Celebrity Death Thread

[Drew]

just like my theory that there is a serial killer targeting the oldest person in the world.........

someone gets names as the oldest person, then BOOM, they are dead......

it is very suspicious......

It's the Japaneese! The US held the two higherst spots, and then before you know it, they die within 2 weeks of each other, and now just like that, the Japaneese are holding the top 3 positions.

[Chuck Cunningham]

Charles Durning died as well yesterday. Accomplished character actor.

[CGVT]

I see it was in Los Angeles too. Hmmmmmnnnnn...

[-Deborah-]

Charles Durning died as well yesterday. Accomplished character actor.

This is how I remember him...

[CGVT]

Durning served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Drafted at age 21, he was first assigned as a rifleman with the 398th Infantry Regiment, and later served overseas with the 3rd Army Support troops and the 386th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion. For his valor and the wounds he received during the war, Durning was awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Heart medals.[6]

Durning participated in the Normandy Invasion of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was among the first troops to land at Omaha Beach. In Episode S03E09 of the program Dinner for Five, which also included Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise and Charles Nelson Reilly, Reynolds spoke about Durning's service career for him, as Durning did not like to talk about it much. Reynolds revealed that Durning was in a group of gliders who overshot their landing zone and that he had to fight alone all the way back to the beach. Reynolds also stated that his own father was there fighting about 15 yards away and that Durning was probably the most decorated veteran (then) still alive from World War II.[7] Some sources state that he was with the 1st Infantry Division at the time, but it is unclear if he served as a rifleman or as a member of one of the division's artillery battalions.[citation needed]

Durning was wounded by a German “S” Mine on June 15, 1944 at Les Mare des Mares, France. He was transported 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 thighs, the right hand, the frontal region of the head, and the anterior left chest wall, Durning recovered quickly and was determined to be fit for duty on December 6, 1944. He arrived back at the front in time to take part in the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter-offensive through the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg in December 1944.[8][9]

After being wounded again, this time in the chest, Durning was returned to the United States. He remained in Army hospitals to receive treatment for wounds until being discharged with the rank of Private First Class on January 30, 1946.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a Marine veteran in "Call of Silence," an episode of the television series NCIS, first broadcast November 23, 2004. 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.[10] 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 was 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.[11] He was an honored guest speaker at the National Memorial Day Concert for many years, televised by PBS every year on the Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend.

In April 2008 Durning received the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French consul in Los Angeles, awarded to those who served with distinction in France.

[DanO]

I had no idea about Charles Durning.

RIP.

[Tony G]

Durning was a class act. A consummate actor who played a role with skill without upstaging his other actors.

[Islair]

One of those tough old war heros......RIP Sir.

[Tony G]

Hmm Best second leading role in a career?

Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor and later as Matlock

Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison and later as Quincy M.E.

Or someone else?

Harry Morgan could get the nod for double co-star roles between Dragnet and Mash but neither of those was a leading role.

[CGVT]

Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett and Barnaby Jones?

[CGVT]

Larry Hagman as Major Nelson and JR Ewing?

[Tony G]

Bob Newhart?

[Tony G]

James Garner - Maverick and Jim Rockford

[CGVT]

Those are good. I'll bet there are some more obvious people that we are missing.

Mary Tyler Moore in Dick VanDyke and MTM and Lou Grant

She may be the winner

[CGVT]

Wait. Lou Grant was a spinoff of MTM