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Charles Grodin

Acting Born Apr 21, 1935 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA 24 credits

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.

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Known for

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Brett Forrester

The Daily Show

as Self

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self

Late Show with David Letterman

as Self - Guest

Saturday Night Live

as Self - Host

The Virginian

as Arnie Doud

Great Performances

as Jake
Film

Rosemary's Baby

as Dr. Hill

Full filmography

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) as Brett Forrester
  • The Daily Show (1996) as Self
  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) as Self
  • Late Show with David Letterman (1993) as Self - Guest
  • Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Host
  • The Virginian (1962) as Arnie Doud
  • Great Performances (1971) as Jake
  • LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988)
  • Late Night with David Letterman (1982) as Self - Guest
  • The Big Valley (1965) as Mark Dunigan
  • The F.B.I. (1965) as Carl Platt
  • Laverne & Shirley (1976)
  • The Defenders (1961) as Thomas Martin
  • Felony Squad (1966)
  • Judd, for the Defense (1967)
  • The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967) as Bells Pickering
  • The Michael J. Fox Show (2013) as Steve Henry
  • Rosemary's Baby (1968) as Dr. Hill
  • The Young Marrieds (1964) as Matt Crane Stevens
  • Shane (1966) as Jed
  • Beethoven (1992) as George Newton
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
  • Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories (1992) as Narrator (voice)
  • My Mother the Car (1965)