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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
April 21, 1935
Died
May 18, 2021
Place of Birth
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Charles Grodin
1.1 Popularity
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.
Known For
0.0
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
0.0
Self
Waiting for Ishtar
2017
3.4
Arthur
An Imperfect Murder
2017
5.7
Dick D'Angelo
The Comedian
2016
6.3
Carl Shapiro
Madoff
2016
6.0
Leslie Breitbart
While We're Young
2015
5.1
Jerry
The Humbling
2014
5.9
Steve Henry
The Michael J. Fox Show
2013
5.7
Father
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
2013
4.0
Self
Char·ac·ter
2012
Credits
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
0.0
Waiting for Ishtar
as Self
2017
0.0
An Imperfect Murder
as Arthur
2017
3.4
The Comedian
as Dick D'Angelo
2016
5.7
Madoff
as Carl Shapiro
2016
6.3
While We're Young
as Leslie Breitbart
2015
6.0
The Humbling
as Jerry
2014
5.1
The Michael J. Fox Show
as Steve Henry
2013
5.9
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
as Father
2013
5.7
Char·ac·ter
as Self
2012
4.0
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage)
2012
7.6
The Harmony Game
as Self
2011
7.2
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
as Self
2007
6.2
The Ex
as Bob Kowalski
2006
5.3
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
2002
0.0
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Brett Forrester
1999
7.9
The Daily Show
as Self
1996
6.4
The World of Jim Henson
as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
1994
7.3
It Runs in the Family
as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
1994
5.4
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
as Chaz
1994
7.0
Clifford
as Martin Daniels
1994
5.1
Beethoven's 2nd
as George Newton
1993
5.6
Heart and Souls
as Harrison Winslow
1993
6.9
So I Married an Axe Murderer
as Commandeered Car Driver
1993
6.1
Dave
as Murray Blum
1993
6.6
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice)
1992
10.0
Beethoven
as George Newton
1992
5.8
Taking Care of Business
as Spencer Barnes
1990
6.3
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
as Quentin Fitzwaller
1990
6.5
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
5.4
Midnight Run
as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
1988
7.2
You Can't Hurry Love
as Mr. Glerman
1988
4.3
The Couch Trip
as George Matlin
1988
5.4
Ishtar
as Jim Harrison
1987
4.5
Fresno
as Cane Kensington
1986
6.4
🎬
King Kong! The Living Legend
as Self
1986
0.0
Last Resort
as George Lollar
1986
3.3
Movers & Shakers
as Herb Derman
1985
3.6
The Woman in Red
as Buddy
1984
6.2
The Lonely Guy
as Warren
1984
6.2
Charley's Aunt
as Lord Fancourt Babberly
1983
0.0
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
1982
6.7
The Great Muppet Caper
as Nicky Holiday
1981
6.9
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
as Vance Kramer
1981
5.4
Seems Like Old Times
as Ira Parks
1980
6.3
It's My Turn
as Homer
1980
5.7
Sunburn
as Jake
1979
4.9
Real Life
as Warren Yeager
1979
6.5
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
as Jim Benson
1978
0.0
Heaven Can Wait
as Tony Abbott
1978
6.6
Just Me and You
as Michael Lindsay
1978
5.0
The Meanest Men in the West
as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
1978
4.1
It Happened One Christmas
as Joseph
1977
4.6
The Paul Simon Special
as Self
1977
8.0
Thieves
as Martin Cramer
1977
3.0
King Kong
as Fred S. Wilson
1976
6.3
Laverne & Shirley
1976
7.2
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
1975
7.0
11 Harrowhouse
as Howard R. Chesser
1974
5.6
The Heartbreak Kid
as Lenny Cantrow
1972
6.5
Great Performances
as Jake
1971
5.8
The Great American Dream Machine
as Himself
1971
0.0
Catch-22
as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
1970
6.6
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
as Self
1969
0.0
Rosemary's Baby
as Dr. Hill
1968
7.8
The Guns of Will Sonnett
as Bells Pickering
1967
6.2
Judd for the Defense
1967
7.5
Captain Nice
as News Vendor
1967
5.7
Felony Squad
1966
6.4
Shane
as Jed
1966
6.0
The F.B.I.
as Carl Platt
1965
5.4
The Big Valley
as Mark Dunigan
1965
6.1
My Mother the Car
1965
4.3
The Young Marrieds
as Matt Crane Stevens
1964
3.0
Sex and the College Girl
as Bob
1964
4.0
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
The Virginian
as Arnie Doud
1962
6.4
The Defenders
as Thomas Martin
1961
5.9
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
1954
7.1