Charles Grodin
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Grodin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
87
Gender
Male
Birthday
1935-04-21 (90 years old)
Place of Birth
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Acting

2017

An Imperfect Murder as Arthur

2017

Waiting for Ishtar as Self

2016

Madoff as Carl Shapiro

2016

The Comedian as Dick D'Angelo

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

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen as (archive footage)

2012

Char·ac·ter as Self

2011

The Harmony Game as Self

2006

The Ex as Bob Kowalski

1999

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Brett Forrester

1996

The Daily Show as Self

1994

Clifford as Martin Daniels

1994

The World of Jim Henson as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)

1994

It Runs in the Family as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)

1993

Dave as Murray Blum

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

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 Not available

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

Fresno as Cane Kensington

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

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

1977

Thieves as Martin Cramer

1976

Laverne & Shirley as Not available

1976

King Kong as Fred S. Wilson

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

1970

Catch-22 as Captain Aarfy Aardvark

1968

Rosemary's Baby as Dr. Hill

1967

Judd for the Defense as Not available

1967

The Guns of Will Sonnett as Bells Pickering

1967

Captain Nice as News Vendor

1966

Felony Squad as Not available

1966

Shane as Jed

1965

The Big Valley as Mark Dunigan

1965

The F.B.I. as Carl Platt

1965

My Mother the Car as Not available

1964

The Young Marrieds as Matt Crane Stevens

1962

The Virginian as Arnie Doud

1961

The Defenders as Thomas Martin

1954

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as Drummer Boy (uncredited)