Charles Grodin

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. 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

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The Daily Show

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Saturday Night Live

Late Show with David Letterman

The Virginian

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

Great Performances

All Movies (57)

• Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause2025
• Waiting for Ishtar2017 · as Self
• An Imperfect Murder2017 · as Arthur
• The Comedian2016 · as Dick D'Angelo
• While We're Young2015 · as Leslie Breitbart
• The Humbling2014 · as Jerry
• Brazzaville Teen-Ager2013 · as Father
• Char·ac·ter2012 · as Self
• Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen2012 · as (archive footage)
• The Harmony Game2011 · as Self
• Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song2007 · as Self
• The Ex2006 · as Bob Kowalski
• The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s2002 · as Self (archive footage)
• The World of Jim Henson1994 · as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
• It Runs in the Family1994 · as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
• Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!1994 · as Chaz
• Clifford1994 · as Martin Daniels
• Beethoven's 2nd1993 · as George Newton
• Heart and Souls1993 · as Harrison Winslow
• So I Married an Axe Murderer1993 · as Commandeered Car Driver
• Dave1993 · as Murray Blum
• Beethoven1992 · as George Newton
• Taking Care of Business1990 · as Spencer Barnes
• The Muppets at Walt Disney World1990 · as Quentin Fitzwaller
• Cranium Command1989 · as Left Brain (voice)
• Midnight Run1988 · as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
• You Can't Hurry Love1988 · as Mr. Glerman
• The Couch Trip1988 · as George Matlin
• Ishtar1987 · as Jim Harrison
• King Kong! The Living Legend1986 · as Self
• Last Resort1986 · as George Lollar
• Movers & Shakers1985 · as Herb Derman
• The Woman in Red1984 · as Buddy
• The Lonely Guy1984 · as Warren
• Charley's Aunt1983 · as Lord Fancourt Babberly
• Night of 100 Stars1982 · as Self
• The Great Muppet Caper1981 · as Nicky Holiday
• The Incredible Shrinking Woman1981 · as Vance Kramer
• Seems Like Old Times1980 · as Ira Parks
• It's My Turn1980 · as Homer
• Sunburn1979 · as Jake
• Real Life1979 · as Warren Yeager
• The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank1978 · as Jim Benson
• Heaven Can Wait1978 · as Tony Abbott
• Just Me and You1978 · as Michael Lindsay
• The Meanest Men in the West1978 · as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
• It Happened One Christmas1977 · as Joseph
• The Paul Simon Special1977 · as Self
• Thieves1977 · as Martin Cramer
• King Kong1976 · as Fred S. Wilson
• 11 Harrowhouse1974 · as Howard R. Chesser
• The Heartbreak Kid1972 · as Lenny Cantrow
• Catch-221970 · as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
• Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America1969 · as Self
• Rosemary's Baby1968 · as Dr. Hill
• Sex and the College Girl1964 · as Bob
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea1954 · as Drummer Boy (uncredited)

All TV Shows (25)

• Madoff2016 · as Carl Shapiro
• The Michael J. Fox Show2013 · as Steve Henry
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit1999 · as Brett Forrester
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• Late Show with David Letterman1993 · as Self - Guest
• Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories1992 · as Narrator (voice)
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark1988
• Fresno1986 · as Cane Kensington
• Late Night with David Letterman1982 · as Self - Guest
• Laverne & Shirley1976
• Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Host
• Great Performances1971 · as Jake
• The Great American Dream Machine1971 · as Himself
• Judd, for the Defense1967
• The Guns of Will Sonnett1967 · as Bells Pickering
• Captain Nice1967 · as News Vendor
• Felony Squad1966
• Shane1966 · as Jed
• The F.B.I.1965 · as Carl Platt
• The Big Valley1965 · as Mark Dunigan
• My Mother the Car1965
• The Young Marrieds1964 · as Matt Crane Stevens
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• The Virginian1962 · as Arnie Doud
• The Defenders1961 · as Thomas Martin