Charles Durning passed away yesterday at the age of 89 according to USA Today. The character actor was best known for his roles in Tootsie, The Sting and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but the younger generation got to know him as Gavin’s dad on Rescue Me and Peter’s dad on Family Guy.
While most of us know him as a truly great actor, a lot of us learned through his obituary that he was a World War II hero. He was one of the first wave of soldiers that landed in Normandy on D-Day and he was the only survivor in his unit on that day. He was later captured in the Battle of the Bulge, and survived when several of the prisoners were massacred.
So today let’s honor him for his brilliant work as actor and as a soldier and watch one of his many roles to keep his spirit and talent alive.
