Charles Durning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born February 28, 1923 (1923-02-28) (age 85)
Highland Falls, New York
Years active 1963 - present
Awards won
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
1991 The Kennedys of Massachusetts
Tony Awards
Best Featured Actor in a Play
1990 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Other Awards
NBR Award for Best Supporting Actor
1975 Dog Day Afternoon
NBR Award for Best Cast
2000 State and Main
Charles Durning (born February 28, 1923) is a Golden Globe Award-winning American actor of stage and screen.
Biography
Early life
Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, the son of Louise and James Durning. He was raised in an impoverished family, and left his home as soon as possible to ease the financial pressure on his mother.[citation needed]
Military service
Durning served as a soldier in World War II, during which he was awarded a Silver Star, three Purple Heart medals, and a Good Conduct Medal. He was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 21, and landed on D-Day in the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. Some sources state he was in the 1st Infantry Division at the time, but it is unclear if he was a rifleman or in an artillery unit by 1944.
On Omaha Beach itself, Pvt. Charles Durning was among the first troops to land. Drafted early in the war, he was first assigned as a rifleman with the 398th Infantry Regiment, but later served overseas with the 3rd Army Support troops and the 386th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion.
Durning was wounded by an "S" Mine on June 15, 1944, at Les Mare des Mares. He was transported by the 499th Medical Collection Company to the 24th Evacuation Hospital. By June 17, he was back in England at the 217th General Hospital. Although severely wounded by shrapnel in the left and right thigh, right hand, the frontal region of the head and the interior left chest wall, Durning recovered quickly and was determined to be "fit for duty" on December 6, 1944. Durning was present for the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter-offensive in December 1944.[1]
He was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge, and was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmedy massacre of American POWs, perpetrated by a battlegroup under Joachim Peiper of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. "He escaped with two others, and returned to find the remainder murdered."[1]
After being wounded in the chest, Durning was repatriated to the United States where he remained in army hospitals, receiving treatment for both physical and psychological wounds, until discharged with the rank of Private First Class on January 30, 1946.
Durning has said that he still suffers from nightmares about his war experiences (which is common among veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder, although Durning himself is not confirmed to have suffered PTSD).[citation needed] He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his extraordinary portrayal of a Marine veteran in "Call of Silence", an unusual episode of the television series NCIS, first broadcast November 23, 2004. Clearly drawing on his first-hand knowledge of the lingering effects of battle-induced stress, Durning's character turns himself in to authorities, insisting that he must be prosecuted for having murdered his buddy during ferocious combat on Iwo Jima six decades earlier.[2] The real truth of the incident only becomes known for certain when the guilt-stricken veteran goes through a cathartic reliving of the battlefield events.
Durning is well-known for participating in various functions to honor American veterans. He was the chairman one year of the U.S. National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans.[3]
Film career
Durning's breakthrough film performance was in the 1973 Best Picture, The Sting. In the film, Durning plays a corrupt policeman, Lieutenant Snyder, who polices and hustles professional con artists. He doggedly pursues the young grifter Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), only to become the griftee in the end. Since then he has amassed over 100 film and TV credits, including Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, Dog Day Afternoon (with Al Pacino), the sci-fi classic The Final Countdown, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. In 1979, he played Doc Hopper, the main villain in The Muppet Movie. In Tootsie he plays a suitor to a cross-dressing Dustin Hoffman. The two actors worked together again in a 1985 TV production of Death of a Salesman. In 1993, Durning guest starred in the Sean Penn-directed music video for "Dance with the One That Brought You" by Shania Twain.
More recently he has played a benevolent father to Holly Hunter in Home for the Holidays (1995), a savvy southern state governor ("Pappy" O'Daniel) in O Brother, Where Art Thou, and as Victor Rasdale in Dirty Deeds. In 1996 he played Lew in the romantic comedy One Fine Day and Santa Claus in the Sesame Street home video "Elmo Saves Christmas". He played town doctor Harlan Eldridge on the Burt Reynolds sitcom Evening Shade (1990-1994). He subsequently had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996 - 2005) as the Barone family's long-suffering parish priest, Father Hubley. He also played the voice of recurring character Francis Griffin in the animated series Family Guy until the episode Peter's Two Dads where the character died.
