Charles Grodin
Birthday: Born in 1935-04-21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Deathday: 2021-05-18
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Grodin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
TV Credits
The F.B.I.
Character: Carl Platt
The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa was co-sponsor of Season One only....
The Daily Show
Character: Self
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture....
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Character:
A morning talk show with A-list celebrity guests, top-notch performances and one-of-a-kind segments that are unrivaled on daytime television, plus spontaneous, hilarious and unpredictable talk....
Laverne & Shirley
Character:
Laverne & Shirley is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from January 27, 1976 to May 10, 1983. It starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, single roommates who worked as bottlecappers in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called "Shotz Brewery." The show was a spin-off from Happy Days, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie. Set in roughly the same time period, the timeline started in approxi...
Felony Squad
Character:
Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis....
The Virginian
Character: Arnie Doud
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western....
My Mother the Car
Character:
The story of the relationship between a man and his mother, the latter having been reincarnated as a 1928 Porter automobile....
The Big Valley
Character: Mark Dunigan
The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969. The show stars Barbara Stanwyck, as the widow of a wealthy nineteenth century California rancher. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven for Four Star Television....
Judd for the Defense
Character:
High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S....
The Defenders
Character: Thomas Martin
The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights demonstrators, a schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography, and a physician charged in a mercy killing....
Shane
Character: Jed
Shane works for the Starett family, a young widow, her son, and her aging father-in-law, protecting them against the anti-sodbuster rancher Ryker and other perils plaguing the Old West....
Saturday Night Live
Character: Self - Host
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest....
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Character: Brett Forrester
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories....
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....
Fresno
Character: Cane Kensington
In Fresno, California, the once-wealthy Kensington family's raisin-growing empire has fallen on hard times. They are led by widowed matriarch Charlotte, who is locked in a deadly power struggle with rival raisin magnate Tyler Cane....
Madoff
Character: Carl Shapiro
The rise and fall of Bernie Madoff, who's Ponzi scheme bilked $65 billion from unsuspecting victims....
The Michael J. Fox Show
Character: Steve Henry
Look who’s making the news again! One of NY’s most beloved news anchors, Mike Henry (Michael J. Fox), put his career on hold to spend more time with his family and focus on his health after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. But now five years later, with the kids busy growing up and Mike growing restless, it just might be time for him to get back to work. Having never wanted Mike to leave in the first place, his old boss Harris Green jumped at the chance to get him back on TV. The trick, as it’...
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Character: Narrator (Voice)
Actress Shelley Duvall presents charming animated versions of some of the most beloved children's stories in this superb Emmy-nominated collection featuring 26 tales narrated by famous actors and musicians. The stories by Mercer Mayer, Virginia Lee Burton, Marilyn Sadler and others are voiced by Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Candice Bergen, Ringo Starr, Michael J. Fox, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Kathy Bates and many more....
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Character: Bells Pickering
The Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series...
The Great American Dream Machine
Character: Himself
The Great American Dream Machine was a weekly satirical variety television series, produced in New York City by WNET and broadcast on PBS from 1971 to 1973. The program was hosted by humorist and commentator Marshall Efron. The show centered around skits and satirical political commentary. The hour and a half long show usually contained at least seven different current event topics. In the second season, the show was trimmed down to an hour. Other notable cast members included Chevy Chase. Cont...
Captain Nice
Character: News Vendor
Carter Nash was a chemist in a police department who discovered a liquid which could turn him into Captain Nice, an odd sort of superhero: very shy and dominated by his mother. Captain Nice flew (he feared heights) in his tattered leotards, fighting bad guys because his mother told him to do so....
Great Performances
Character: Jake
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries....
Movie Credits
Rosemary's Baby
Character: Dr. Hill
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family....
Clifford
Character: Martin Daniels
When his brother asks him to look after his young son, Clifford, Martin Daniels agrees, taking the boy into his home and introducing him to his future wife, Sarah. Clifford is fixated on the idea of visiting a famed theme park, and Martin, an engineer who helped build the park, makes plans to take him. But, when Clifford reveals himself to be a first-rate brat, his uncle goes bonkers, and a loony inter-generational standoff ensues....
