
Charles Grodin
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1935-04-21
Day of Death
2021-05-18 (86 years old)
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.
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Known For
Acting
(2025)
(2017)
An Imperfect Murder
as Arthur
(2017)
Waiting for Ishtar
as Self
(2016)
The Comedian
as Dick D'Angelo
(2015)
While We're Young
as Leslie Breitbart
(2014)
The Humbling
as Jerry
(2013)
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
as Father
(2012)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage)
(2012)
Char·ac·ter
as Self
(2011)
The Harmony Game
as Self
(2007)
(2006)
The Ex
as Bob Kowalski
(2002)
(1994)
Clifford
as Martin Daniels
(1994)
(1994)
The World of Jim Henson
as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
(1994)
It Runs in the Family
as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
(1993)
Beethoven's 2nd
as George Newton
(1993)
Dave
as Murray Blum
(1993)
Heart and Souls
as Harrison Winslow
(1993)
So I Married an Axe Murderer
as Commandeered Car Driver
(1992)
Beethoven
as George Newton
(1990)
Taking Care of Business
as Spencer Barnes
(1990)
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
as Quentin Fitzwaller
(1988)
Midnight Run
as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
(1988)
The Couch Trip
as George Matlin
(1988)
You Can't Hurry Love
as Mr. Glerman
(1987)
Ishtar
as Jim Harrison
(1986)
Last Resort
as George Lollar
(1986)
King Kong! The Living Legend
as Self
(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)
Real Life
as Warren Yeager
(1979)
Sunburn
as Jake
(1978)
Heaven Can Wait
as Tony Abbott
(1978)
The Meanest Men in the West
as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
(1978)
Just Me and You
as Michael Lindsay
(1978)
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
as Jim Benson
(1977)
Thieves
as Martin Cramer
(1977)
The Paul Simon Special
as Self
(1977)
It Happened One Christmas
as Joseph
(1976)
King Kong
as Fred S. Wilson
(1974)
11 Harrowhouse
as Howard R. Chesser
(1972)
The Heartbreak Kid
as Lenny Cantrow
(1970)
Catch-22
as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
(1969)
(1968)
Rosemary's Baby
as Dr. Hill
(1964)
Sex and the College Girl
as Bob
(1954)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Crew
(1985)
Movers & Shakers
Writer, Producer
(1977)
The Paul Simon Special
Writer
(1974)
11 Harrowhouse
Adaptation
(1974)
Paradise
Director
(1973)
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Director
(1969)
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Producer, Director