Charles Grodin
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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
Credits
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
as Dr. Hill
Marty, Life Is Short (2026)
as Self (archive footage)
Midnight Run (1988)
as Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
King Kong (1976)
as Fred S. Wilson
While We're Young (2015)
as Leslie Breitbart
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
as Drummer Boy (uncredited)
Beethoven's 2nd (1993)
as George Newton
Heart and Souls (1993)
as Harrison Winslow
Beethoven (1992)
as George Newton
Catch-22 (1970)
as Captain Aarfy Aardvark
The Woman in Red (1984)
as Buddy
Taking Care of Business (1990)
as Spencer Barnes
Dave (1993)
as Murray Blum
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
as Commandeered Car Driver
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
as Tony Abbott
The Humbling (2014)
as Jerry
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012)
as (archive footage)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
as Nicky Holiday
The Lonely Guy (1984)
as Warren
Seems Like Old Times (1980)
as Ira Parks
The Ex (2006)
as Bob Kowalski
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994)
as Chaz
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s (2002)
as Self (archive footage)
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
as Vance Kramer
The Comedian (2016)
as Dick D'Angelo
The Couch Trip (1988)
as George Matlin
Night of 100 Stars (1982)
as Self
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
as Lenny Cantrow
You Can't Hurry Love (1988)
as Mr. Glerman
It's My Turn (1980)
as Homer
Ishtar (1987)
as Jim Harrison
The World of Jim Henson (1994)
as Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
Cranium Command (1989)
as Left Brain (voice)
The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
as Quentin Fitzwaller
The Meanest Men in the West (1978)
as Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
Clifford (1994)
as Martin Daniels
Real Life (1979)
as Warren Yeager
Just Me and You (1978)
as Michael Lindsay
Thieves (1977)
as Martin Cramer
It Happened One Christmas (1977)
as Joseph
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America (1969)
as Self
It Runs in the Family (1994)
as Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank (1978)
as Jim Benson
11 Harrowhouse (1974)
as Howard R. Chesser
Sunburn (1979)
as Jake
Movers & Shakers (1985)
as Herb Derman
The Paul Simon Special (1977)
as Self
Last Resort (1986)
as George Lollar
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (2007)
as Self
Sex and the College Girl (1964)
as Bob
Char·ac·ter (2012)
as Self
An Imperfect Murder (2017)
as Arthur
King Kong! The Living Legend (1986)
as Self
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause (2025)
Actor
Waiting for Ishtar (2017)
as Self
Brazzaville Teen-Ager (2013)
as Father
Charley's Aunt (1983)
as Lord Fancourt Babberly
The Harmony Game (2011)
as Self