| Dan Duryea | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 23, 1907 White Plains, New York, USA |
| Died | June 7, 1968 (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.
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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]
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]
Duryea starred as the lead character China Smith in the China Smith from 1952 to 1956); and "The New Adventures of China Smith" from 1953 to 1954). 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]
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.