Longtime actor Charles Durning, now age 84, will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. He will receive the award for fostering the “finest ideals of the acting profession” during the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show January 27, 2008. Durning is still very active playing roles in movies and television.
His most recent appearance was on “Rescue Me.” He plays Denis Leary’s father on the series and shot his last scene for the season finale. He dies in the scene while sitting with his son at a baseball game. Durning has starred in such blockbusters as “True Confessions,” “The Sting,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Tootsie” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” He received two Oscar nominations over his long and continuing career.
A decorated WWII veteran, he was there for the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, in the first wave of attackers at Omaha Beach, taken as a POW by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge. Durning was honored with three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.
Durning has done voice work on “The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists” and the TV series “Family Guy.”
Not one to rest on his laurels the 84 year old actor has two films and a new TV pilot currently in production — “Chatham” co-starring Bruce Dern, Rip Torn and David Carradine is due in theaters in 2008, “Room and Board” is a horror film co-starring Adrianne Barbeau and Robert Loggia also set for 2008 and the television show is called “Good Dick.”
Today Microsoft will launch its next in the popular sci-fi gaming franchise — “Halo 3.”
Whitley Strieber has confirmed that “Transformers” director Michael Bay is interested in directing a film version of his latest book, 2012: The War for the Souls. See our other Strieber story about his book-to-movie “The Grays.”
Singapore scientists have created a Star Trek-like handheld device that can detect the H5N1 bird flu virus from throat swab samples in under 30 minutes, raising hopes it will lead a more rapid and reliable method of detection of the virus which will allow quicker quarantine.
In a recent article on Cinema Blend, Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Star Trek’s Uhura for 40 years of the franchise had some advice for Zoe Saldana, the new Uhura and for the other actors of the new J.J. Abrams film “Star Trek.”
To Saldana:
“Think about what it took for Uhura. What kind of person she was, she’s from the United States Of Africa. Her parents were scientist and spacefarers, and there were always great expectations of her from them and from herself. She has a high regard for herself and her work, for humankind and her ideals are lofty. Yet she is down to earth.”
To the entire cast and crew of the new film:
“What I think made the original family so powerful and believable is that we did not play heroes. We were ordinary people doing extraordinary work and coming out making good choices, but moral choices. We’re under an edict of none interference. Of respect for others, respect for differences and respect for ourselves. Thereby with the added edict of IDIC ‘Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations’ is what makes the universe beautiful. Then we go forth in peaceful exploration where no man or woman has gone before.”
As a fan of Slice of Sci Fi and a HUGE fan of “Rescue Me”, I must tell you that Charles Durning’s character dies while attending a minor league baseball game, which was at his own request to Tommy. It was not a race track.
Thanks Eric – fixed! 😉