancaster and Douglas’ antagonist in “Tough Guys”.