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.
Photos
Films (60)
Martin Short : Une vie XXL
2026 · Self (archive footage)
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
Waiting for Ishtar
2017 · Self
Historia de un asesinato
2017 · Arthur
The Comedian
2016 · Dick D'Angelo
Mientras somos jóvenes
2015 · Leslie Breitbart
En toute humilité...
2014 · Jerry
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
2013 · Father
Char·ac·ter
2012 · Self
Final Cut : Ladies and Gentlemen
2012 · (archive footage)
The Harmony Game
2011 · Self
Paul Simon and Friends : The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
2007 · Self
Son ex et moi
2006 · Bob Kowalski
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
2002 · Self (archive footage)
The World of Jim Henson
1994 · Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
It Runs in the Family
1994 · Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994 · Chaz
Clifford
1994 · Martin Daniels
Beethoven's 2nd
1993 · George Newton
Heart and Souls
1993 · Harrison Winslow
So I Married an Axe Murderer
1993 · Commandeered Car Driver
Dave
1993 · Murray Blum
Beethoven
1992 · George Newton
Taking Care of Business
1990 · Spencer Barnes
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990 · Quentin Fitzwaller
Cranium Command
1989 · Left Brain (voice)
Midnight Run
1988 · Jonathan Mardukas
You Can't Hurry Love
1988 · Mr. Glerman
The Couch Trip
1988 · George Matlin
Ishtar
1987 · Jim Harrison
King Kong! The Living Legend
1986 · Self
Last Resort
1986 · George Lollar
Movers & Shakers
1985 · Herb Derman, Writer, Producer
The Woman in Red
1984 · Buddy
The Lonely Guy
1984 · Warren
Charley's Aunt
1983 · Lord Fancourt Babberly
Night of 100 Stars
1982 · Self
The Great Muppet Caper
1981 · Nicky Holiday
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
1981 · Vance Kramer
Seems Like Old Times
1980 · Ira Parks
It's My Turn
1980 · Homer
Sunburn
1979 · Jake
Real Life
1979 · Warren Yeager
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
1978 · Jim Benson
Heaven Can Wait
1978 · Tony Abbott
Just Me and You
1978 · Michael Lindsay
The Meanest Men in the West
1978 · Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
It Happened One Christmas
1977 · Joseph
The Paul Simon Special
1977 · Self, Writer
Thieves
1977 · Martin Cramer
King Kong
1976 · Fred S. Wilson
11 Harrowhouse
1974 · Howard R. Chesser, Adaptation
Paradise
1974 · Director
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
1973 · Director
The Heartbreak Kid
1972 · Lenny Cantrow
Catch-22
1970 · Captain Aarfy Aardvark
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
1969 · Self, Producer, Director
Rosemary's Baby
1968 · Dr. Hill
Sex and the College Girl
1964 · Bob
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954 · Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Séries (26)
Madoff : l'arnaque du siècle
2016 · Carl Shapiro
The Michael J. Fox Show
2013 · Steve Henry
New York Unité Spéciale
1999 · Brett Forrester
Le Daily Show
1996 · Self
Late Show with David Letterman
1993 · Self - Guest
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992 · Narrator (voice)
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Fresno
1986 · Cane Kensington
Late Night with David Letterman
1982 · Self - Guest
American Playhouse
1982 · Lord Fancourt Babberly
Laverne & Shirley
1976
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Host
Great Performances
1971 · Jake
The Great American Dream Machine
1971 · Himself
Judd, for the Defense
1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967 · Bells Pickering
Captain Nice
1967 · News Vendor
Felony Squad
1966
Shane
1966 · Jed
The F.B.I.
1965 · Carl Platt
The Big Valley
1965 · Mark Dunigan
My Mother the Car
1965
The Young Marrieds
1964 · Matt Crane Stevens
The Tonight Show avec Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
The Virginian
1962 · Arnie Doud
The Defenders
1961 · Thomas Martin