Bio of actor dan duryea biography
The sneering presence of Dan Duryea on screen indicated the female of the film was in for a rough time. Duryea himself once commented, “My fan mail goes up every time I tee off on a girl.” Duryea was also the screen’s number one “heel”, he’d doublecross a pal then brag about it. It was often the wry amusement with which Duryea viewed his own misdeeds that made him so enjoyable. Duryea used his trademark semi-deranged laugh—sometimes a cackle—to effectively project his sadistic badman image. Duryea stated, “You can’t make a picture without a villain…it pays well and you last.” Constantly employed, in over 65 films and that many or more TV shows, he was usually the bad guy. That’s what his public expected of him.
However, his 1952 TV series “China Smith” (revived in ‘54 as “New Adventures of China Smith”) saw him as an Irish soldier of fortune in, at first, the Far East, then San Francisco.
The real Dan Duryea could not be further from his evil screen persona. He was a model citizen and devout family man, married for 35 years to Helen Duryea who died in ‘67 of a heart ailment. They had two sons, Peter, born in ‘39 and Richard, born in ‘42. Those who knew Dan loved him and always remark on his wonderful sense of humor. He loved gardening and was a member of the PTA and was a scout master.
The slim 6' 1" Duryea was born January 23, 1907, in White Plains, New York, to Richard Hewlett Duryea, a textile salesman, and his wife Mabel. Dan was a member of the drama club at White Plains High and majored in English at Cornell University. After graduation, Dan opted for the advertising profession. During his six years in advertising he met Helen Bryan and they were married April 15, 1932.
It was a heart attack that derailed Dan from the hectic advertising world. Deciding now to pursue acting, after some summer stock j Never a big star but a welcome fixture in westerns and film noirs over three decades, Dan Duryea specialized in playing the heel. In those kinds of parts, no one could touch him. During the opening titles, if you saw his name just under the leading man’s, you knew you were in for a good time. He was the guy you loved to hate. And the type of on-screen character he became known for was about as far away from the off-screen Duryea as you could get. In real life, Duryea was a devoted husband and father, an avid gardener and outdoorsman who shunned all the Hollywood hype and decadence, settling with his wife and two sons in the San Fernando Valley. There he even found time to lead his kids’ Boy Scout troop. As his boys were growing up, Duryea actually forbade them to watch his movies. His simple explanation: “I didn’t want to give them any ideas.” The actor was nothing if not strategic in his approach to acting: “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.” Born in 1907 just north of New York City in White Plains, Duryea graduated from White Plains High School and Cornell, where he succeeded future movie actor Franchot Tone as head of the Drama Society. His parents forbade an acting career, so young Dan went into advertising, which he hated. An early heart attack gave him an excuse to leave the business six years later. At this crucial juncture he decided to follow his passion. Duryea called up his former Cornell classmate Sidney Kingsley, a newly famous playwright whose hit play “Dead End” was still running on Broadway. He started in a bit part at $40 a week, but soon moved up to a featured role. He was on his way. In Biography And MemoirFilm StudiesPopular Culture The biography of a devoted family man best known for his roles as abusive villains Dan Duryea (1907–1968) made a vivid impression on moviegoers with his first major screen appearance as the conniving Leo Hubbard in 1941's classic melodrama The Little Foxes. His subsequent film and television career would span from 1941 until his death. Duryea remains best known for the nasty, scheming villains he portrayed in such noir masterpieces as Scarlet Street, Criss Cross, and The Woman in the Window. In each of these, he wielded a blend of menace, sleaze, confidence, and surface charm. This winning combination led him to stardom and garnered him the adoration of female fans, even though Duryea's onscreen brutality so often targeted female characters. Yet this biography's close examination of Duryea's oeuvre finds him excelling in various roles in many genres—war films, westerns, crime dramas, and even the occasional comedy. Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart is a full-scale, comprehensive biography that examines the tension between Duryea's villainous screen image and his Samaritan personal life. At home, he proved to be one of Hollywood's most honorable and decent men. Duryea remained married to the former Helen Bryan from 1931 until her death in 1967. A dedicated family man, he and Helen took an active role in raising their children and in the community. In his career, Duryea knew villainous roles were what the public wanted—there would be a public backlash if fans read an article depicting what a decent guy he was. Frustrated that he couldn't completely shake his screen image and public persona, he wrestled with this restriction throughout his career. Producers and the public did not care to follow any new directions he hoped to pursue. This book, written with Duryea's surviving son Richard's cooperation, fully explores the life and legacy of a Hollywood icon ready for re American actor (1907–1968) Dan Duryea Duryea as "Waco Johnny" Dean in Winchester '73 (1950) White Plains, New York, U.S. Los Angeles, California, U.S. Helen Bryan Dan Duryea (DUR-ee-ay, January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and secondary roles. Duryea was born and raised in White Plains, New York. He graduated from White Plains High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society, Cornell's oldest senior honor society. He majored in English, and in his senior year succeeded Franchot Tone as president of the college drama society. As his parents did not approve of his choice to pursue an acting career, Duryea became an advertising executive. After six stress-filled years, he had a heart attack that sidelined him for a year. Returning to his earlier love of acting and the stage, Duryea made his name on Broadway in the play Dead End, followed by The Little Foxes, in which he portrayed Leo Hubbard. He also appeared on Broadway in Many Mansions (1937) and Missouri Legend (1938). In 1940, Duryea moved to Hollywood to appear in the film version of The Little Foxes. He continued to establish himself with supporting and secondary roles in films such as The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and Non Dan Duryea—How a Good Man Excelled at Playing the Bad Guy
Dan Duryea
Heel with a Heart
Dan Duryea
Born (1907-01-23)January 23, 1907 Died June 7, 1968(1968-06-07) (aged 61) Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California Occupation Actor Years active 1933–1968 Spouse Children 2, including Peter Duryea Early life
Acting career
Stage
Film