For his roles on television, Durning has earned eight Emmy Award nominations. He has also received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1982 and for To Be or Not to Be in 1983. He won a Golden Globe in 1990 for his supporting role in the television miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts.
He can currently be seen on the FX television series Rescue Me, playing Mike Gavin, the retired firefighter father of Denis Leary's character. The character died in the Season 4 finale. His daughter Jeanine Durning is a well known New York-based modern dance performer and choreographer.
Charles Durning was honored with the Life Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony on January 27, 2008.
His upcoming roles include two action films with Steven Seagal. The first one if the barbarian epic "The Destroyer of Souls", directed by Albert Pyun and starring Seagal as "Klangor", a barbarian warrior who sets to avenge the death of his dragon by a cult of dragon slayers led by Tom Selleck's character. It will also star Lorenzo Lamas and Ralph Macchio. Durning will then join Seagal again for the action movie "Hard Panda", about an Ex-PETA agent (Seagal) hell bent on avenging the death of his Panda, killed by Chechen warriors in the wilderness of Alaska. Durning will provide the voice of Tommy Lee the Panda. Tom Selleck plays an oil agency tycoon who befriends Seagal.
Gavin MacLeod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Allan George See
February 28, 1930 (1930-02-28) (age 78)
Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.
Gavin MacLeod (born February 28, 1930) is an American actor most notable for playing Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat. He is the father of Drew Steele, of the rock band the Surf Punks.
Biography
Early years
Born Allan George See in Mount Kisco, New York, he grew up in Pleasantville and studied acting at Ithaca College, graduating in 1952. His father, a gas station attendant, was a Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indian. After serving in the Air Force, he moved to New York City and worked at Radio City Music Hall while looking for acting work. At about this time he changed his name, drawing "Gavin" from a cerebral palsy victim in a TV drama, and "MacLeod" from his Ithaca drama coach, Beatrice MacLeod.
Career
His first movie appearance was in I Want To Live!, a 1958 prison drama starring Susan Hayward. He was soon noticed by Blake Edwards, who in 1958 cast him as a neurotic navy clerk in Operation Petticoat with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. Operation Petticoat proved to be a breakout role for MacLeod, and he was soon cast in another Edwards comedy, High Time, with Bing Crosby.
MacLeod also appeared as the villain on TV shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He played the role of a drug pusher, 'Big Chicken', in two episodes of the first season of Hawaii Five-O. His first regular TV role came in 1962 as Joseph "Happy" Haines on McHale's Navy. MacLeod's role as Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show won him lasting fame, and two Golden Globe nominations, followed by another three nominations for his The Love Boat work.
Conversion
During the mid-80's, McLeod and his then ex-wife Patti became Evangelical Christians and remarried (see TPE "Conversations 12/25/2005"). Following his conversion and remarriage, he and his wife wrote about struggles with divorce and alcoholism in Back On Course: The Remarkable Story of a Divorce That Ended in Remarriage. The MacLeods have been hosts on the Trinity Broadcasting Network for 14 years, primarily hosting a show about marriage called Back on Course (see TBN "Our Programs").
Current work
MacLeod currently serves as the honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades.
Tommy Tune
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tommy Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an award-winning American actor, dancer, singer, director, producer, and choreographer.
Early life
Born Thomas James Tune in Wichita Falls, Texas, he attended Lamar High School in Houston.
In 1965, Tune made his Broadway debut as a performer in the musical Baker Street. His first Broadway directing and choreography credits were for the original production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1978.
Career
Off-Broadway, Tune has directed The Club and Cloud Nine. Tune toured the United States in the Sherman Brothers musical Busker Alley in 1994-1995 and in the stage adaptation of the film Dr. Doolittle in 2006.
Tune also appeared in a 1975 TV special along with Lucie Arnaz and Lyle Waggoner to promote the Walt Disney World Theme Park.
Tune's film credits include Hello, Dolly! and The Boy Friend.
Tune is the only individual to win Tony Awards in the same categories (Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical) in consecutive years (1990 and 1991), and the first to win in four different categories.
