Charles Grodin is DEAD to ME!

Charles Grodin, the versatile actor familiar from “Same Time, Next Year” on Broadway, popular movies like “The Heartbreak Kid,” “Midnight Run” and “Beethoven” and numerous television appearances, died on Tuesday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 86.

His son, Nicholas, said the cause was bone marrow cancer.

With a great sense of deadpan comedy and the kind of Everyman good looks that lend themselves to playing businessmen or curmudgeonly fathers, Mr. Grodin found plenty of work as a supporting player and the occasional lead. He also had his own talk show for a time in the 1990s and was a frequent guest on the talk shows of others, making 36 appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and 17 on “Late Night With David Letterman.”

Mr. Grodin was a writer as well, with a number of plays and books to his credit. Though he never won a prestige acting award, he did win a writing Emmy for a 1977 Paul Simon television special, sharing it with Mr. Simon and six others.

Mr. Grodin, who dropped out of the University of Miami to pursue acting, had managed to land a smattering of stage and television roles when, in 1962, he received his first big break, landing a part in a Broadway comedy called “Tchin-Tchin” that starred Anthony Quinn and Margaret Leighton.

“Walter Kerr called me impeccable,” Mr. Grodin wrote years later, recalling a review of the show that appeared in The New York Times. “It took a trip to the dictionary to understand he meant more than clean.”

Another Broadway appearance came in 1964 in “Absence of a Cello.” Mr. Grodin’s next two Broadway credits were as a director, of “Lovers and Other Strangers” in 1968 and “Thieves” in 1974. Then, in 1975, came a breakthrough Broadway role opposite Ellen Burstyn in Bernard Slade’s “Same Time, Next Year,” a durable two-hander about a man and woman, each married to someone else, who meet once a year in the same inn room.

“The play needs actors of grace, depth and accomplishment, and has found them in Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin,” Clive Barnes wrote in a rave in The Times. “Miss Burstyn is so real, so lovely and so womanly that a man wants to hug her, and you hardly notice the exquisite finesse of her acting. It is underplaying of sheer virtuosity. Mr. Grodin is every bit her equal — a monument to male insecurity, gorgeously inept, and the kind of masculine dunderhead that every decent man aspires to be.”

The show ran for three and a half years, with an ever-changing cast; the two original stars left after seven months. Mr. Grodin by that point was in demand in Hollywood.

He had already appeared in Mike Nichols’s “Catch-22” in 1970 and had turned in one of his better-known film performances in the 1972 comic romance “The Heartbreak Kid,” in which he played a self-absorbed sporting goods salesman who marries in haste, immediately loses interest in his bride (Jeannie Berlin), and falls in love with another woman (Cybill Shepherd) on his honeymoon. (Elaine May, Mr. Nichols’s longtime comedy partner and Ms. Berlin’s mother, directed.)

n 1978 he had a supporting role in the Warren Beatty vehicle “Heaven Can Wait.” Another signature role was in “Midnight Run” in 1988, in which Mr. Grodin played an accountant who has embezzled a fortune from the mob and is being pursued by a bounty hunter, played by Robert De Niro.

A full obituary will follow shortly.

He was the best. RIP.

Recently was rewatching the last 20 minutes of Midnight Run — what a great performance by Grodin, although it was easy to see how he drove De Niro crazy.

Awww this makes me sad. He was in a lot of my favorite movies

Often forgotten that he was in Rosemary’s Baby.

He was always my favorite, dreamy, non-Satanic OBGYN.

Somewhere in heaven he is ribbing Johnny Carson.

Aw.

How sad. He was great.

Jessica Lange had often revealed that Grodin was a “loyal friend” and one of the only people that stuck by and supported her after “King Kong.” They remained good friends and he always spoke highly of her.

Fantastic actor.

I especially liked him as Buddy in "The Woman In Red".

He framed me for stealing his sister's diamond necklace! And he couldn't sing! His voice was dubbed!

