Charles Durning

Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor, with appearances in over 200 movies, television shows and plays. Durning's best-known roles included The Sting (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975), along with the comedies The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Tootsie (1982), and To Be or Not to Be (1983). 2Early life Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, the ninth of ten children. His three brothers James (Roger) (1915–2000), Clifford (1916–1994), Gerald (1926–2000) and his sister Frances (born 1919) survived to adulthood, but five sisters lost their lives to scarlet fever and smallpox as children. He was the son of Louise (née Leonard; 1894–1982), a laundress at West Point, and James E. Durning (1883 – c. 1939). His father was an Irish immigrant. and his mother was also of Irish descent. Durning was raised Catholic. In 1959, Durning married his first wife, Carole Dought