King Kong
Character: Fred S. Wilson
An oil company expedition disturbs the peace of a giant ape and brings him back to New York to exploit him....
Beethoven's 2nd
Character: George Newton
Beethoven is back -- and this time, he has a whole brood with him now that he's met his canine match, Missy, and fathered a family. The only problem is that Missy's owner, Regina, wants to sell the puppies and tear the clan apart. It's up to Beethoven and the Newton kids to save the day and keep everyone together....
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Character: Commandeered Car Driver
Just after a bad breakup, Charlie MacKenzie falls for lovely butcher Harriet Michaels and introduces her to his parents. But, as voracious consumers of sensational tabloids, his parents soon come to suspect that Harriet is actually a notorious serial killer -- "Mrs. X" -- wanted in connection with a string of bizarre honeymoon killings. Thinking his parents foolish, Charlie proposes to Harriet. But while on his honeymoon with her, he begins to fear they were right....
You Can't Hurry Love
Character: Mr. Glerman
Aspiring director Eddie moves from the Midwest to Los Angeles, where he rooms with his cousin and attempts to establish himself in advertising — but he doesn't have much luck. Seeking something worthwhile, Eddie decides to shift his focus to looking for love through a video dating service. He goes through one bad date after another, but the only thing he finds interesting about the service is Peggy Kellogg, one of the employees....
Taking Care of Business
Character: Spencer Barnes
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him....
The Woman in Red
Character: Buddy
When a happily married family man, who would never consider an affair, meets a beautiful woman in red, he is totally infatuated and desperate to make her acquaintance. However, as he tries out various schemes to sneak out to meet her, he realizes that adultery is not quite as easy as it looks....
Dave
Character: Murray Blum
A sweet-natured Temp Agency operator and amateur Presidential look-alike is recruited by the Secret Service to become a temporary stand-in for the President of the United States....
Beethoven
Character: George Newton
The Newton family live in their comfortable home, but there seems to something missing. This "hole" is filled by a small puppy, who walks into their home and their lives. Beethoven, as he is named, grows into a giant of a dog... a St Bernard. Doctor Varnick, the local vet has a secret and horrible sideline, which requires lots of dogs for experiments. Beethoven is on the bad doctor's list....
The Couch Trip
Character: George Matlin
The escaped delinquent John W. Burns, Jr. replaces Dr. Maitlin on a radio show, saying he's the psychiatrist Lawrence Baird....
Heaven Can Wait
Character: Tony Abbott
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl....
Midnight Run
Character: Jonathan Mardukas
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who embezzled $15 million of mob money. He is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail....
Real Life
Character: Warren Yeager
A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their everyday lives, in the manner of the ground-breaking PBS series "An American Family"....
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Character: Vance Kramer
After being exposed to a bizarre mixture of household chemicals, Pat Kramer begins to shrink. This baffles scientists, makes parenting difficult, warms the hearts of Americans, and captures the attention of a group of people who want to take over the world. This evil group plots to kidnap Pat and perform experiments on her so that they can eventually shrink everyone....
The Lonely Guy
Character: Warren
A writer for a greeting card company learns the true meaning of loneliness when he comes home to find his girlfriend in bed with another man....
Ishtar
Character: Jim Harrison
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime....
The Ex
Character: Bob Kowalski
When his lawyer wife, Sofia, becomes pregnant, chronic underachiever Tom Reilly must take a job at his father-in-law's advertising firm. Tom has to adjust to the demands of a very high-powered job, and he finds himself in an increasingly hostile office rivalry with Chip, Sofia's paraplegic former lover....
Seems Like Old Times
Character: Ira Parks
After being falsely accused of robbing a bank, a writer seeks the help of his lawyer ex-wife to clear his name. However, hilarity ensues when he must hide from her husband, who’s throwing a party for law enforcement officials....
The Heartbreak Kid
Character: Lenny Cantrow
Three days into his Miami honeymoon with needy and unsophisticated Lila, Lenny meets tall, blonde Kelly. This confirms his fear that he has made a serious mistake and he decides he wants to be with Kelly instead....
