Film star Durning dies aged 89

Two-time Oscar nominee Charles Durning – dubbed the king of the character actors – has died aged 89.

He died yesterday of natural causes at his New York City home.

Durning portrayed everyone from blustery public officials to put-upon everymen to Big Daddy in a Broadway revival of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. It won him a Tony award in 1990.

He was nominated for an Oscar for his over-the-top performance as a corrupt governor in 1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Just a year later, he got another nomination for Mel Brooks’s To Be Or Not To Be.

His breakout role was as a mayor in the Pulitzer and Tony-winning play That Championship Season in 1972.