Charles Grodin
ActingCharles 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
Rosemary's Baby
Dr. Hill
The Woman in Red
Buddy
King Kong
Fred S. Wilson
Beethoven
George Newton
Dave
Murray Blum
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Midnight Run
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
The Heartbreak Kid
Lenny Cantrow
The Ex
Bob Kowalski
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
Filmography — Acting
Rosemary's Baby
Dr. Hill
The Woman in Red
Buddy
King Kong
Fred S. Wilson
Beethoven
George Newton
Dave
Murray Blum
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Midnight Run
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
The Heartbreak Kid
Lenny Cantrow
The Ex
Bob Kowalski
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
Catch-22
Captain Aarfy Aardvark
Beethoven's 2nd
George Newton
Heart and Souls
Harrison Winslow
Heaven Can Wait
Tony Abbott
Clifford
Martin Daniels
Ishtar
Jim Harrison
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The Comedian
Dick D'Angelo
The Couch Trip
George Matlin
While We're Young
Leslie Breitbart
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Commandeered Car Driver
The Great Muppet Caper
Nicky Holiday
The Lonely Guy
Warren
Taking Care of Business
Spencer Barnes
An Imperfect Murder
Arthur
The Humbling
Jerry
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Chaz
Sunburn
Jake
Real Life
Warren Yeager
Seems Like Old Times
Ira Parks
It Runs in the Family
Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Last Resort
George Lollar
It's My Turn
Homer
Movers & Shakers
Herb Derman
Thieves
Martin Cramer
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Vance Kramer
The World of Jim Henson
Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
You Can't Hurry Love
Mr. Glerman
11 Harrowhouse
Howard R. Chesser
The Meanest Men in the West
Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
It Happened One Christmas
Joseph
Just Me and You
Michael Lindsay
Charley's Aunt
Lord Fancourt Babberly
The Paul Simon Special
Self
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Self (archive footage)
Sex and the College Girl
Bob
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Quentin Fitzwaller
Char·ac·ter
Self
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Father
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Jim Benson
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Self
The Harmony Game
Self
King Kong! The Living Legend
Self
Waiting for Ishtar
Self
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Self
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
Cranium Command
Left Brain (voice)
