Born in Highland Falls, NY; educated at NYU. Heavy-set character player who has achieved near-star status. Durning began in burlesque, worked as a ballroom dancer for a decade and acted prolifically on the New York stage before making his big-screen mark as Lieutenant Snyder in THE STING (1973). Standout performances in almost 200 film and television appearances include THE FRONT PAGE (1974), DOG DAY AFTERNOON and THE HINDENBURG (both 1975), THE CHOIRBOYS (1977), THE MUPPET MOVIE and NORTH DALLAS FORTY (both 1979), SHARKIE'S MACHINE (1981), THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS and TOOTSIE (both 1982), TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1983), MASS APPEAL (1984), TOUGH GUYS (1986), DICK TRACY (1990), V.I. WARSHAWSKI (1991), THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and I.Q. (both 1994), O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? and STATE AND MAIN (both 2000), and a recurring role as Tommy's Dad on the TV series "Rescue Me" (2004-07).  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1982: THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1983: TO BE OR NOT TO BE 2 nominations