Charles Grodin
Acting
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
Acting83
movieThe Comedian
2016
Dick D'Angelo
tvMadoff
2016
Carl Shapiro
movieWhile We're Young
2015
Leslie Breitbart
tvThe Michael J. Fox Show
2013
Steve Henry
movieFinal Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
(archive footage)
movieThe Ex
2006
Bob Kowalski
movieThe Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
2002
Self (archive footage)
tvLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
Brett Forrester
movieThe World of Jim Henson
1994
Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
movieIt Runs in the Family
1994
Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
movieClifford
1994
Martin Daniels
movieBeethoven's 2nd
1993
George Newton
tvLate Show with David Letterman
1993
Self - Guest
movieHeart and Souls
1993
Harrison Winslow
movieSo I Married an Axe Murderer
1993
Commandeered Car Driver
movieDave
1993
Murray Blum
tvShelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
Narrator (voice)
movieBeethoven
1992
George Newton
movieTaking Care of Business
1990
Spencer Barnes
movieThe Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990
Quentin Fitzwaller
movieCranium Command
1989
Left Brain (voice)
movieMidnight Run
1988
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
movieYou Can't Hurry Love
1988
Mr. Glerman
movieThe Couch Trip
1988
George Matlin
movieIshtar
1987
Jim Harrison
tvFresno
1986
Cane Kensington
movieLast Resort
1986
George Lollar
movieMovers & Shakers
1985
Herb Derman
movieThe Lonely Guy
1984
Warren
movieCharley's Aunt
1983
Lord Fancourt Babberly
tvLate Night with David Letterman
1982
Self - Guest
tvAmerican Playhouse
1982
Lord Fancourt Babberly
movieThe Great Muppet Caper
1981
Nicky Holiday
movieThe Incredible Shrinking Woman
1981
Vance Kramer
movieSeems Like Old Times
1980
Ira Parks
movieSunburn
1979
Jake
movieReal Life
1979
Warren Yeager
movieHeaven Can Wait
1978
Tony Abbott
movieJust Me and You
1978
Michael Lindsay
movieThe Meanest Men in the West
1978
Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
movieThieves
1977
Martin Cramer
movieKing Kong
1976
Fred S. Wilson
tvSaturday Night Live
1975
Self - Host
movie11 Harrowhouse
1974
Howard R. Chesser
movieThe Heartbreak Kid
1972
Lenny Cantrow
movieCatch-22
1970
Captain Aarfy Aardvark
movieRosemary's Baby
1968
Dr. Hill
tvThe Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Bells Pickering
tvCaptain Nice
1967
News Vendor
tvShane
1966
Jed
tvThe F.B.I.
1965
Carl Platt
tvThe Big Valley
1965
Mark Dunigan
tvThe Young Marrieds
1964
Matt Crane Stevens
tvThe Virginian
1962
Arnie Doud
tvThe Defenders
1961
Thomas Martin
movie20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Directing3
Writing3
movie11 Harrowhouse
1974
Adaptation