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.
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.
Charles Grodin, the actor who appeared in the
Beethoven films,
The Heartbreak Kid, and
The Great Muppet Caper, to name just a few credits, has passed away at the age of 86. Grodin’s son told The New York Times that his father’s cause of death was bone marrow cancer.
After starting his career with an uncredited role in Disney’s
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the mid-1950s, Grodin dropped out of college to pursue acting, writing, and directing for the stage, appearing in several Broadway productions and directing multiple Broadway shows as well. He developed the kind of All-American good looks which made him a versatile cinematic asset during the latter half of the twentieth century, and always appeared to be equally comfortable in supporting roles as leading ones. Grodin was one of those actors who made everything he did look easy, and he was especially adept at playing guys who got in over their heads. His deadpan comedic reactions and ability to portray put-upon or f
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.