- Kissy kissy! Miss Piggy

All jokes aside, Mr. Grodin was always enjoyable in everything in which he appeared. I hope he didn't suffer. I've never heard a bad thing about him. It's weird he was in "The Great Muppet Caper", then May 16 marked the thirty-first anniversary of Jim Henson's death, and then today Mr. Grodin crossed over.

May he rest in peace, free of the problems of this world.

86??? Damn. He's older than my grandfather.

I also thought he was gay.

Male lead and Farrah Fawcett's love interest in the theatrical presentation "Sunburn" in 1979

POWEFUL!

R8 I thought he was satanic in RB with Dr Saperstein?

Almost cast as Benjamin Braddock in THE GRADUATE. He and Dustin Hoffman were the two finalists. His work in THE HEARTBREAK KID, especially the scene between him and Eddie Albert, is masterful. Interesting that at the end of both films the hero, having gone to great lengths to capture his fantasy bride, sits staring into space, perhaps pondering if it was the right thing....

Aww, man! Fine actor and a not half-bad writer to boot; I truly enjoyed his work.

This sad news sent me on a search among my acting books for Mr. Grodin's; found it tucked next to one by Michael Caine. Please, no.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Grodin. You were among a handful of those of your generation for whom it can be said "they broke the mold when they made him."

Not Satanic, just misguided, r16. I don’t think he believed Rosemary. Saperstein had an excellent reputation as a doctor and Rosemary’s claims sounded like a crazy, pregnant woman’s hysteria to his 1960s ears. He figured he was doing the right thing by calling the wiser, well-reputed doctor and the “crazy” woman’s husband. I never got the impression he was in league with them from either the book or the movie.

But, it’s an interesting interpretation on your part. Could be either.

Nevertheless, Rest In Peace, Charles.

He would have been an interesting Benjamin in "The Graduate".

He was unforgettable in Clifford, with Martin Short.

I remember him mostly from Pretty Woman.

"Mary Kate, Mary Pat, Tova!!"

God bless Dr. Hill.

He was good as Louie CK's neighbor in the cancelled Louie.

R17 here - interesting too, that one film was directed by Mike Nichols and the other by Elaine May - and it was Hoffman who ended up with the bigger career.

Could this be what our own local Casandra was referring to in “The Another Female Gay Icon Will Die Soon” thread last year??

Cybill Shepherd says he was kind of a bitch to her on the set of “The Heartbreak Kid.”

He was in every movie in my 70s childhood, and then he just kind of vanished. I think of him as very much of that decade.

Has Susan Dey commented?

He came up with the best book title: "It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here."

The first movie I saw him in was Thieves, costarring Marlo Thomas.

Another Republican gone. Sad...

I'm old enough to remember him in movies on TV, and SNL appearances.

Much like Buck Henry, I never quite got his appeal. It must have been a Boomer thing.

RIP.

I frequently watched this as train wreck television.

From 1995 to 1998, CNBC aired The Charles Grodin Show, which found the host interacting with entertainers as often as discussing current events (like the O.J. Simpson trial, a subject he’s notably vocal about). When the show first started — Grodin taking over Tom Snyder’s timeslot after the icon was handpicked to replace Letterman on The Late Late Show — Entertainment Weekly noted that his hosting style wasn’t as outwardly hostile as his guesting tended to be. But his grave demeanor, never definitively earnest or affected, was outside the established mold:

“As a guest on Letterman and, earlier, Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, Grodin excelled at the rude put-on, provoking reaction by seeming to appear angry or offended by his host. Now sitting in the opposite chair, Grodin frequently ignores his guest and gasses on about himself.” He became known for launching into off-topic digressions and demanding more camera time, tics that comic Dana Carvey repeatedly skewered on his short-lived variety show.

The show shifted after Bil Clinton impeachment began. The hour became uninterrupted anger and whining (seriously. "Leave my president alooooone"

He was really funny as the JR stand-in in the nighttime soap opera parody "Fresno".

Imagine having that catalog of acting work, and the only thing the majority of people remember you for is the movie with the dog.

R33 Actually only one SNL appearance. He was then banned from the show:

Predictions for the next celebrity deaths-Marion Ross and Bob Barker.

