Charles Grodin, the droll, offbeat actor and writer who scored as a caddish newlywed in
The Heartbreak Kid and later had roles ranging from Robert De Niro’s counterpart in the comic thriller
Midnight Run to the bedevilled father in the
Beethoven comedies, has died. He was 86. Grodin died Tuesday in Wilton, Connecticut in the US, from bone marrow cancer, his son, Nicholas Grodin, said. Known for his dead-pan style and everyday looks, Grodin also appeared in
Dave, The Woman in Red, Rosemary’s Baby and Heaven Can Wait.
Diane Bondareff/AP
Charles Grodin, the offbeat actor and writer who scored as a newlywed cad in The Heartbreak Kid and the father in the Beethoven comedies, died Tuesday at his home from bone marrow cancer. He was 86.
With bone-dry understatement, Grodin could steal entire scenes with just a look. His commitment, whether acting across De Niro or Miss Piggy, was unsurpassed. In his many late-night appearances, he once brought a lawyer with him to threaten David Letterman for defamation. (The lawyer instead took a shine to Letterman.) Hosting “Saturday Night Live,” he pretended to not understand live television, ruining all the sketches. Steve Martin, who co-starred with Grodin in 1984 s “The Lonely Guy, remembered him as “one of the funniest people I ever met.
In the 1990s, Grodin made his mark as a liberal commentator on radio and TV. He also wrote plays and television scripts, winning an Emmy for his work on a 1997 Paul Simon special, and wrote several books humorously ruminating on his ups and downs in show business.
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With bone-dry understatement, Grodin could steal entire scenes with just a look. His commitment, whether acting across De Niro or Miss Piggy, was unsurpassed. In his many late-night appearances, he once brought a lawyer with him to threaten David Letterman for defamation. (The lawyer instead took a shine to Letterman.) Hosting “Saturday Night Live,” he pretended to not understand live television, ruining all the sketches. Steve Martin, who co-starred with Grodin in 1984 s “The Lonely Guy, remembered him as “one of the funniest people I ever met.
In the 1990s, Grodin made his mark as a liberal commentator on radio and TV. He also wrote plays and television scripts, winning an Emmy for his work on a 1997 Paul Simon special, and wrote several books humorously ruminating on his ups and downs in show business.