True Craftsman

28 January 2008



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Screen Actors’ Guild Honors Charles Durning

The Screen Actors’ Guild held its awards ceremony last night in Hollywood. Since SAG has backed the Writers’ Guild in its strike, the writers gave their blessing to the SAG awards. So the glamour starved public got to see the red carpet, the limousines, the trillion-dollar dresses, and the rest of it. Also, the public got to see a true actor honored by his profession – Charles Durning received a lifetime achievement award.

Lifetime achievement awards are usually nonsense. They call attention to someone who’s probably already got a few trophies for specific works. Or in the event a body has failed over the years to provide such hardware, the lifetime achievement award restores some credibility (expect Peter O’Toole to get an Oscar this way soon). In the case of Charles Durning, though, the award is appropriate because of the vast body of work he has created. Truly, his entire career is an achievement.

The IMDB has 196 entries for Mr. Durning. Three of those are in production, and one has just finished. The man is working just as hard now as he did when he started in the business in the 1960s. He got his big break in “The Sting,” in 1973, and has been doing character roles from the beginning. He’s not the kind of actor who winds up being a movie star; he takes his craft very seriously, even when he’s doing comedy.

As proof, not only does he do film and TV, his first Broadway credit was “Poor Bitos” in 1964. The man won a Tony Award for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1990 for his portrayal of Big Daddy, the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award for the 1997 revival of “The Gin Game,” and a 1972 Drama Desk Award for "That Championship Season." The SAG’s Alan Rosenberg explained, “Charles Durning is the perfect choice for the Life Achievement Award, as the Screen Actors Guild celebrates its 75th anniversary. Throughout his career, he has epitomized the art and grace of acting and brought something special to every role. He is above all things a great actor with the talent to which we all aspire: the power to create indelible characters.”

And let it not ever be forgotten that Mr. Durning was once Private Charles Durning of the US Army. On June 6, 1944, he was one of many who waded onto Omaha Beach. He won a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. Captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, he was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmedy massacre of American POWs. Sometimes, a lifetime achievement award isn’t enough.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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