Charles Grodin

Charles Grodin

Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. After a small part in Rosemary's Baby in 1968, he played the lead in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and supporting roles in Mike Nichols's Catch-22 (1970), the 1976 remake of King Kong, and Warren Beatty's Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, Grodin became familiar as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies of the era, including Real Life (1979), Seems Like Old Times (1980), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Ishtar (1987), Dave (1993), and Clifford (1994). Grodin co-starred in the action comedy Midnight Run (1988) and in the family film Beethoven (1992). He made frequent appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. In the mid-1990s, Grodin retired from acting and wrote autobiographies; he became a talk show host on CNBC and in 2000 a political commentator for 60 Minutes II. He returned to acting with a handful of roles in the mid-2010s, including in Louis C.K.'s FX show Louie and Noah Baumbach's film While We're Young (2014). Grodin won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 1978 for the Paul Simon Special alongside Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, Paul Simon, and Lily Tomlin. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Heartbreak Kid in 1972. He won Best Actor at the 1988 Valladolid International Film Festival for Midnight Run, and the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in Dave in 1993.

Acting

2016

The Comedian

Dick D'Angelo

2016

Madoff

Carl Shapiro

2015

While We're Young

Leslie Breitbart

2014

2013

2012

2011

2007

2006

The Ex

Bob Kowalski

1999

1996

1994

It Runs in the Family

Mr. Parker (The Old Man)

1994

Clifford

Martin Daniels

1993

Beethoven's 2nd

George Newton

1993

Heart and Souls

Harrison Winslow

1993

So I Married an Axe Murderer

Commandeered Car Driver

1993

Dave

Murray Blum

1992

1992

Beethoven

George Newton

1990

1990

1988

1988

Midnight Run

Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”

1988

1988

The Couch Trip

George Matlin

1987

Ishtar

Jim Harrison

1986

Fresno

Cane Kensington

1986

Last Resort

George Lollar

1984

1984

1981

1981

1980

1980

1979

1979

Real Life

Warren Yeager

1978

Heaven Can Wait

Tony Abbott

1978

Just Me and You

Michael Lindsay

1978

The Meanest Men in the West

Arnie Doud, Harge Gang

1977

1976

King Kong

Fred S. Wilson

1976

1975

1974

11 Harrowhouse

Howard R. Chesser

1972

The Heartbreak Kid

Lenny Cantrow

1971

1971

1970

Catch-22

Captain Aarfy Aardvark

1968

1967

1967

1967

Captain Nice

News Vendor

1966

1966

1965

The F.B.I.

Carl Platt

1965

The Big Valley

Mark Dunigan

1965

1964

The Young Marrieds

Matt Crane Stevens

1962

1962

The Virginian

Arnie Doud

1961

The Defenders

Thomas Martin

1954

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Drummer Boy (uncredited)

Writing

1974

11 Harrowhouse

Adaptation

Infos

Full Name
Charles Grodin
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
4/21/1935
Date of Death
5/18/2021