11 Harrowhouse
Character: Howard R. Chesser
A small time diamond merchant jumps at the chance to supervise the purchase and cutting of a large first class diamond. But when the diamond is stolen from him, he is blackmailed into pulling off a major heist at the Diamond Exchange, located at 11 Harrowhouse....
The Great Muppet Caper
Character: Nicky Holiday
Kermit and Fozzie are newspaper reporters sent to London to interview Lady Holiday, a wealthy fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace is stolen. Kermit meets and falls in love with her secretary, Miss Piggy. The jewel thieves strike again, and this time frame Miss Piggy. It's up to Kermit and Muppets to bring the real culprits to justice....
It Runs in the Family
Character: Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives. Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater....
Movers & Shakers
Character: Herb Derman
Studio head Joe Mulholland promises his dying producer and mentor, Saul Gritz, to adapt a popular sex manual into a film, despite his better judgment. Unable to figure out how to turn the nonfiction book into a narrative movie, Mulholland enlists the services of Herb Dorman, a screenwriter of popular romantic films with a bad marriage, and volatile director Sid Spokane to help him create a movie....
Sunburn
Character: Jake
A model and a private eye help a New York insurance investigator on a deadly case in Acapulco....
The Meanest Men in the West
Character: Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
Bronson and Marvin star as murderous half-brothers who are running from the law as well as each other. A climatic confrontation proves to each of them just how mean the other can be. "The Meanest Men in the West" is actually an amalgam of two episodes of the hit 1960's TV series, "The Virginian." In one installment, a wealthy man's daughter is kidnapped by a nasty gunslinger. But the crime is only just a means for the ruffian to draw the tough title character into a blood- thirsty revenge scheme...
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Character: (archive footage)
A film where anything can happen - the hero and the heroine changes their faces, age, look, names, and so on. The only same thing: The love between man and woman... in an archetypical love story cut from 500 classics from all around the world....
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Character: Father
In a self-effacing attempt to save his father from a death by deterioration, a young man enlists his curmudgeonly boss and Kelis to perform a song, and a miracle....
It's My Turn
Character: Homer
A successful but stressed mathematics professor goes to her father's wedding and falls in love with her father's bride's son, a prematurely retired pro baseball player. She must choose between him and her current boyfriend, between Chicago and New York, and between research and administration....
The Humbling
Character: Jerry
Following a breakdown and suicide attempt, an aging actor becomes involved with a much younger woman but soon finds that it's difficult to keep pace with her....
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Character: Jim Benson
A comedy-drama about a New York couple who decides to dump the hassle of the big city, pack up the kids and move to what they think is the easy life of suburbia....
Char·ac·ter
Character: Self
A raw and candid dialogue about the life and craft of acting between longtime colleagues and friends Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk, Charles Grodin, Mark Rydell, Harry Dean Stanton and Sydney Pollack. Drago Sumonja's document takes us into the hearts, minds, and living rooms of some of America's greatest storytellers....
Waiting for Ishtar
Character: Self
A conversation about guilty pleasures turns into one man's quest to find others on a library waiting list, while simultaneously examining the fate of the famous Hollywood bomb Ishtar (1987)....
It Happened One Christmas
Character: Joseph
It's Christmas Eve 1944 in the small town of Bedford Falls, New York. A despondent and suicidal Mary Bailey Hatch is praying for guidance on what to do about an incident no fault of her own which threatens her name and the community standing of her longtime family business, the Bailey Building and Loan, which she took over after the passing of her father. What Mary does not know is that most in town, including her husband George Hatch and their children, are also praying for her. All the prayers...
Last Resort
Character: George Lollar
George Lollar takes his family on vacation with "Club Sand", a shoddy and untrustworthy company. On their tropical island, they find soldiers everywhere, an unhelpful staff, inhospitable accomodation and undesirable holiday makers, but everyone except for George manages to have fun in the sun....
Thieves
Character: Martin Cramer
Martin and Sally Cramer grew up on the hardscrabble Lower East Side, where Sally still teaches; meanwhile, Martin's the head of a fancy private school. Romantic dalliances with others convince them that they're meant to be together despite their differences, a decision that's cemented, oddly enough, by an over-the-top argument that draws the police....
