Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1935-04-21
Day of Death
2021-05-18
Place of Birth
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Charles Grodin
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.
Filmography (57)
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
Waiting for Ishtar
2017
An Imperfect Murder
2017
The Comedian
2016
While We're Young
2015
The Humbling
2014
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
2013
Char·ac·ter
2012
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
The Harmony Game
2011
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
2007
The Ex
2006
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
2002
The World of Jim Henson
1994
