Olive-complexioned, with a full head of brown hair, Durrell was brought out to Hollywood in 1980 to be a supporting player on "Nobody's Perfect" (ABC), a vehicle for Ron Moody. When that show soon failed, he was slotted as Diana Canova's neurotic brother in the short-lived ABC sitcom "I'm A Big Girl Now". Durrell also appeared in "Shannon" (CBS, 1981) and was Linda Lavin's love interest on the final season (1984-85) of CBS' of "Alice". From 1986-89, he was the D.A. forever losing cases to Andy Griffith's "Matlock". Also in the 80s, Durrell was a regular on the NBC daytime drama "Santa Barbara" for a year and a half.
Longform TV has given Durrell meatier roles. He was the backboned father in the 1983 NBC miniseries "V" and that same season was NEW YORK TIMES reporter covering a southern election in the CBS miniseries "Chiefs". Durrell also lent his talents to "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?", a 1986 "CBS Schoolbreak Special", playing the father of a deaf rebellious teen. He worked in another "CBS Schoolbreak Special" in 1993, this time as a police lieutenant investigating hate crimes in "Crosses on the Lawn".
Durrell has worked only sporadically in feature films, beginning with "Thank God It's Friday" in 1978 and is perhaps best recalled as Harvey Keitel's lawyer in "Sister Act" (1992). He is married to former TV executive and daytime drama producer Charlotte Savitz.