Been a while on this thread.
"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, the terrible spot that we don't talk about. That place no one knows about -- horrifying things we keep secret. A lot of that is released through acting."
Charles Durning's first job in the entertainment field was as an usher at a burlesque house. His career officially started as a singer with a band at the age of 16, before going into acting. His first professional play was in Buffalo before he went off to war.
Durning was part of the first wave of soldiers to land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Durning was the only member of his unit to survive the assault.
In March 1945, Durning was moving into Germany with the 398th Infantry Regiment when he took a bullet to the chest. That bullet effectively ended Durning's service; he spent the rest of the war in the hospital recovering from his wounds. He received his third Purple Heart and discharged in 1946 with the rank of private first class. In addition to his Purple Hearts, he received a Silver Star for his actions during the war, but later in life, he refused to talk about the details of his service, describing the memories as too painful.
Despite the wounds he received in WWII (he was shot in the legs and hip by machine-gun fire), he went on to become a professional dancer and dance teacher. He taught at the Fred Astaire studios and relied upon it when he couldn't find acting work.
"Dancing came easy for me. Acting came hard."
Durning passed away in 2012, and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
Happy Birthday, Charles Durning!