The Charles Durning papers span the years 1936 to 1980 (bulk 1973 to 1978) and encompass 4.6 linear feet. The collection contains production files (produced and unproduced), television files (produced and unproduced), stage files, subject files, and a small amount of oversize material. The material documents Durning’s acting career during the 1960s and 1970s. There is no material on any of his credits after 1979.

The production files (produced) consist primarily of scripts and clippings for 20 films Durning appeared in between 1965 and 1979, including THE CHOIRBOYS, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, and THE GREEK TYCOON, among others. There is some material documenting his collaborations with Brian De Palma, including scripts for THE FURY and SISTERS as well as call sheets, cast and crew lists, and shooting schedules for THE FURY, though there is nothing on HI, MOM! The best represented titles in the collection are THE MUPPET MOVIE, TILT, and WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, with scripts, clippings, and production material for all three films. Well-known titles like DOG DAY AFTERNOON, THE FRONT PAGE, and THE STING are only represented by a small amount of clippings. Of interest is a script for DEADHEAD MILES credited to Terry [Terrence] Malick. The small amount of unproduced film material consists entirely of scripts, including one script for YOCKOWALD by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene which was intended for Tom Jones’ film debut.

The television files (produced) encompass Durning’s work in television movies, miniseries, anthology series, and episodic television. There is a complete set of scripts for the miniseries CAPTAIN AND THE KINGS, for which Durning was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series, as well as material related to his Emmy nomination. There is a bound set of scripts for twelve episodes of THE COP AND THE KID, a comedy series starring Durning which aired for one season, and there are scripts, clippings, and production material for “The Dancing Bear,” an episode of the anthology series VISIONS. There are only clippings covering his work in the television movie QUEEN OF THE STARDUST BALLROOM, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy. The television files (unproduced) consist entirely of VETERANS, a script by Dan Lauria.

The stage series includes scripts and programs covering Durning’s work on stage in New York and Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Material in the series covers such productions as THE AU PAIR MAN, written by Hugh Leonard and staged in 1973 and 1974 with Durning and Julie Harris, BOOM BOOM ROOM, a 1973 production of the David Rabe play featuring Durning, Madeline Kahn, Robert Loggia, Charlotte Rae, and Mary Woronov, KNOCK KNOCK, a 1976 production of the Jules Feiffer play with Durning and Lynn Redgrave, and THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON, written by Jason Miller and staged in 1972 with Durning, Miller, and Paul Sorvino, among others. Of interest are scripts for an earlier iteration of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, in which Durning appeared as part of a touring company playing a priest, a character that was later cut from the musical. Most notable are a script, clippings, correspondence, and programs for STREAMERS, the David Rabe play staged at the Westwood Playhouse in 1978 with Durning and Ralph Meeker, for which Durning won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Performance- Supporting Role.

The subject files is the smallest series in the collection and includes clippings, correspondence, financial papers, and personal papers. Durning, an avid film collector, subscribed to small gauge film catalogs and kept handwritten lists of his personal film inventories, which are included in the series.

Charles Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York in 1923. He was the ninth of ten children, though five of his siblings died of smallpox and scarlet fever before he was born. His father had emigrated from Ireland in 1905 and joined the army to earn his American citizenship, then fought in WW I, where he lost a leg and was sickened by mustard gas exposure. He died when Durning was 16, at which point Durning left home to find work and ease the burden on his mother, who laundered uniforms at West Point Military Academy to support Durning and his four siblings. He reportedly found work as an usher at a burlesque theater and had his first experience performing when he went on in place of a drunken actor in a comedy routine. Durning served in the United States Army during World War II and was sent to Europe, where he took part in the D-Day invasion and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was ultimately injured three times during the war, including taking machine gun fire to his leg on Omaha Beach and later being stabbed in the throat by a German soldier. He was discharged in 1946 and earned numerous military honors, including three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star. However, his injuries were extensive and, as part of his recovery, it was recommended that he take acting lessons to improve his speech and dancing lessons to help him regain movement in his leg.

Following the war, Durning hoped to become a professional actor, and often cited James Cagney and Spencer Tracy as being especially inspirational for him in his youth. He enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the late 1940s where he studied with Jason Robards and Grace Kelly. However, his instructors told him he would never make it in the profession and he was not invited to return after his first year. Following that rejection, he worked a succession of jobs including cabdriver, waiter, bouncer, telegram deliveryman, and bridge painter, among many others, while continuing to pursue work as an actor. During these years he also reportedly hosted a radio show, performed as part of a ballroom dancing act, and worked as an instructor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in New York. He began performing regularly with various stock theater companies until, in 1962, he landed a major role in a production of THE ANDERSONVILLE TRIAL starring Brian Donlevy. He then appeared in an off-Broadway production of TWO BY SAROYAN, which brought him to the attention of theatrical producer Joseph Papp, who hired him for a production of JULIUS CAESAR to be staged as part of Papp’s Shakespeare in the Park. Durning went on to act in 35 shows for the producer over the next ten years. During this time, he also began working in film and television, appearing in single episodes of such series as THE DEFENDERS and EAST SIDE/WEST SIDE and made his film debut in HARVEY MIDDLEMAN, FIREMAN (1965).

In the 1970s, Durning worked steadily in film, television, and theater, establishing himself as a reliable character actor capable of acting in many genres. He began the decade appearing in John Frankenheimer’s I WALK THE LINE (1970) and Brian De Palma’s HI, MOM! (1970) and later reunited with De Palma for SISTERS (1973). In 1972, he acted in the ensemble of THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON on Broadway and the show’s success led to more prominent film roles in THE STING (1973) and THE FRONT PAGE (1974). During this time, he returned to Broadway to appear opposite Julie Harris in THE AU PAIR MAN. He earned the first of several Emmy nominations starring opposite Maureen Stapleton in the television movie QUEEN OF THE STARDUST BALLROOM and that same year earned a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting performance in DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975). He was especially prolific in television, continuing to make guest appearances on series such as ALL IN THE FAMILY, BARETTA, and VISIONS. He also had his own sitcom, THE COP AND THE KID, which ran for one season, starred in the television movie THE RIVALRY, and had prominent supporting roles in the miniseries CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS and STUDS LONIGAN. His notable film credits during this time include TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING (1977), THE FURY (1978), again for De Palma, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE (1978), THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979), STARTING OVER (1979), and WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979). He also continued to work on stage, earning a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his work opposite Ralph Meeker in a 1977 production of David Rabe’s STREAMERS at the Westwood Playhouse and in 1980 reunited with Julie Harris for a production of ON GOLDEN POND at the Ahmanson.

Over the next three decades, Durning consistently worked on several projects a year, amassing over 200 film and television credits by the end of his career. He earned consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (1982) and TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1983). He had a longtime association with Burt Reynolds which included not only STARTING OVER and BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS but also SHARKEY’S MACHINE (1981) and the television series EVENING SHADE. He had small but memorable roles in the Coen Brothers’ THE HUDSUCKER PROXY (1994) and O’ BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000) His other significant film credits include TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981), TOOTSIE (1982), MASS APPEAL (1984), THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE (1985), COP (1988), DICK TRACY (1990), HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1995), and STATE AND MAIN (2000). Though more prolific in film and television, he continually returned to the stage, most notably to Broadway for productions of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF in 1990, for which he earned a Tony Award, INHERIT THE WIND in 1996, and THE GIN GAME in 1997, again opposite Julie Harris. In 2008 he was awarded the Life Achievement Award by the Screen Actors Guild. Durning died in 2012.