His toupees will never die, however.

Tawny and now Charles. Is there a third I missed?

r22 You don't remember him from "Pretty Woman," because he wasn't in it. That clip is of Larry Miller.

He was a republican?

Whatever happened to Jeannie Berlin? After an Oscar nomination for excellent work in "The Heartbreak Kid" she was in flop "Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York" and then she about disappeared from acting it seems.

Didn't Charles Grodin have a nude scene in "Catch-22"? I know Alan Arkin did (back when he was very cute).

Sorry to hear about Grodin's passing -- he was an enjoyable actor and guest on talk shows.

He was great. I loved Clifford.

R14 - agreed, he seemed gayer than Christmas to me.

R43 Jeannie Berlin is still working. She’s been on Succession and the HBO series The Night Of.

[quote]Cybill Shepherd says he was kind of a bitch to her on the set of “The Heartbreak Kid.”

Cybill Shepherd says everyone who has ever worked with her ever on any project has been a bitch to her. And that's because Cybill Shepherd is herself a terrible bitch.

Her book "Cybill Disobedience" is just a bitchy long list of grievances against everyone she's ever worked with, because she's controlling and insecure (since despite her drive she knows she has very little talent) and generally just awful to other people. Almost no one who has ever worked with her has anything good to say about her.

Jeannie's on the eccentric side.

[quote]He was a republican?

He more or less says so in this long winded article he wrote, especially with this quote:

[quote]All this cemented in people's minds that I am a liberal. The truth is, on today's issues, I have more conservative views than liberal ones.

I don;t think Jeannie would have had the great roles she did in the 1970s if her mom weren't Elaine May. She has some of her mother's talent (she's actually quite good in "Succession"), but her mom was also beautiful--Jeannie has never been.

As a child of the 90s I was introduced to him through Beethoven. I was shocked to learn how old he was given that he looked very believable as a father to preteen kids. Also remember him from his talk show. I don't think any clips even exist today and it's practically forgotten today but I remember it very well. My high school years were pretty much defined by OJ Simpson and Clinton's Impeachment Trial. Funny how those seem like the good old days. Nowadays any talk show host has to be hated by half the country. I saw recent pictures of him and it was jarring to see someone who looked so youthful for most of their life as a really old man. At some point, the years do catch up with you.

Not sure how old I thought he was, but didn’t think 86.

Why was he banned from SNL?

That seems odd.

OK I’m glad I’m not the only one shocked he was this old.

Also, as someone who has seen Rosemary’s Baby several times, I can’t believe I didn’t realize he was in that movie!

[quote] no thoughtful person is all liberal or all conservative. People who perceive others that way are often just lazy thinkers.

Wise words from Mr. Grodan that would bring out the DL queens screaming "BOTH SIDES TROLL".

Cybill and Grodin had a one night stand long after The Heartbreak Kid and she mentioned it in her book. Apparently he asked her why would you include such a thing in your book and Cybill said you should be grateful I even mentioned it at all. Touché. Not quite sure why he was so upset about that unless he was quite prudish.

He was always great though, can't remember a bad or out of place performance.

For some reason I always thought of him giving the side eye like in this photo.

I thought his talk show was wonderful fun. He once had Dabney Coleman on the show and a woman called up and started talking about how she was sexually harassed and how it eventually stopped. Coleman said "you kinda miss it, don't you?" to which Grodin looked into the camera and just shook his head. It was really funny but that sort of subtle, low key humor was what the show specialized in. He was indeed very vocal about the OJ Trial and it made for some good discussion.

I watched Seems Like Old Times endlessly back in the 80s. Grodin would have made a great Durwood if they had made a Bewitched movie back then.

[quote] and then today Mr. Grodin crossed over.

Oh, FFS, the sommamabitch died.

Aw, that’s a shame. Barbra must be beside herself.

R40 - George Segal passed in March

Honestly the last two years has been non-stop celebrity deaths, and will only ramp up as time goes by. Movies, tv, home video, internet - has made a lot of character actors household names for younger generations. Jessica Walter, for example.

