Charles Grodin
Born April 21, 1935 (Age: 90)
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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.
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.
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Filmography
While We're Young
2015
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as Leslie Breitbart
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Age: 79
The Ex
2006
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as Bob Kowalski
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Age: 71
It Runs in the Family
1994
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as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
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Age: 59
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
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as Chaz
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Age: 59
Clifford
1994
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as Martin Daniels
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Age: 58
Beethoven's 2nd
1993
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as George Newton
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Age: 58
Heart and Souls
1993
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as Harrison Winslow
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Age: 58
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993
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as Commandeered Car Driver
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Age: 58
Dave
1993
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as Murray Blum
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Age: 58
Beethoven
1992
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as George Newton
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Age: 56
Taking Care of Business
1990
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as Spencer Barnes
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Age: 55
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990
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as Quentin Fitzwaller
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Age: 55
Midnight Run
1988
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as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
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Age: 53
You Can't Hurry Love
1988
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as Mr. Glerman
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Age: 52
The Couch Trip
1988
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as George Matlin
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Age: 52
Ishtar
1987
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as Jim Harrison
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Age: 52
Movers & Shakers
1985
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as Herb Derman
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Age: 50
The Woman in Red
1984
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as Buddy
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Age: 49
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
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as Nicky Holiday
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Age: 46
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
1981
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as Vance Kramer
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Age: 45
Seems Like Old Times
1980
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as Ira Parks
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Age: 45
It's My Turn
1980
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as Homer
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Age: 45
Real Life
1979
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as Warren Yeager
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Age: 43
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
1978
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as Jim Benson
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Age: 43
Heaven Can Wait
1978
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as Tony Abbott
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Age: 43
Just Me and You
1978
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as Michael Lindsay
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Age: 43
The Meanest Men in the West
1978
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as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
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Age: 43
The Paul Simon Special
1977
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as Self
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Age: 42
King Kong
1976
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as Fred S. Wilson
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Age: 41
11 Harrowhouse
1974
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as Howard R. Chesser
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Age: 39
The Heartbreak Kid
1972
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as Lenny Cantrow
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Age: 37
Catch-22
1970
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as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
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Age: 35
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
1969
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as Self
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Age: 34
Rosemary's Baby
1968
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as Dr. Hill
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Age: 33
Sex and the College Girl
1964
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as Bob
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Age: 29
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
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as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
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Age: 19