Charles Grodin
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 21, 1935
- Died
- May 18, 2021 (aged 86)
- Birthplace
- 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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Marty, Life Is Short
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
Movie
Waiting for Ishtar
Movie · as Self
An Imperfect Murder
Movie · as Arthur
The Comedian
Movie · as Dick D'Angelo
Madoff
TV · as Carl Shapiro · 4 eps
While We're Young
Movie · as Leslie Breitbart
The Humbling
Movie · as Jerry
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Movie · as Father
The Michael J. Fox Show
TV · as Steve Henry · 1 ep
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Movie · as (archive footage)
Char·ac·ter
Movie · as Self
The Harmony Game
Movie · as Self
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Movie · as Self
The Ex
Movie · as Bob Kowalski
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV · as Brett Forrester · 1 ep
The Daily Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Clifford
Movie · as Martin Daniels
It Runs in the Family
Movie · as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
The World of Jim Henson
Movie · as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Movie · as Chaz
Beethoven's 2nd
Movie · as George Newton
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Movie · as Commandeered Car Driver
Dave
Movie · as Murray Blum
Heart and Souls
Movie · as Harrison Winslow
Late Show with David Letterman
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Beethoven
Movie · as George Newton
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
TV · as Narrator (voice) · 1 ep
Taking Care of Business
Movie · as Spencer Barnes
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Movie · as Quentin Fitzwaller
Cranium Command
Movie · as Left Brain (voice)
You Can't Hurry Love
Movie · as Mr. Glerman
The Couch Trip
Movie · as George Matlin
Midnight Run
Movie · as Jonathan Mardukas
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV · 1 ep
Ishtar
Movie · as Jim Harrison
Last Resort
Movie · as George Lollar
King Kong! The Living Legend
Movie · as Self
Fresno
TV · as Cane Kensington · 5 eps
Movers & Shakers
Movie · as Herb Derman
The Woman in Red
Movie · as Buddy
The Lonely Guy
Movie · as Warren
Charley's Aunt
Movie · as Lord Fancourt Babberly
Night of 100 Stars
Movie · as Self
Late Night with David Letterman
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
American Playhouse
TV · as Lord Fancourt Babberly · 1 ep
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Movie · as Vance Kramer
The Great Muppet Caper
Movie · as Nicky Holiday
Seems Like Old Times
Movie · as Ira Parks
It's My Turn
Movie · as Homer
Real Life
Movie · as Warren Yeager
Sunburn
Movie · as Jake
Heaven Can Wait
Movie · as Tony Abbott
The Meanest Men in the West
Movie · as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Movie · as Jim Benson
Just Me and You
Movie · as Michael Lindsay
It Happened One Christmas
Movie · as Joseph
Thieves
Movie · as Martin Cramer
The Paul Simon Special
Movie · as Self
King Kong
Movie · as Fred S. Wilson
Laverne & Shirley
TV · 1 ep
Saturday Night Live
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
11 Harrowhouse
Movie · as Howard R. Chesser
The Heartbreak Kid
Movie · as Lenny Cantrow
The Great American Dream Machine
TV · as Himself · 34 eps
Great Performances
TV · as Jake · 1 ep
Catch-22
Movie · as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Movie · as Self
Rosemary's Baby
Movie · as Dr. Hill
Judd, for the Defense
TV · 1 ep
The Guns of Will Sonnett
TV · as Bells Pickering · 1 ep
Captain Nice
TV · as News Vendor · 1 ep
Felony Squad
TV · 1 ep
Shane
TV · as Jed · 2 eps
The F.B.I.
TV · as Carl Platt · 1 ep
My Mother the Car
TV · 1 ep
The Big Valley
TV · as Mark Dunigan · 1 ep
Sex and the College Girl
Movie · as Bob
The Young Marrieds
TV · as Matt Crane Stevens · 2 eps
The Virginian
TV · as Arnie Doud · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 5 eps
The Defenders
TV · as Thomas Martin · 1 ep
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Movie · as Drummer Boy (uncredited)