[quote]Imagine having that catalog of acting work, and the only thing the majority of people remember you for is the movie with the dog.

I remember him from The Incredible Shrinking Woman!

I remember him as Warren in The Lonely Guy.

I wouldn't have guessed he was so old when he filmed Beethoven. I've just learned via Wikipedia that there were eight films in that franchise!

R66 He was only in the first 2 which were released in theaters. The rest went straight to video.

Omg that is just instantly depressing. I loved him. 😔

May he Rest In Peace.

Don't remember liking Beethoven 2nd but I did enjoy the Dolly Parton song on the soundtrack.

As seen on Twitter

Fuck.

Taking Care Of Business is one of my favorite movies. And his bit in The Lonely Guy about how he shouldn't have to pay the same amount for a haircut as Michael Landon still cracks me up to this day.

He could out asshole Letterman. It was painful to watch.

R43 /R46 She was in Kenneth Lonergan's "Margaret" in 2011 with Mark Ruffalo, Jean Reno, and DL fave Matt Damon.

His first movie role was "Drummer Boy" in Disney's "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" (1954). He was 19.

RIP

Grodin and Jeannie Berlin were reunited in the 1990 Roundabout production of Grodin's play "Price of Fame".

Loved his crazy antagonistic interviews on Letterman and Carson!

He always looked much younger than his age.

PECAN PIE!

Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021), 86; born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

RIP

I loved watching Grodin's evening talk show on CNBC long before MSNBC was launched and the other networks started having topical evening shows. Now it's all news and politics, but Grodin was one of the pioneers of a cable network chat show. He was intelligent, witty, knowledgeable and did his homework. And he was unabashedly liberal.

CHARLES GRODIN: You died to me first!

DATALOUNGE: What the - -YOU DIED TO ME FIRST!

CHARLES GRODIN: Yes! Yes. But you didn't know I was dying to you when you died to me down by the river. So as far as you knew, you died to me first!

R78 both the current republican and Democratic Party are unrecognizable from what they were in the 90s. Everyone hates the clintons and bushes now.

He was so much gentler...

between my legs

than that Dr. Saperstein

[quote]He could out asshole Letterman. It was painful to watch.

I remember when he and Carol Burnett went on the talk show circuit trying to get people to be nicer to each other.

He would showcase NY cabaret talent on his talk show on CNBC, right? First time you would hear of these people ..... pre internet? First time I heard Nancy LaMott was on Grodin.

He was sometimes sorta kinda handsome or at least not hideous.

[quote]R30 He came up with the best book title: "It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here."

Yes! He said that when he was shooting “11 Harrowhouse” a grand English estate was being used as a location. While the camera and lights were being set up in one part of the house, he and costar Candice Bergen slipped into a side sitting room to wait.

The owner of the house eventually came in and asked, “Did someone tell you to wait in this room?” They said no. “Well,” she continued, “it would be so nice if you weren’t here.”

Was he the same in real-life or were we seeing a stage persona on Carson and Letterman?

Has anyone checked on Dyan Cannon?!

[quote]He was unforgettable in Clifford, with Martin Short.

"Look at me like a human boy!" A terrible movie that he made worthwhile.

God, I loved Charles Grodin.

Back in the day, Grodin's talk show would get lampooned and trashed regularly, and I assumed for years that it was terrible. Finally saw some clips of it a few years after it ended and it was really good, a more interesting and intelligent Actors Roundtable.

I don't know why, but when I hear the name Charles Grodin I always think of two quotes from "Seems Like Old Times"-

"I breathe all the time and I drink plenty of water"

"Forget the corn! We could have gone to Europe on what it cost us to grown 6 lousy ears of corn!"

He's having Aurora's Chicken Pepperoni in the sky.

Awww...he was always a fave...and a funny guy to boot!

I loved his soothing and calm voice.

recently watched The Lady in Red and didn't even realize that his character was gay until halfway through the movie

That whole act he did on shows like Carson was part of his schtick/his brand of humor so I don’t get why he would have been “banned” from SNL - didn’t they know what they were hiring?

