Charles Grodin
Acting • Born 1935-04-21 – Died 2021-05-18
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
80 credits
Rosemary's Baby
Movie • 1968
Dr. Hill
King Kong
Movie • 1976
Fred S. Wilson
Clifford
Movie • 1994
Martin Daniels
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Movie • 1993
Commandeered Car Driver
Beethoven's 2nd
Movie • 1993
George Newton
Taking Care of Business
Movie • 1990
Spencer Barnes
You Can't Hurry Love
Movie • 1988
Mr. Glerman
The Woman in Red
Movie • 1984
Buddy
Dave
Movie • 1993
Murray Blum
Beethoven
Movie • 1992
George Newton
The Couch Trip
Movie • 1988
George Matlin
Heaven Can Wait
Movie • 1978
Tony Abbott
Midnight Run
Movie • 1988
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
Real Life
Movie • 1979
Warren Yeager
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Movie • 1981
Vance Kramer
The Lonely Guy
Movie • 1984
Warren
Ishtar
Movie • 1987
Jim Harrison
The Ex
Movie • 2006
Bob Kowalski
Seems Like Old Times
Movie • 1980
Ira Parks
The Heartbreak Kid
Movie • 1972
Lenny Cantrow
11 Harrowhouse
Movie • 1974
Howard R. Chesser
The Great Muppet Caper
Movie • 1981
Nicky Holiday
It Runs in the Family
Movie • 1994
Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Movers & Shakers
Movie • 1985
Herb Derman
Sunburn
Movie • 1979
Jake
The Meanest Men in the West
Movie • 1978
Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Movie • 2012
(archive footage)
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Movie • 2013
Father
It's My Turn
Movie • 1980
Homer
The Humbling
Movie • 2014
Jerry
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Movie • 1978
Jim Benson
Char·ac·ter
Movie • 2012
Self
Waiting for Ishtar
Movie • 2017
Self
It Happened One Christmas
Movie • 1977
Joseph
Last Resort
Movie • 1986
George Lollar
King Kong! The Living Legend
Movie • 1986
Self
Thieves
Movie • 1977
Martin Cramer
The Paul Simon Special
Movie • 1977
Self
While We're Young
Movie • 2015
Leslie Breitbart
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Movie • 2002
Self (archive footage)
The Harmony Game
Movie • 2011
Self
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Movie • 1954
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Catch-22
Movie • 1970
Captain Aarfy Aardvark
Sex and the College Girl
Movie • 1964
Bob
The Comedian
Movie • 2016
Dick D'Angelo
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Movie • 2007
Self
An Imperfect Murder
Movie • 2017
Arthur
Just Me and You
Movie • 1978
Michael Lindsay
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Movie • 1969
Self
Heart and Souls
Movie • 1993
Harrison Winslow
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Movie • 1990
Quentin Fitzwaller
The World of Jim Henson
Movie • 1994
Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
Charley's Aunt
Movie • 1983
Lord Fancourt Babberly
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Movie • 1994
Chaz
Night of 100 Stars
Movie • 1982
Self
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
Movie • 2025
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Carl Platt
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Laverne & Shirley
TV • 1976
Felony Squad
TV • 1966
The Virginian
TV • 1962
Arnie Doud
My Mother the Car
TV • 1965
The Big Valley
TV • 1965
Mark Dunigan
Judd for the Defense
TV • 1967
The Defenders
TV • 1961
Thomas Martin
Shane
TV • 1966
Jed
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Brett Forrester
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
Fresno
TV • 1986
Cane Kensington
Madoff
TV • 2016
Carl Shapiro
The Michael J. Fox Show
TV • 2013
Steve Henry
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
TV • 1992
Narrator (voice)
The Guns of Will Sonnett
TV • 1967
Bells Pickering
The Great American Dream Machine
TV • 1971
Himself
Captain Nice
TV • 1967
News Vendor
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Jake
The Young Marrieds
TV • 1964
Matt Crane Stevens
Late Show with David Letterman
TV • 1993
Self - Guest