Dan Duryea

For the Prohibition gangster, see Danny Hogan.

Dan Duryea
Born	January 23, 1907(1907-01-23) White Plains, New York, USA
Died	June 7, 1968(1968-06-07) (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation	actor
Years active	1941-1968
Spouse	Helen Bryan (1932-1967 (her death)) 2 children

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 & secondary roles in films such as The Pride of the Yankees & 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), though he was sometimes cast in more objective roles (Black Angel, Ministry of Fear, One Way Street).^[3]

Television

In 1959, Duryea appeared as a 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, in 1963, portrayed Dr. Ben Lorrigan on the NBC's The Eleventh Hour. From 1967 to 1968, Duryea appeared as Eddie Jacks on the soap opera Peyton Place.^[4]

Personal life

When interviewed by Hedda Hopper in the early '50s, 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!" ^[5]

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

• The Little Foxes (1941)
• Ball of Fire (1941)
• That Other Woman (1942)
• The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
• Sahara (1943)
• Man from Frisco (1944)
• None But the Lonely Heart (1944)
• The Woman in the Window (1944)
• Mrs. Parkington (1944)
• Ministry of Fear (1944)
• Main Street After Dark (1945)
• The Great Flamarion (1945)
• The Valley of Decision (1945)
• Along Came Jones (1945)
• Lady on a Train (1945)
• Scarlet Street (1945)
• Black Angel (1946)
• White Tie and Tails (1946)
• Black Bart (1948)
• Another Part of the Forest (1948)
• River Lady (film) (1948)
• Larceny (1948)
• Criss Cross (1949)
• Manhandled (1949)
• Too Late for Tears (1949) rereleased as Killer Bait in 1955
• Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949)
• One Way Street (1950)
• Winchester '73 (1950)
• The Underworld Story (1950)
• Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951)
• China Smith (1952–1956)
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1952–1956)
• Chicago Calling (1952)
• The New Adventures of China Smith (1953–1954)
• Thunder Bay (1953)
• Sky Commando (1953)
• Terror Street (1953)
• World for Ransom (1954)
• Ride Clear of Diablo (1954)
• Rails Into Laramie (1954)
• Silver Lode (1954)
• This Is My Love (1954)
• Foxfire (1955)
• The Marauders (1955)
• Storm Fear (1955)
• Battle Hymn (1956)
• Wagon Train (1957–1964)
• The Burglar (1957)
• Night Passage (1957)
• Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)
• Kathy O' (1958)
• Gundown at Sandoval (1959)
• Platinum High School (1960)
• Six Black Horses (1962)
• He Rides Tall (1964)
• Do You Know This Voice? (1964)
• Bonanza - Logan's Treasures? (1964)
• Taggart (1964)
• Walk a Tightrope (1965)
• The Bounty Killer (1965)
• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
• Un fiume di dollari (1966)
• Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)
• The Hills Run Red (1966)
• Five Golden Dragons (1967)
• Peyton Place (1967–1968)
• The Bamboo Saucer (1968)
• El tango en Broadway (1934)

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. ^ http://www.tv.com/people/dan-duryea/
5. ^ Dan Duryea at the Internet Movie Database

External links

Biography portal

• Dan Duryea at the Internet Movie Database
• Dan Duryea at the Internet Broadway Database
• Duryea interview
• Dan Duryea at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Duryea, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	1907-01-23
Place of birth	White Plains, New York, USA
Date of death	1968-06-7
Place of death	Hollywood, California, USA