Anyway, awww this makes me sad - always a fan. This whole generation of 70s actors is going to start to die off very soon, which also makes me sad.

He was an original.

I like him because he never felt the need to be the center of attention in a scene, he was happy to do his bit and sit back and let others shine. I guess I should say he played well with others.

I liked him because he was clearly more intelligent than most actors. Or at least, he didn’t hide it.

His autobiography is really interesting.

[quote]From Publishers Weekly: Grodin was born in 1935 in Pittsburgh, where he was part of a close-knit Jewish family and had good friends, despite his apparently nonstop arguing--with anybody on anything. In this ebullient, often rancorous autobiography, the stage, film and TV actor describes vividly hassles that cost him the plum role in The Graduate and numerous other setbacks before he starred in The Heartbreak Kid. Grodin learned the Hollywood maxim, "You're as good as your last success," when his next picture flopped and he had to start over again, finally making a comeback in Midnight Run. Instructive and entertaining, his story includes tidbits on Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Roman Polanski, Ellen Burstyn, Simon & Garfunkel, and many other luminaries, none more intriguing than the unsinkable Grodin.

[quote]From Library Journal: Actor, writer, producer, and director Grodin--whose career has had notable ups, and downs--shows that perseverance should be the motto of anyone striving to succeed. The incidents of his naive youth in Pittsburgh--e.g., tackling a fully accoutered bruiser in order to make a football team--are fully as engaging as days at the Actor's Studio, cowboy parts in 1960s TV Westerns, lead role in Broadway's Same Time, Next Year , or flailing the rapids in the film Midnight Run . Having recognized the impression he made in Heartbreak Kid , Grodin in this engrossing autobiography atones for the sin of abandoning Jeannie Berlin on their honeymoon. Recommended.

That was great r96 - what year was that from?

Did he die of natural causes?

He was good playing Old Man Parker in It Runs In The Family/My Summer Story, the little-seen sequel to A Christmas Story. I loved Darren McGavin in the original but Grodin did a great job stepping into the role. How did he end up doing so many movies with dogs?

The paperback is $902 !!?? I guess I should find my copy and sell it.

he never looked his age

I saw "Heaven Can Wait", loved it, and Beatty is the least memorable actor in that film.

Dyan Cannon and Grodin were excellent.

And the big-screen close-ups of Julie Christie's face took my breath away. Although her facial features were just short of being beautiful, still, they had had such compelling symmetry to them. I fell in love with her face.

Meh. He was a one-note actor and his grouchy raconteur schtick on the Tonight Show was SO predictable and tired.

And one would think after even a few of those movies he could've afforded a toupee that was just as good as Shatner's, but no. Stevie Wonder could spot that cheap rug a mile away...

I loved It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here and was thinking about buying a copy, the one I read was from the library, but the cheapest copy is over $50. Ridiculous.

was Grodin most often in a toupee throughout the 70s?

R106 you can read it for free at internet archive but you might need to join a waiting list. Someone is borrowing it now so couldn't get it but you can still search inside the book for certain people or movies and see some pages. He says he got on well with Jeannie Berlin during the filming of Heartbreak Kid but he had no relationship at all with Cybill Shepherd during filming. He says he and Cybill got to know each other very well years later and he liked her a lot. He wrote that in 1989. Things might have changed after Cybill mentioned their one night stand in her book mentioned upthread.

Seriously? Dammit, I had that book but donated it after I read it. I never seem to know what's going to be worth a lot of money a few years down the road...

R107, he was never WITHOUT a toupee.

You do realize that just because someone is selling a book for $900, that doesnt mean anyone is buying it.

Not sure if it's been mentioned or not, but did anybody notice there was a 27 year age gap between Grodin and his Beethoven co-star Bonnie Hunt?

R112 I certainly didn't when I watched it. I assumed there was a 10 year gap at most.

Grodin did look younger than 56, but what's really weird is that Hunt was nearly ten years younger than I am now.