'Six Degrees of Vincent D'Onofrio'...Charles Durning

Wikipedia

Charles Edward Durning was born on February 28, 1923 in Highland Falls, New York.  He was one of 10 children.  Five of his sisters lost their lives to scarlet fever and smallpox as children.  Charles is most known as being one of our greatest character actors, much like Vincent.  He was raised Catholic and considered becoming a priest.  His start began as an usher at a burlesque theatre in Buffalo, New York and would take the place of comedians that showed up too drunk to perform.  At 21, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was part of the Normandy Invasion of France on D-Day.  He was wounded by a mine and received shrapnel in his right thighs, right hand, head, and chest.  He recovered quickly and took part in the Battle of the Bulge where he was wounded again.  Charles returned to the United States and remained in Army hospitals until his discharge.  He received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, WWII Victory Medal and three Purple Hearts.  A sporadic start to his career was on the New York stage and only once or twice a decade. He was in the original production of 'That Championship Season' in 1973.  There, just gave you an easy clue.  The breakthrough film performance was in 'The Sting' and he went on to amass a filmography of some 100 films.  Charles Durning passed away of unknown causes in Manhattan, New York on December 24, 2012 at the age of 89.  He was buried in Arlington Cemetery.  R.I.P, 'King of Character Actors'  Find the connection!