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Charles Grodin

Born: 1935

Biography

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Grodin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For Acting
Gender Male
Place of Birth Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Died 18/05/2021

Resources

Movies

Rosemary's Baby

Dr. Hill in Rosemary's Baby

King Kong

Fred S. Wilson in King Kong

Clifford

Martin Daniels in Clifford

So I Married an Axe Murderer

Commandeered Car Driver in So I Married an Axe Murderer

Beethoven's 2nd

George Newton in Beethoven's 2nd

Taking Care of Business

Spencer Barnes in Taking Care of Business

You Can't Hurry Love

Mr. Glerman in You Can't Hurry Love

The Woman in Red

Buddy in The Woman in Red

Dave

Murray Blum in Dave

Beethoven

George Newton in Beethoven

The Couch Trip

George Matlin in The Couch Trip

Heaven Can Wait

Tony Abbott in Heaven Can Wait

Midnight Run

Jonathan Mardukas in Midnight Run

Real Life

Warren Yeager in Real Life

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Vance Kramer in The Incredible Shrinking Woman

The Lonely Guy

Warren in The Lonely Guy

Ishtar

Jim Harrison in Ishtar

The Ex

Bob Kowalski in The Ex

Seems Like Old Times

Ira Parks in Seems Like Old Times

The Heartbreak Kid

Lenny Cantrow in The Heartbreak Kid

11 Harrowhouse

Howard R. Chesser in 11 Harrowhouse

The Great Muppet Caper

Nicky Holiday in The Great Muppet Caper

It Runs in the Family

Mr. Parker (The Old Man) in It Runs in the Family

Movers & Shakers

Herb Derman in Movers & Shakers

Sunburn

Jake in Sunburn

The Meanest Men in the West

Arnie Doud, Harge Gang in The Meanest Men in the West

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

(archive footage) in Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

Brazzaville Teen-Ager

Father in Brazzaville Teen-Ager

It's My Turn

Homer in It's My Turn

The Humbling

Jerry in The Humbling

The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank

Jim Benson in The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank

Char·ac·ter

Self in Char·ac·ter

Waiting for Ishtar

Self in Waiting for Ishtar

It Happened One Christmas

Joseph in It Happened One Christmas

Last Resort

George Lollar in Last Resort

King Kong! The Living Legend

Self in King Kong! The Living Legend

Thieves

Martin Cramer in Thieves

The Paul Simon Special

Self in The Paul Simon Special

While We're Young

Leslie Breitbart in While We're Young

The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s

in The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s

The Harmony Game

Self in The Harmony Game

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Drummer Boy (uncredited) in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Catch-22

Captain Aarfy Aardvark in Catch-22

Sex and the College Girl

Bob in Sex and the College Girl

The Comedian

Dick D'Angelo in The Comedian

Paul Simon and Friends: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

Self in Paul Simon and Friends: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

An Imperfect Murder

Arthur in An Imperfect Murder

Just Me and You

Michael Lindsay in Just Me and You

Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America

Self in Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America

Heart and Souls

Harrison Winslow in Heart and Souls

The Muppets at Walt Disney World

Quentin Fitzwaller in The Muppets at Walt Disney World

The World of Jim Henson

Nicky Holiday (archive footage) in The World of Jim Henson

Charley's Aunt

Lord Fancourt Babberly in Charley's Aunt

Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!

Chaz in Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!

Night of 100 Stars

Self in Night of 100 Stars

TV Shows