Consummate character actor Charles Durning dead at 89

Charles Durning, Oscar-nominated character actor and decorated World War II veteran, died Monday at 89 years old. Durning was not only one of the first soldiers on the beach at Normandy on D-Day, he also was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and managed to survive. Durning would go on to be nominated for Oscars for his roles in such films as "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and Mel Brooks' "To Be or Not To Be," and he also won a Tony as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." He passed away of natural causes in his home in Manhattan. [Source]

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