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Christopher Durang

Christopher Durang

8 movies on Netflix

Biography

Christopher Durang was an American playwright whose outrageous, often absurd comedies were especially popular in the 1980s. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, and raised in Berkeley Heights, he studied playwriting at the Yale School of Drama before Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You brought him national prominence and an Obie Award for Best Playwright in 1980. He collected further Obies for The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Betty's Summer Vacation, and in 2013 his Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the Tony Award for Best Play. He also acted, turning up in films such as The Secret of My Success (1987), Mr. North (1988), Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) and Housesitter (1992), and from 1984 to 2016 he co-directed the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama in 2006 for Miss Witherspoon.

75years old at death

Born January 2, 1949Montclair
Died April 2, 2024Pipersville
Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Christopher Ferdinand Durang (birth name)

Movie Career

Films: 8
Career span: 31 years1987 to 2018

Genres

Comedy88%, 7 films
Crime25%, 2 films
Drama25%, 2 films
Fantasy25%, 2 films
Romance25%, 2 films

First and latest

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Big break
Durang first came to prominence performing in the Off-Broadway satirical revue Das Lusitania Songspiel alongside his friend and fellow Yale alum Sigourney Weaver.
Behind the camera
At the Juilliard School, Durang shared direction of The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program with Marsha Norman from 1984 to 2016. Among the playwrights they taught were Joshua Harmon, Noah Haidle and David Lindsay-Abaire, who took over Durang's co-director role.
A first
Durang was the first recipient of the Luminary Award from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, presented on May 17, 2010, for his work Off-Off-Broadway.

Christopher Durang movies on Netflix

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael2018IMDb rating 6.9as Himself
Simply Irresistible1999IMDb rating 5.3as Gene O'Reilly
HouseSitter1992IMDb rating 6.2as Reverend Lipton
The Butcher's Wife1991IMDb rating 5.4as Mr. Liddle
A Shock to the System1990IMDb rating 6.6as Convention Speaker
Penn & Teller Get Killed1989IMDb rating 5.7as Jesus Freak
Mr. North1988IMDb rating 5.9as YMCA Clerk
The Secret of My Succe$s1987IMDb rating 6.5as Davis

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

Simply Irresistible1999 Comedy, Drama, Fantasyas Gene O'Reilly
IMDb rating 5.316K votes
HouseSitter1992 Comedy, Romanceas Reverend Lipton
IMDb rating 6.229K votes
The Butcher's Wife1991as Mr. Liddle
IMDb rating 5.48.1K votes
The Secret of My Succe$s1987as Davis
IMDb rating 6.540K votes
A Shock to the System1990as Convention Speaker
IMDb rating 6.66.6K votes
Mr. North1988as YMCA Clerk
IMDb rating 5.91.8K votes
Penn & Teller Get Killed1989as Jesus Freak
IMDb rating 5.72.2K votes
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael2018as Himself
IMDb rating 6.91.2K votes

Worked with

Christopher Durang made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Michael Caine

Alec Baldwin

Robert Mitchum

Harry Dean Stanton

David Warner

Mary SteenburgenHerbert RossDirector, 1 film

Frank OzDirector, 1 film Mark TarlovDirector, 1 film

Films together

Michael Caine1 film together, 1990
Michael Caine's page
- A Shock to the System1990IMDb rating 6.6Durang as Convention SpeakerCaine as Graham Marshall
Alec Baldwin1 film together, 2018
Alec Baldwin's page
- What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael2018IMDb rating 6.9Durang as HimselfBaldwin as Himself
Robert Mitchum1 film together, 1988
Robert Mitchum's page
- Mr. North1988IMDb rating 5.9Durang as YMCA ClerkMitchum as Mr. Bosworth
Harry Dean Stanton1 film together, 1988
Harry Dean Stanton's page
- Mr. North1988IMDb rating 5.9Durang as YMCA ClerkStanton as Henry Simmons
David Warner1 film together, 1988
David Warner's page
- Mr. North1988IMDb rating 5.9Durang as YMCA ClerkWarner as Doctor McPherson
Mary Steenburgen1 film together, 1991
Mary Steenburgen's page
- The Butcher's Wife1991IMDb rating 5.4Durang as Mr. LiddleSteenburgen as Stella Keefover
Herbert RossDirector, 1 film, 1987
All films by Herbert Ross
- The Secret of My Succe$s1987IMDb rating 6.5Durang as Davis
Frank OzDirector, 1 film, 1992
All films by Frank Oz
- HouseSitter1992IMDb rating 6.2Durang as Reverend Lipton
Mark TarlovDirector, 1 film, 1999
All films by Mark Tarlov
- Simply Irresistible1999IMDb rating 5.3Durang as Gene O'Reilly

Awards

Three awards and honors, one of them major.

Christopher Durang's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Film	Result
Tony Awards
2013	Best Play	Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike	Won
Other honors
	Guggenheim Fellowship		Won
	Star on Playwrights' Sidewalk		Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.