Charles Grodin
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.
82 acting credits · 3 directing credits
Acting · 82
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Daily Show
1996
Saturday Night Live
1975
Late Show with David Letterman
1993
Great Performances
1971
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
The Virginian
1962
The F.B.I.
1965
Late Night with David Letterman
1982
The Big Valley
1965
Laverne & Shirley
1976
The Defenders
1961
Felony Squad
1966
Judd, for the Defense
1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Heart and Souls
1993
Rosemary's Baby
1968
The Michael J. Fox Show
2013
The Young Marrieds
1964
Shane
1966
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
Beethoven
1992
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
Captain Nice
1967
Midnight Run
1988
Dave
1993
Catch-22
1970
Fresno
1986
King Kong
1976
The Woman in Red
1984
My Mother the Car
1965
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
Beethoven's 2nd
1993
The Great American Dream Machine
1971
Madoff
2016
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993
Heaven Can Wait
1978
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
Night of 100 Stars
1982
While We're Young
2015
The Comedian
2016
The Ex
2006
Clifford
1994
Ishtar
1987
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
The Humbling
2014
Taking Care of Business
1990
Real Life
1979
Seems Like Old Times
1980
The Heartbreak Kid
1972
Sunburn
1979
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
1981
The Couch Trip
1988
An Imperfect Murder
2017
The Meanest Men in the West
1978
Last Resort
1986
It Happened One Christmas
1977
11 Harrowhouse
1974
The World of Jim Henson
1994
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
2002
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990
The Lonely Guy
1984
It Runs in the Family
1994
It's My Turn
1980
Cranium Command
1989
You Can't Hurry Love
1988
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
1978
Movers & Shakers
1985
Thieves
1977
Charley's Aunt
1983
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
2007
Char·ac·ter
2012
The Paul Simon Special
1977
Waiting for Ishtar
2017
Sex and the College Girl
1964
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
1969
The Harmony Game
2011
King Kong! The Living Legend
1986
Just Me and You
1978
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
2013
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