In 1997, Tune published Footnotes, a memoir. Despite the disjointed nature of the autobiography, Tune offers an insightful look into his then thirty-year career. It is here that he writes intimately about what drives him as a performer, choreographer and director. His obsession and desire to find everlasting love is prominent in the memoir, offering many personal stories about being openly gay and being hurt by other lovers. Ultimately though, it is his passion for theatre, dance, and people that carry him through a fruitful career full of many successful projects. Winning numerous Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards, Tune writes mostly about his days with Twiggy in My One and Only, in which he played the part of Billy Buck Chandler for more than 1,000 performances, the struggles in directing Grand Hotel and Cloud Nine, as well as meeting and working with his many idols.
In the same year, Tune released his first album, Slow Dancing, which featured a collection of his favorite romantic ballads.
Two years later, he made his Las Vegas debut as the star of EFX at the MGM Grand Hotel.
In 2003, Tune was presented with the nation's highest honor for artistic achievement, the National Medal of Arts.
The Tommy Tune Awards are awarded for outstanding work in high school theatre in Houston.
Tune staged an elaborate musical entitled Paparazzi for the Holland America Line cruise ship the Oosterdam. He currently is touring with the Manhattan Rhythm Kings in a Big Band revue entitled Song and Dance Man, and is parodied in Martin Short's Broadway show Fame Becomes Me by an actor wearing stilts.
At 6'6½" (1.99 m), Tune is unusually tall for a dancer. When not performing, he runs an art gallery in Tribeca that features his own work. [1].
Genius quiz
Take the Quiz to determine if you are a Genius:
Scoring:
14 - 15 = Genius
11 - 13 = Above Normal
7 - 10 = Normal
4 - 6 = Need some help
0 - 3 = How did you find this WEB page?
1. Do they have a fourth of July in England?
2. If a plane crashed on the border of the USA and Canada, where should the survivors be buried?
3. How many members of each animal did Moses take on the ark?
4. Some months have 31 days, how many months have 28 days?
5. How far can a dog walk into the woods?
6. A camper leaves her camp, hikes 1 mile south, then 1 mile east where she sees a bear. Then she hikes 1 mile north to arrive at her camp. What color is the bear?
7. I have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
8. What is the value of coin dated 24 B.C.?
9. If a rooster lays an egg on the peak of a roof , will the egg roll to the left side or to the right side?
10. On which side of a chicken are the most feathers?
11. In baseball, how many outs are there in an inning?
12. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10, what is the answer?
13. If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?
14. A farmer has 17 sheep standing in a field and all but 8 drop down and die, how many are left standing?
15. How many two cent stamps are in a dozen?
Here are the Answers
1. Do they have a fourth of July in England?
Answer: Yes - Every July has a fourth no matter where you are.
2. If a plane crashed on the border of the USA and Canada, where should the survivors be buried?
Answer: You don't bury survivors
3. How many members of each animal did Moses take on the ark?
Answer: The correct answer is none because MOSES didn't do the ark thing, Noah did!
4. Some months have 31 days, how many months have 28 days?
Answer: 12 - ALL months have at least 28 days
5. How far can a dog walk into the woods?
Answer: Half way, then he is walking out of the woods
6. A camper leaves her camp, hikes 1 mile south, then 1 mile east where she sees a bear. Then she hikes 1 mile north to arrive at her camp. What color is the bear?
Answer: The camp must be at the north pole, therefore the bear is white
7. I have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
Answer: one fifty cent piece and one nickel (one is not a nickel but the other one is)
8. What is the value of coin dated 24 B.C.?
Answer: Nothing, a coin could not be dated BC.
9. If a rooster lays an egg on the peak of a roof , will the egg roll to the left side or to the right side?
Answer: Roosters don't lay eggs, hens do.
10. On which side of a chicken are the most feathers?
Answer: The outside.
11. In baseball, how many outs are there in an inning?
Answer: Six - an inning has two parts where EACH TEAM gets THREE outs for a total of 6 outs per inning.
12. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10, what is the answer?
Answer: 70. 30 divided by 1/2 is the same as 30 multiplied by 2. So 60 plus 10 is 70
13. If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?
Answer: 2. YOU take away 2, how many do YOU have? That would be two.
