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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Grodin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2017 · Waiting for Ishtar as Self
- 2017 · An Imperfect Murder as Arthur
- 2016 · The Comedian as Dick D'Angelo
- 2016 · Madoff as Carl Shapiro
- 2015 · While We're Young as Leslie Breitbart
- 2014 · The Humbling as Jerry
- 2013 · The Michael J. Fox Show as Steve Henry
- 2013 · Brazzaville Teen-Ager as Father
- 2012 · Char·ac·ter as Self
- 2012 · Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen as (archive footage)
- 2011 · The Harmony Game as Self
- 2007 · Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song as Self
- 2006 · The Ex as Bob Kowalski
- 2002 · The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s as
- 1999 · Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Brett Forrester
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1995 · The Charles Grodin Show as
- 1994 · The World of Jim Henson as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
- 1994 · It Runs in the Family as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
- 1994 · Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! as Chaz
- 1994 · Clifford as Martin Daniels
- 1993 · Beethoven's 2nd as George Newton
- 1993 · Heart and Souls as Harrison Winslow
- 1993 · So I Married an Axe Murderer as Commandeered Car Driver
- 1993 · Dave as Murray Blum
- 1992 · Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories as Narrator (Voice)
- 1992 · Beethoven as George Newton
- 1990 · Taking Care of Business as Spencer Barnes
- 1990 · The Muppets at Walt Disney World as Quentin Fitzwaller
- 1988 · LIVE with Kelly and Mark as
- 1988 · Midnight Run as Jonathan Mardukas
- 1988 · You Can't Hurry Love as Mr. Glerman
- 1988 · The Couch Trip as George Matlin
- 1987 · Ishtar as Jim Harrison
- 1986 · Fresno as Cane Kensington
- 1986 · King Kong! The Living Legend as Self
- 1986 · Last Resort as George Lollar
- 1985 · Movers & Shakers as Herb Derman
- 1984 · The Woman in Red as Buddy
- 1984 · The Lonely Guy as Warren
- 1983 · Charley's Aunt as Lord Fancourt Babberly
- 1982 · Night of 100 Stars as Self
- 1981 · The Great Muppet Caper as Nicky Holiday
- 1981 · The Incredible Shrinking Woman as Vance Kramer
- 1980 · Seems Like Old Times as Ira Parks
- 1980 · It's My Turn as Homer
- 1979 · Sunburn as Jake
- 1979 · Real Life as Warren Yeager
- 1978 · The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank as Jim Benson
- 1978 · Heaven Can Wait as Tony Abbott
- 1978 · Just Me and You as Michael Lindsay
- 1978 · The Meanest Men in the West as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
- 1977 · It Happened One Christmas as Joseph
- 1977 · The Paul Simon Special as Self
- 1977 · Thieves as Martin Cramer
- 1976 · King Kong as Fred S. Wilson
- 1976 · Laverne & Shirley as
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1974 · 11 Harrowhouse as Howard R. Chesser
- 1972 · The Heartbreak Kid as Lenny Cantrow
- 1971 · Great Performances as Jake
- 1971 · The Great American Dream Machine as Himself
- 1970 · Catch-22 as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
- 1969 · Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America as Self
- 1968 · Rosemary's Baby as Dr. Hill
- 1967 · The Guns of Will Sonnett as Bells Pickering
- 1967 · Judd for the Defense as
- 1967 · Captain Nice as News Vendor
- 1966 · Felony Squad as
- 1966 · Shane as Jed
- 1965 · The F.B.I. as Carl Platt
- 1965 · The Big Valley as Mark Dunigan
- 1965 · My Mother the Car as
- 1964 · The Young Marrieds as
- 1964 · Sex and the College Girl as Bob
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1962 · The Virginian as Arnie Doud
- 1961 · The Defenders as Thomas Martin
- 1954 · 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as Drummer Boy (uncredited)