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Dan Duryea

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For the Prohibition gangster, see Danny Hogan.
Dan Duryea
Born(1907-01-23)January 23, 1907
White Plains, New York, U. S.
DiedJune 7, 1968(1968-06-07) (aged 61)
Los Angeles, California, U. S.
Occupationactor
Years active1941-1968
SpouseHelen Bryan (1932-1967) (her death) 2 children
ChildrenPeter (b. 1939)
Richard

Dan Duryea (January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.

Early life

Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society. He made his name on Broadway in the play Dead End, followed by The Little Foxes, in which he portrayed Leo Hubbard.[1][2]

Film

Duryea moved to Hollywood in 1940 to appear in the film version of The Little Foxes. He continued to establish himself with supporting and secondary roles in films such as The Pride of the Yankees and None But the Lonely Heart. As the 1940s progressed, he found his niche as the "sniveling, deliberately taunting" antagonist in a number of films noir (Scarlet Street, The Woman in the Window, Criss Cross, Too Late for Tears) and westerns such as Winchester '73, though he was sometimes cast in more objective roles (Black Angel, Ministry of Fear, One Way Street).[3] In 1946 exhibitors voted him the eighth most promising "star of tomorrow".[4]

Television

Duryea starred as the lead character China Smith in the television series China Smith from 1952 to 1956; and The New Adventures of China Smith from 1953 to 1954.

Duryea guest starred as Roy Budinger, the self-educated mastermind of a criminal ring dealing in silver bullion, in the episode "Terror Town" on October 18, 1958 of NBC's western series Cimarron City. Cast regular George Montgomery plays Mayor Matt Rockford, who returns from a cattle drive, only to be hostage by four half-brothers who compel him to work in a silver mine. The other Budingers are played by Don Megowan, Jonathan Haze, and Dan Blocker in the roles of Grant, Judd, and Tiny (a play on Blocker's physical size) Carl, respectively.[5]

In 1959, Duryea appeared as an alcoholic gunfighter in third episode of The Twilight Zone, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday". He guest starred on NBC's anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show and appeared in an episode of Rawhide in 1959, "Incident Of The Executioner."

On September 15, 1959, Duryea guest starred as the outlaw Bud Carlin in the episode "Stage Stop", the premiere of NBC's Laramie western series. Series character Jess Harper (Robert Fuller) arrives in Laramie from Texas in search of a former "friend" who had robbed him, Pete Morgan, played by John Mitchum. Morgan is part of the Carlin gang, which has captured Judge Thomas J. Wilkens, portrayed by Everett Sloane, to keep Wilkens from trying Morgan. Jess and series character Slim Sherman (John Smith) put aside their initial differences and fight together when Carlin shows up at the Sherman relay station, where he proceeds to humiliate the judge.[6]

Duryea appeared again on Laramie on October 25, 1960, in the episode "The Long Riders". He played Luke Gregg, who is saved from an Indian attack by Slim Sherman and Jess Harper, while they are rounding up mustangs for extra money. Slim invites Luke to work temporarily at the Sherman Ranch, but Jess believes something is awry when Luke mentions Slim's past association with a vigilante group in Adobe Wells, Kansas. Luke is tied to Ed McKeever, played by John Anderson, a gunman who has been targeting the former Adobe Wells vigilantes one by one. Ultimately, McKeever shoots Luke to death as Luke warns Slim of danger.[7]

Three weeks later, on November 16, 1960, Duryea played a mentally unstable pioneer obsessed by demons and superstitions in "The Bleymier Story" of NBC's Wagon Train. In the story line, Samuel Bleymier opposes the interest shown to his daughter, Belle, portrayed by Elen Willard, by a young pioneer, Justin Claiborne, played by James Drury, some two years before the start of his The Virginian series. The episode is filmed mostly during heavy rains, high winds, and a cyclone and involves pioneers passing through a Sioux burial ground. Ultimately Bleymier dies chasing his demons.[8]

In 1963, Duryea portrayed Dr. Ben Lorrigan on NBC's The Eleventh Hour. From 1967 to 1968, he appeared as Eddie Jacks on the soap opera Peyton Place.[9]

Personal life

When interviewed by Hedda Hopper in the early 1950s, Duryea spoke of career goals and his preparation for roles: "Well, first of all, let's set the stage or goal I set for myself when I decided to become an actor... not just 'an actor', but a successful one. I looked in the mirror and knew with my "puss" and 155-pound weakling body, I couldn't pass for a leading man, and I had to be different. And I sure had to be courageous, so I chose to be the meanest s.o.b. in the movies... strictly against my mild nature, as I'm an ordinary, peace-loving husband and father. Inasmuch, as I admired fine actors like Richard Widmark, Victor Mature, Robert Mitchum, and others who had made their early marks in the dark, sordid, and guilt-ridden world of film noir; here, indeed, was a market for my talents. I thought the meaner I presented myself, the tougher I was with women, slapping them around in well produced films where evil and death seem to lurk in every nightmare alley and behind every venetian blind in every seedy apartment, I could find a market for my screen characters."

"At first it was very hard as I am a very even-tempered guy, but I used my past life experiences to motivate me as I thought about some of the people I hated in my early as well as later life... like the school bully who used to try and beat the hell out of me at least once a week... a sadistic family doctor that believed feeling pain when he treated you was the birthright of every man inasmuch as women suffered giving birth... little incidents with trade-people who enjoyed acting superior because they owned their business, overcharging you. Then the one I used when I had to slap a woman around was easy! I was slapping the over-bearing teacher who would fail you in their 'holier-than-thou' class and enjoy it! And especially the experiences I had dealing with the unbelievable pompous 'know-it-all-experts' that I dealt with during my advertising agency days ... almost going 'nuts' trying to please these 'corporate heads' until I finally got out of that racket!"[10]

Duryea was married for thirty-five years to his wife, Helen, until her death in January 1967. The couple had two sons: Peter (who worked for a time as an actor), and Richard.

Dan Duryea died of cancer at the age of sixty-one. His remains are interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ http://www.reelz.com/person/199229/dan-duryea/
  2. ^ http://www.fandango.com/danduryea/biography/p20798
  3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002053/bio
  4. ^ "The Stars of To-morrow". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 10 September 1946. p. 11 Supplement: The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Cimarron City: "Terror Town", October 18, 1958". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  6. ^ "Laramie: "Stage Stop", September 15, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  7. ^ "Laramie: "The Long Riders", October 25, 1960". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  8. ^ "The Bleymier Story". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  9. ^ http://www.tv.com/people/dan-duryea/
  10. ^ Dan Duryea at IMDb
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