14. A farmer has 17 sheep standing in a field and all but 8 drop down and die, how many are left standing?
Answer: 8 All but 8 drop dead so 8 are left standing.
15. How many two cent stamps are in a dozen?
Answer: 12. A dozen is 12 so there are 12 stamps in a dozen.
Heh, heh. Well, hawkman, I made 100% on that test, but it has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with memory. I have taken it before sometime ago and remembered the answers.
Thanks again, Bob, for the background on the celeb's, and while we await our PA puppy, here is one by Tommy Tune. (perfect name for a singer, right?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk_ZeCW7mKY
Hmmm, folks, I thought today was also Brian Jones' birthday. Well, perhaps my RNA isn't as good as I thought.
There's that puppy. Hey, PA, I have erred before (remember the Rutger Hauer faux pas?)
Great octet today, Raggedy, and I love that Joe South song. It does fit quite a few folks, right?
Hmmm, well I cannot recall Gavin MacLeod, but I most certainly remember Jack Jones.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZmUlKPthrag
IN MEMORY OF THE GEAT RUSSIAN SINGER IVAN REBROFF -
ivan was well-known all over the world and in germany for superb rendition of russien songs .
we had the pleasure of hearing him here on his north-american tour some 30 years ago .
he was a bear of a man who loved to have fun and enjoyed seeing other people have fun - he certainly succeeded at that .
he recently died on the greek isle of skopelos at the age 0f 77 a/t to german news sources .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSiFASGKjBI
*** IVAN'S real name was HANS-ROLF RIPPERT and he was born in berlin/germany .
he excelled in interpreting russian songs and gave many concerts in russia .
the video clip shows many other german artists of the 1960's at a UNICEF CONCERT .
Fabulous, hbg. I recall having watched the Russian Cossack Dancers at a community concert in Virginia.
Meadowland
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=YAc1Mfy_lTM
here is IVAN one more time - many listeners offered their condolences and mentioned how much they had enjoyed listening to him over many years .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6DOUB3O35E
hbg, the man's bass voice is fabulous, and that alternate melody of Ave Maria is one that I recall. Thank you again for the memory of someone to whom I have never listened. I add my condolences as well.
Time for a station break, folks:
This is cyber space, WA2K radio
an interesting tribute to the man in black, by way of england
the band in question is Alabama 3 (or A3), most notable for writing the song used as the Soprano's theme (the song was written before the show ever came about, A3 frontman rob spragg (a.k.a. larry love) wrote the song after hearing about a case where a fed-up woman shot her husband after 20 years of abuse, mistreatment and neglect)
here's a little ditty from their last album
Alabama 3 - Hello.....I'm Johnny Cash
Hey, dj. That was a great medely of J.C.'s songs; we appreciate the background on A3 as well, buddy.
Speaking of memories, folks, here's one dedicated to an A2Ker who is going to Galveston for spring break. Wish I could.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzo8rdi3Qi8&feature=related
greetings from newfoundland and labrador
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uO6zWHvTnSY
newfoundland baptism :
kissin' the cod
and some screech !
Great, hbg. I loved the concertina; haven't heard one of those in years.
Well, some folks may not mind kissing a cod, but I believe that I had rather kiss one of these Newfoundlanders.
I've been looking for this song forever, and I just "newly found" it.
Hot Chocolate? Don't mind if I do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHN6YXD6E98&feature=related
Hey, edgar, back it a few to listen to Jo.
i think this was one of the songs we were singing when driving from austin to big bend national park and back in march of 1979 .
it was our first real exposure to a part of america - and a good time was had by all !
a lot of tex-mex music on the car radio .
hbg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju2BLjNPmXE
edgar, Jo had absolutely no vibrato and her intonation was perfect. Loved that one, Texas.
Hey, here's hbg again with Mel Tillis. I know that one, Canada, and loved it. Isn't it interesting that he never stuttered when he sang?
Hmmm. somewhere I heard a "red dress" mentioned and it reminded me of Ray.
Love this one, folks, and it makes me want to dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9h77KzF2iY
