April 23, 2008
Profiles in Courage: Charles Durning
Charles Durning as Gov. "Pappy" O'Daniel in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Charles Durning is one of my favorite actors, a big, blustering guy who often harbors a surprisingly sentimental heart beneath the hard shell on display for the world. Viewers have seen him most recently as Denis Leary's father in Rescue Me, the FX series about a bunch of New York firemen, but it was his role as "Pappy" O'Daniel, the Huey Long-like governor in O Brother, Where Art Thou? that I prefer; Durning is beginning to slow down, his 85 years weighing heavy, and it's a more lively, vibrant performance on view in Brother.
The man is nothing, if not prolific, having achieved screen fame relatively late in life (he was 50) with his breakout performance as the corrupt cop in The Sting, the Academy Award-winning 1973 blockbuster starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Robert Shaw.
Durning followed up with another baddie, playing the villain in The Muppet Movie, before moving on to the often hilarious portrayal of Jessica Lange's clueless father, in love with the unbelievably ugly Dustin Hoffman in drag in Tootsie.
He's one of those actors who, even if you're not a movie buff, you'll still recognized as "that guy" in a number of flicks you've seen.
Durning's received many honors over the years, including two Academy Award nominations, eight Emmy nominations, a Tony win for best actor, and a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.
But there's another side to Durning, one that's little known (at least to me), but something for which he deserves recognition. And he recently got it, when France awarded him the nation's highest award for valor, the National Order of the Legion of Honor, at a ceremony at the ambassador's residence in Beverly Hills.
It turns out the Durning is, quite simply, a warrior.
As a 17-year-old infantryman, Durning was among the first wave of men to land on Omaha Beach. During that campaign and later in the war, he was wounded three times and awarded three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.
... "There's only so much you can witness," he said of his time overseas. Indeed, his war decorations were hard-earned. Durning was the only man to survive a machine gun ambush on Omaha Beach - and he had to rise above serious wounds and kill seven German gunners to do it.
Months later in Belgium, he was stabbed eight times by a German teenage soldier wielding a bayonet; Durning eventually bludgeoned him to death with a rock. He was released from the hospital in time to fight in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was taken prisoner. After escaping a subsequent massacre of the other prisoners, he was obliged by American forces to return to the scene and help identify bodies. Finally, a bullet in the chest a few months later ended his relentless tour of duty - and began four years of repeated hospitalizations for his physical and psychological injuries.
In an interview with Parade Magazine, Durning said of his initial post-war years, "I dropped into a void for almost a decade. The physical injuries heal first. It's your mind that's hard to heal." And, as he points out, it's not just a matter of what is done to you, but what you find yourself capable of doing. "There are many secrets in us, in the depths of our souls, that we don't want anyone to know about. There's terror and repulsion in us, horrifying things we keep secret. A lot of that is released through acting."
It's hard to reconcile the heavyset (Durning fluctuates between portly and corpulent) actor with the lean, tough teenage GI narrowly escaping the Malmedy Massacre, but there you have it.
There's a reminder there for me: we are surrounded by heroes, elderly men who rarely engage in self-glorification, content to keep to themselves their tales of self-sacrifice, courage and honor in the face of the unrelenting savagery of WWII. I try to thank them for their service whenever I get a chance; their numbers are dwindling, reportedly by as many as 1,500 a day.
I'm glad the French government has decided to recognize Durning for his bravery 64 years ago.
Bravo.
Posted by Mike Lief at April 23, 2008 06:20 AM
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Comments
And WE couldn't give him a MOH because why?
Posted by: sonarman at April 23, 2008 08:23 PM