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