Dan Duryea | |
|---|---|
 Duryea as "Waco Johnny" Dean inWinchester '73 (1950) | |
| Born | (1907-01-23)January 23, 1907 White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 7, 1968(1968-06-07) (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery,Hollywood Hills, California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1933–1968 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingPeter Duryea |
Dan Duryea (/ˈdʊri.eɪ/DUR-ee-ay, January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor infilm,stage, andtelevision. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and secondary roles.[1]
Duryea was born and raised inWhite Plains, New York. He graduated fromWhite Plains High School in 1924 andCornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into theSphinx Head Society, Cornell's oldest senior honor society. He majored in English, and in his senior year succeededFranchot Tone as president of the college drama society.[2]
As his parents did not approve of his choice to pursue an acting career, Duryea became an advertising executive. After six stress-filled years, he had a heart attack that sidelined him for a year.[2]
Returning to his earlier love of acting and the stage, Duryea made his name onBroadway in the playDead End, followed byThe Little Foxes, in which he portrayed Leo Hubbard.[3][4] He also appeared on Broadway inMany Mansions (1937) andMissouri Legend (1938).[5]
In 1940, Duryea moved to Hollywood to appear in the film version ofThe Little Foxes.[6] He continued to establish himself with supporting and secondary roles in films such asThe Pride of the Yankees (1942) andNone But the Lonely Heart (1944). As the 1940s progressed, he found his niche as the "sniveling, deliberately taunting" antagonist in a number offilms noir (Scarlet Street,The Woman in the Window,The Great Flamarion,Criss Cross,Too Late for Tears,Johnny Stool Pigeon), andWesterns such asAlong Came Jones andBlack Bart, although he was sometimes cast in more sympathetic roles (Black Angel,One Way Street).[6] In 1946, exhibitors voted him the eighth most promising "star of tomorrow".[7]
Duryea co-starred oppositeGary Cooper three times in the 1940s:Ball of Fire,Pride of the Yankees andAlong Came Jones. In the 1950s, Duryea co-starred withJames Stewart in three films,Winchester '73 (as the dastardly "Waco Johnny" Dean),Thunder Bay, andNight Passage. He was featured in several other westerns, includingSilver Lode,Ride Clear of Diablo, andThe Marauders, and in more film-noir productions like36 Hours,Chicago Calling,Storm Fear, andThe Burglar.
When interviewed byHedda 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 offilm 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!"[8]
In his last years, Duryea reteamed with Stewart for the adventure filmThe Flight of the Phoenix, about men stranded in the Sahara desert by a downed airplane, appearing as a mild-mannered accountant, closer to his real-life persona. He worked in overseas film productions including the British neo-noir thrillerDo You Know This Voice? (1964), the Italian WesternThe Hills Run Red, akaUn Fiume di dollari, (1966) and the spy thrillerFive Golden Dragons (1967) in West Germany, while continuing to find roles on American television. He also appeared twice on the big screen with his son, character actor Peter Duryea, in the low-budget WesternsTaggart (1964) andThe Bounty Killer (1965).[1]
Duryea starred as the lead character China Smith in thetelevision seriesChina Smith from 1952 to 1953 andThe New Adventures of China Smith from 1954 to 1956.
He later 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, ofNBC'swestern seriesCimarron City. On season 1, episode 15 ofWagon Train, he guest-starred as the title character in "The Cliff Grundy Story" (December 1957). He reappeared as Cliff, saving Robert Horton's Flint McCullough from being "Shanghaied" in S1 E39 "The Sacramento Story" which aired 6/24/1958.
In 1959, Duryea appeared as an alcoholicgunfighter in the third episode ofThe Twilight Zone, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday". He guest starred on NBC'santhology seriesThe Barbara Stanwyck Show and appeared in an episode ofRawhide 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'sLaramie western series. Duryea appeared again as Luke Gregg onLaramie on October 25, 1960, in the episode "The Long Riders". Duryea also put in a great comic performance inThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour in an episode called "Three Wives Too Many" (1964).
Three weeks later, on November 16, 1960, Duryea played a mentally unstable pioneer obsessed by demons and superstitions in "The Bleymier Story" of NBC'sWagon Train.Elen Willard played his daughter;James Drury, his daughter's suitor. Duryea was cast twice in 1960 as Captain Brad Turner in consecutive episodes of the NBC western seriesRiverboat. He spoofed his tough-guy image in a comedy sketch about a robbery on the Dec. 4, 1960 episode ofThe Jack Benny Program. Dan also guest starred in a 1962 episode ofTales of Wells Fargo TV western series as Marshal Blake oppositeDale Robertson.
In 1963, Duryea portrayed Dr. Ben Lorrigan on NBC's medical drama,The Eleventh Hour. In 1967, a television version ofWinchester '73 was released in which Duryea played the part of Bart McAdam, an uncle to Lin and Dakin McAdam. A notable co-star in the film wasJohn Saxon (Dakin McAdam). From 1967 to 1968, he appeared in a recurring role as Eddie Jacks on thesoap operaPeyton Place.[9]
Duryea was different from the unsavory characters he often portrayed. He was married for 35 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, a talent agent. At home, Duryea lived a quiet life at his house in theSan Fernando Valley, devoting himself to gardening, boating, and community activities including, at various times, active membership in the local parent-teacher association andScout Master of aBoy Scout troop.[2]
Duryea died of cancer on June 7, 1968, at the age of 61.The New York Times noted the passing of a "heel with sex appeal."[10] His remains are interred inForest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery inLos Angeles.[2]
There is a street named after Duryea in San Antonio, Texas.[11]
