Charles Grodin
50 movies · 19 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Apr 21, 1935
- Died
- May 18, 2021 (age 86)
- Place of birth
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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.
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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.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Charles Grodin: movies and TV shows
Acting (67)
- 2025
- 2017 An Imperfect Murder
as Arthur
- 2016 The Comedian
as Dick D'Angelo
- 2016
- 2015 While We're Young
as Leslie Breitbart
- 2014 The Humbling
as Jerry
- 2013
- 2013 Brazzaville Teen-Ager
as Father
- 2012 Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage)
- 2006 The Ex
as Bob Kowalski
- 1999
- 1994 The World of Jim Henson
as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
- 1994 It Runs in the Family
as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
- 1994
- 1994 Clifford
as Martin Daniels
- 1993 Beethoven's 2nd
as George Newton
- 1993 Heart and Souls
as Harrison Winslow
- 1993 So I Married an Axe Murderer
as Commandeered Car Driver
- 1993 Dave
as Murray Blum
- 1992
- 1992 Beethoven
as George Newton
- 1990 Taking Care of Business
as Spencer Barnes
- 1990 The Muppets at Walt Disney World
as Quentin Fitzwaller
- 1989 Cranium Command
as Left Brain (voice)
- 1988 Midnight Run
as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
- 1988 You Can't Hurry Love
as Mr. Glerman
- 1988 The Couch Trip
as George Matlin
- 1987 Ishtar
as Jim Harrison
- 1986
- 1986 Last Resort
as George Lollar
- 1985 Movers & Shakers
as Herb Derman
- 1984 The Woman in Red
as Buddy
- 1984 The Lonely Guy
as Warren
- 1983 Charley's Aunt
as Lord Fancourt Babberly
- 1982
- 1981 The Great Muppet Caper
as Nicky Holiday
- 1981 The Incredible Shrinking Woman
as Vance Kramer
- 1980 Seems Like Old Times
as Ira Parks
- 1980 It's My Turn
as Homer
- 1979 Sunburn
as Jake
- 1979 Real Life
as Warren Yeager
- 1978 The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
as Jim Benson
- 1978 Heaven Can Wait
as Tony Abbott
- 1978 Just Me and You
as Michael Lindsay
- 1978 The Meanest Men in the West
as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
- 1977 It Happened One Christmas
as Joseph
- 1977 Thieves
as Martin Cramer
- 1976 King Kong
as Fred S. Wilson
- 1976
- 1974 11 Harrowhouse
as Howard R. Chesser
- 1972 The Heartbreak Kid
as Lenny Cantrow
- 1971
- 1970 Catch-22
as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
- 1968 Rosemary's Baby
as Dr. Hill
- 1967
- 1967
- 1967
- 1966
- 1966
- 1965
- 1965
- 1965
- 1964
- 1964 Sex and the College Girl
as Bob
- 1962
- 1961
- 1954 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Behind the camera (6)
- 1985 Movers & Shakers
Writer, Producer
- 1977 The Paul Simon Special
Writer
- 1974 11 Harrowhouse
Adaptation
- 1974 Paradise
Director
- 1973 Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Director
- 1969 Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Producer, Director
Talk shows and appearances (15)
- 2026
- 2017
- 2012
- 2011
- 2007
- 2002
- 1996 The Daily Show
1 episode
- 1993 Late Show with David Letterman
1 episode
- 1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1 episode
- 1986
- 1982
- 1982 Late Night with David Letterman
2 episodes
- 1975 Saturday Night Live
1 episode
- 1971 The Great American Dream Machine
34 episodes
- 1962 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
5 episodes