Charles Grodin
Acting

Charles Grodin

Born 21 April 1935 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA · Died 18 May 2021

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).

Known for

Rosemary's Baby
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Beethoven
Midnight Run
While We're Young
Beethoven's 2nd
King Kong
Dave
The Woman in Red
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Heaven Can Wait
Heart and Souls
An Imperfect Murder
The Comedian
While We're Young
The Humbling
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
The Ex
Clifford
It Runs in the Family
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Beethoven's 2nd
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Dave
Heart and Souls
Beethoven
Taking Care of Business
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Cranium Command
You Can't Hurry Love
The Couch Trip
Midnight Run
Ishtar
Last Resort
Movers & Shakers
The Woman in Red
The Lonely Guy
Charley's Aunt
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
The Great Muppet Caper
Seems Like Old Times
It's My Turn
Real Life
Sunburn
Heaven Can Wait
The Meanest Men in the West
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Just Me and You
It Happened One Christmas
Thieves
The Paul Simon Special
King Kong
11 Harrowhouse
Paradise
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
The Heartbreak Kid
Catch-22
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Rosemary's Baby
Sex and the College Girl
Charles Grodin · Midrow