The Paul Simon Special
Character: Self
Paul Simon just wants to perform his songs although an arrogant director keeps on interrupting him with crazy ideas....
While We're Young
Character: Leslie Breitbart
An uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple....
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Character:
Classic Carson monologues, visits from Carnac and Art Fern, comedians Eddie Murphy, Garry Shandling, Albert Brooks and Bill Maher. Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart, child stars Drew Barrymore and Joey Lawrence, fan favorite Charles Grodin, wildlife from Jim Fowler and Joan Embery, Frank Hill's jewelry, Elizabeth "The Nut Lady" Tashjian, Johnny's impressions and much more!...
The Harmony Game
Character: Self
Half a century after its recording in 1970, this captivating documentary retraces the story of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", the final album, which has become cult, from the duo formed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel....
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Character: Drummer Boy (uncredited)
A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo....
Catch-22
Character: Captain Aarfy Aardvark
A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation....
Sex and the College Girl
Character: Bob
This early 1960s film depicts the trivial pursuits and relationships of two college age girls on a weekend vacation to a luxury resort in Puerto Rico....
The Comedian
Character: Dick D'Angelo
An aging comic icon, Jackie Burke, has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played. Already a strain on his younger brother and his wife, Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member. While there, he meets Harmony, the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul, and the two find inspiration in one another, resulting in ...
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Character: Self
The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will honor either a songwriter, interpreter, or singer/songwriter whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of artistic expression and cultural understanding. Paul Simon, one of America's most respected songwriters and musicians, was the recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, the award recognizes ...
An Imperfect Murder
Character: Arthur
Successful actress Vera Lockman thrashes during a nightmare in which she struggles with, shoots and kills her drug-dealer ex-boyfriend. Jolted awake, she reveals in her journal that the killing actually occurred the day before and that Sal, dead, lies in a trunk in her living room....
Just Me and You
Character: Michael Lindsay
A salesman travels cross country with a quirky New Yorker....
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Character: Self
“Songs of America” shows the two on stage, in the studio and on a concert tour across a turbulent country. Their ambitious Bridge Over Troubled Water album had yet to be released and the glorious title song was heard here by the general public for the very first time. The program showed news clips of labor leader/activist Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, the Poor People’s Campaign’s march on Washington, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, JFK and Robert Kennedy and other events th...
Heart and Souls
Character: Harrison Winslow
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the life of a child born at the moment of their deaths as his guardians. Baby Thomas grows up to be a businessman who has memories of his playmates, but assumes they are products of his youthful imagination. When the ghosts realize they need Thomas' help to move on to the afterlife, they decide to make an appearance once more....
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Character: Quentin Fitzwaller
Filmed right after the merger between Disney and Jim Henson productions, the Muppet's are featured heading to the greatest place on earth, Walt Disney World. Kermit and Robin take the gang to the swamp for a vacation in Califorina. It is the annual Bug Fry and it's a journey to the roots again for Kermit and Robin. However, the rest of the cast is less than excited about being in a stinking bog. When it is mentioned that they can see the fireworks from Disney, everyone is excited and wants to go...
The World of Jim Henson
Character: Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
In this episode of PBS' Great Performances, the history and legacy of puppeteer Jim Henson is explored, from his six-second commercial beginnings to a five-season run on ABC of The Muppet Show to several theatrically released films, including five Muppet movies, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth....
Charley's Aunt
Character: Lord Fancourt Babberly
Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt....
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Character: Chaz
Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! was a 1994 TV special that aired on ABC to celebrate Sesame Street's 25th anniversary. It was originally broadcast on May 18, 1994. The show featured Joe Pesci (as Ronald Grump), Corbin Bernsen (as real estate attorney, Arnie), Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman (as a Worm TV hosts), John Goodman (as Tough Guy Helpline operator), Charles Grodin (as Chaz), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as reporter Kathie Lee Kathie), Rosie O'Donnell (as the Good ...
Night of 100 Stars
Character: Self
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and cost...