Charles Grodin
Acting
Born: April 21, 1935 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: May 18, 2021 (aged 86)
Highest Rated
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
Rosemary's Baby
1968
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
Beethoven
1992
Midnight Run
1988
While We're Young
2015
Beethoven's 2nd
1993
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
King Kong
1976
Dave
1993
The Woman in Red
1984
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993
Heaven Can Wait
1978
Photos (11)
Movies (48)
Rosemary's Baby
Dr. Hill
Beethoven
George Newton
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
King Kong
Fred S. Wilson
Midnight Run
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
Dave
Murray Blum
Catch-22
Captain Aarfy Aardvark
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Commandeered Car Driver
Heart and Souls
Harrison Winslow
Beethoven's 2nd
George Newton
The Woman in Red
Buddy
Taking Care of Business
Spencer Barnes
While We're Young
Leslie Breitbart
Heaven Can Wait
Tony Abbott
The Great Muppet Caper
Nicky Holiday
The Lonely Guy
Warren
The Comedian
Dick D'Angelo
The Humbling
Jerry
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
The Ex
Bob Kowalski
Ishtar
Jim Harrison
The Couch Trip
George Matlin
Seems Like Old Times
Ira Parks
Cranium Command
Left Brain (voice)
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Jim Benson
Real Life
Warren Yeager
The World of Jim Henson
Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
The Heartbreak Kid
Lenny Cantrow
Clifford
Martin Daniels
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Vance Kramer
The Meanest Men in the West
Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
Sunburn
Jake
Thieves
Martin Cramer
It's My Turn
Homer
An Imperfect Murder
Arthur
Movers & Shakers
Herb Derman
Last Resort
George Lollar
You Can't Hurry Love
Mr. Glerman
It Runs in the Family
Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Chaz
It Happened One Christmas
Joseph
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Father
Charley's Aunt
Lord Fancourt Babberly
11 Harrowhouse
Howard R. Chesser
Just Me and You
Michael Lindsay
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Quentin Fitzwaller
Sex and the College Girl
Bob
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
TV Shows (20)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Brett Forrester · 1 eps
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1 eps
American Playhouse
Lord Fancourt Babberly · 1 eps
Great Performances
Jake · 1 eps
The Virginian
Arnie Doud · 1 eps
The Big Valley
Mark Dunigan · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Carl Platt · 1 eps
The Defenders
Thomas Martin · 1 eps
Laverne & Shirley
1 eps
Judd, for the Defense
1 eps
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Bells Pickering · 1 eps
Felony Squad
1 eps
The Michael J. Fox Show
Steve Henry · 1 eps
The Young Marrieds
Matt Crane Stevens · 2 eps
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
My Mother the Car
1 eps
Captain Nice
News Vendor · 1 eps
Shane
Jed · 2 eps
Madoff
Carl Shapiro · 4 eps
Fresno
Cane Kensington · 5 eps
Self / Appearances (15)
The Daily Show
Self · 1 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 5 eps
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · 1 eps
Late Night with David Letterman
Self - Guest · 2 eps
Marty, Life Is Short
Self (archive footage)
The Great American Dream Machine
Himself · 34 eps
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The Paul Simon Special
Self
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Self
Char·ac·ter
Self
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Self (archive footage)
Waiting for Ishtar
Self
The Harmony Game
Self
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Self
