I really don't want the Maude's to ban me for making a "low effort post", so here's some impressive trivia about the great Charles Durning.

1. He survived D-Day… despite being the only man in his unit to live. He landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. His entire group was killed around him. He fought on.

2. He killed a German soldier in hand-to-hand combat — then broke down when he realized the soldier was just a teenager. Durning said this moment haunted him for the rest of his life.

3. He was stabbed eight times and shot in the chest — and still returned to combat. He was wounded repeatedly throughout the war and kept being sent back.

4. He survived the Battle of the Bulge, too. Captured by German soldiers, he escaped execution during the Malmedy massacre by playing dead under bodies.

5. He earned a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Yet he almost never discussed the war publicly; he hated using it for publicity.

6. After surviving some of the most brutal combat of WWII, he returned home and… became a dance instructor. Yes — ballroom dancing. He even taught at a Fred Astaire studio.

7. He didn’t start serious acting until his 40s — and still became one of Hollywood’s greatest character actors. He spent decades on stage before breaking into film with Dog Day Afternoon and Tootsie.

8. He was nominated for the Oscar twice — both times as Best Supporting Actor — in back-to-back years. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) To Be or Not to Be (1983)

9. Quentin Tarantino said Durning was “a master” — and planned roles for him. He appears memorably in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Hudsucker Proxy, among many others.

10. He served as President of the Screen Actors Guild. Quietly, effectively, without the drama others had.

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