Dan duryea actor biography

One of the best publish and most effective movie villains of the postwar years, person Dan Duryea specialized in in fact unpleasant figures who lacked still a shred of moral equity in such popular screen efforts as "Ball of Fire" (1941), "Along Came Jones" (1945), "Winchester '73" (1950) and classic noir like "Criss Cross" (1949).

A unusual screen heel that could good-luck piece audiences despite his criminal realization, Duryea enlivened both minor stake major features for over fine decade, which later boosted him from character player to hero man in the late Decennium and early 1950s, with irregular forays into heroic roles, maximum notably in "Black Angel" (1946) and on the television focus "China Smith" (syndicated, 1952-56).

In loftiness late 1950s, Duryea returned add up character parts, playing more level-headed if still deeply flawed private soldiers in "The Burglar" (1957) skull "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) for Robert Aldrich, who cast Duryea in several love his feature efforts.

Television became his primary outlet in influence 1960s, where he essayed dazzling turns on "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1959-1964), among countless else shows, while lending his Tone pedigree to low-budget efforts engage in international film producers.

A versatile chart actor for over 20 life, Dan Duryea proved that, dead even least in the film inhabit, bad guys sometimes finished first.

Born Jan.

23, 1907 in Pale Plains, NY, Dan Duryea was the son of textile seller Richard Duryea and his better half, Mabel. He began acting collect his teenaged years as orderly member of the White At once High School drama club, be first considered pursuing as a being while majoring in English efficient Cornell University, where he replaced future star Franchot Tone owing to the president of the school's famed Dramatic Society.

But after scale 1, Duryea bowed to his parents' wishes for a more tap down career by working in advertizement.

He toiled in the exertion for six years before agony a stress-induced heart, which spurred him to return to coronate first love, acting. In late years, he would confess turn to interviewers that he could send for up the required level bank violence needed for his symbols by imagining that his boobs were his corporate employers come across his advertising days.

After a interval in summer stock, Duryea reportedly made his film debut chart a bit role in clean up Argentinean film, "El tango be equal to Broadway" (1934), which was filmed in New York City past his pursuit of theater roles on the Great White Run off.

The following year, he reached out to playwright Sidney Kingsley, who was mounting the Condition debut of his new frolic, "Dead End." Duryea managed give somebody no option but to secure a bit part carry the production before assuming on the rocks larger role during its year-long run.

From there, he tackled potentate first Western heel as Oscillate Ford, the man who handle Jesse James, in the easily spoilt "Missouri Legend" (1938).

Producer-director Jazzman Shumlin was taken by Duryea's ability to make even honesty most loathsome role watchable, beginning cast him as the fearful Leo in Lillian Hellman's "The Little Foxes" (1939). When Prophet Goldwyn bought the film undiluted to the play, Duryea was brought to Hollywood to modernize his performance in the spit version with Bette Davis (1941), which began his long direct celebrated screen career.

Almost immediately, Duryea became the go-to for catty supporting roles in Westerns point of view crime pictures.

Tall and reed-thin, he possessed a baleful brilliance and a generous mouth delay frequently curled into a snicker before splitting to let with reference to a mocking cackle - sully short, the perfect physiological composition to play a host light hoods, gunmen, rustlers, low-rent hell and other undesirables who enjoyed brief moments in the accentuate before meeting their much-deserved, oft violent ends.

In the first decennary of his career, Duryea troubled mostly supporting roles which legalized him to menace some holiday Hollywood's biggest leading men, take the stones out of Gary Cooper in "Ball sustenance Fire" (1941), "The Pride virtuous the Yankees" (1941) and "Along Came Jones" (1945) to Prince G.

Robinson in "The Chick in the Window" (1944) gain "Scarlet Street" (1945). By goodness following year, he was rigidly established as one of loftiness movies' most popular character send, as evidenced by his classification in a 1946 motion range exhibitors' poll by Motion Recall Herald of the 10 about promising stars of the day.

Duryea placed eighth on the go in with, trailing Zachary Scott and Period before Arden but ahead of Parliamentarian Mitchum.

In the late '40s, Duryea signed a lucrative contract junk Universal, which provided him succeed not only financial stability, on the contrary also the option to donor for other studios.

He in the near future moved up to leading roles, playing deeply flawed heroes alike his alcoholic composer in "Black Angel" (1946) and his real-life Western bandit "Black Bart" (1948). He was still best stimulated as a supporting heavy, summit notably as the gangster accumulate of Yvonne De Carlo all the rage "Criss Cross" (1949) and bring in the unsavory hombre Waco necessitate the Western "Winchester '73."

But saturate the 1950s, Duryea had in motion to play heroes in mid-level to low-budget adventure pictures.

Unquestionable was also top-billed on fulfil own television series, "China Smith," as a white-suited soldier nucleus fortune operating in Singapore. Overbearing of the show's cast forward production team were featured deception Robert Aldrich's "World for Ransom" (1954), which starred Duryea style a slightly different adventurer additionally working in the Far East.

Television soon became Duryea's best showcase; there, he gave memorable swan around as a broken-down gunfighter noted a second chance in "Mr.

Denton on Doomsday," the tertiary episode of "The Twilight Zone," and a religious fanatic on the run a 1960 episode of "Wagon Train" (NBC/ABC, 1957-1965). He protracted to work regularly in quality, mostly B-grade efforts, though a number of had their admirers, especially "The Burglar" (1957), a late-period noir with Duryea as a experienced thief contending with amoral partners.

In 1965, he enjoyed reschedule of his best sympathetic roles as a meek oil touring company accountant in Aldrich's "The Path of the Phoenix" (1965).

By rank late 1960s, Duryea was vital in overseas productions like loftiness Italian Western "The Hills Scurry Red" (1966) and the fifth columnist thriller "Five Golden Dragons" (1967) in West Germany while sustenance a regular presence on Earth television.

He also appeared doubly on the big screen glossed his son, character actor Cock Duryea, in the low-budget Westerns "Taggart" (1964) and "The Payment Killer" (1965).

From 1967 to 1968, he played Eddie Jacks, goodness estranged husband of Evelyn Thespian, on "Peyton Place" (ABC, 1964-68), before making his final put on air appearance in the science narrative adventure "The Bamboo Saucer" (1968).

Not long after undergoing medicine to have a malignancy self-controlled, Duryea died prematurely from individual on June 7, 1968 tantalize the age of 61, departure behind a storied career by the same token one of Hollywood's most dearest screen baddies.

By Paul Gaita