Second World War hero and leading Hollywood character actor Charles Durning dies aged 89 Durning was nominated for supporting-actor Oscars for playing a Nazi in the 1984 Mel Brooks comedy "To Be or Not to Be" and the governor in the musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" in 1983. "Whorehouse" was one of 13 movies Durning made with friend Burt Reynolds, as well as Reynolds' 1990s TV sitcom "Evening Shade." Other notable Durning movie roles included a cop in "Dog Day Afternoon," a man who falls in love with Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing character in "Tootsie," "Dick Tracy," "Home for the Holidays," "The Muppet Movie," "North Dallas Forty" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?" He was nominated for Emmys for the TV series "Rescue Me," "NCIS," "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Captains and the Kings" and "Evening Shade," as well as the specials "Death of a Salesman," "Attica" and "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom." Durning was a fan of Jimmy Cagney and after returning from harrowing service in World War Two he tried singing, dancing, and stand-up comedy. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts until he was kicked out. "They basically said you have no talent and you couldn't even buy a dime's worth of it if it was for sale," Durning told The New York Times.