Dan Duryea was educated at Cornell University and worked in the advertising business before pursuing his career as an actor. Duryea made his Broadway debut in the play "Dead End." The critical acclaim he won for his performance as Leo Hubbard in the Broadway production of "The Little Foxes" led to his appearance in the film version, in the same role.
Father of Peter Duryea.
Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA.
Father of Richard Duryea, born July 14, 1942.
In Winchester 73 he played Waco Johnnie Dean, the nemesis of the protagonist, Lin McAdams. In the made-for-TV remake, Winchester 73 , he played Bart McAdams.
While working on the stage in New York City, Duryea made his film debut in an uncredited bit in El tango en Broadway ; about 33 minutes into the film, he asks Laurita to dance, and a few moments later, brings her back to her table and thanks her. Even though the film is primarily Spanish speaking, all his dialogue is in English, since the scene takes place at a New York City nightclub.
In his senior year at Cornell, where he was an English major, he was elected president of the dramatic society, succeeding Franchot Tone.
After suffering a heart attack while playing basketball at a picnic, he was advised to go into a profession less pressure-filled than the advertising job he had, so he chose acting.
HIs first professional job was as a walk-on in "Dead End" in 1935. He had asked the author, former classmate Sidney Kingsley , for a job. Duryea eventually replaced Huntz Hall in the cast.
Left his newspaper and magazine clippings and scrapbooks to USCs Ethel Barrymores Library of the Performing Arts.
Co-starred with son Peter Duryea in two of his later films, both Westerns: Taggart and The Bounty Killer .
In marked contrast to his screen persona as a ruthless, merciless, even psychotic killer, he was actually a passionate gardener, was actively involved in the PTA at his childrens school and was a Scoutmaster for the local Boy Scout troop.
He was bedridden for almost a year after suffering a heart attack in his late twenties.
[on how he prepared for the obnoxious characters he often played] At,first it was very hard, as I am a very even-tempered guy . . . but I,used my past life experiences to motivate me. The one I used when I had,to slap a woman around was easy! I was slapping the overbearing teacher,who would fail you in their "holier-than-thou" class and enjoy it.
I suppose a lot of Broadway people will want to kill me for saying it,but I wanted to use Broadway so I could make more money in the movies.
