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

• 2025Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
• 2017An Imperfect Murder — Arthur
• Madoff — Carl Shapiro
• 2016The Comedian — Dick D'Angelo
• 2015While We're Young — Leslie Breitbart
• 2014The Humbling — Jerry
• 2013Brazzaville Teen-Ager — Father
• The Michael J. Fox Show — Steve Henry
• 2012Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen — (archive footage)
• 2006The Ex — Bob Kowalski
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Brett Forrester
• 1994Clifford — Martin Daniels
• 1994It Runs in the Family — Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
• 1994Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! — Chaz
• 1994The World of Jim Henson — Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
• 1993Beethoven's 2nd — George Newton
• 1993Dave — Murray Blum
• 1993Heart and Souls — Harrison Winslow
• 1993So I Married an Axe Murderer — Commandeered Car Driver
• 1992Beethoven — George Newton
• Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories — Narrator (voice)
• 1990Taking Care of Business — Spencer Barnes
• 1990The Muppets at Walt Disney World — Quentin Fitzwaller
• 1989Cranium Command — Left Brain (voice)
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark
• 1988Midnight Run — Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
• 1988The Couch Trip — George Matlin
• 1988You Can't Hurry Love — Mr. Glerman
• 1987Ishtar — Jim Harrison
• Fresno — Cane Kensington
• 1986Last Resort — George Lollar
• 1985Movers & Shakers — Herb Derman, Writer, Producer
• 1984The Lonely Guy — Warren
• 1984The Woman in Red — Buddy
• 1983Charley's Aunt — Lord Fancourt Babberly
• American Playhouse — Lord Fancourt Babberly
• 1981The Great Muppet Caper — Nicky Holiday
• 1981The Incredible Shrinking Woman — Vance Kramer
• 1980It's My Turn — Homer
• 1980Seems Like Old Times — Ira Parks
• 1979Real Life — Warren Yeager
• 1979Sunburn — Jake
• 1978Heaven Can Wait — Tony Abbott
• 1978Just Me and You — Michael Lindsay
• 1978The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank — Jim Benson
• 1978The Meanest Men in the West — Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
• 1977It Happened One Christmas — Joseph
• 1977The Paul Simon Special — Self, Writer
• 1977Thieves — Martin Cramer
• 1976King Kong — Fred S. Wilson
• Laverne & Shirley
• 197411 Harrowhouse — Howard R. Chesser, Adaptation
• 1974Paradise — Director
• 1973Acts of Love and Other Comedies — Director
• 1972The Heartbreak Kid — Lenny Cantrow
• Great Performances — Jake
• 1970Catch-22 — Captain Aarfy Aardvark
• 1969Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America — Self, Producer, Director
• 1968Rosemary's Baby — Dr. Hill
• Captain Nice — News Vendor
• Judd, for the Defense
• The Guns of Will Sonnett — Bells Pickering
• Felony Squad
• Shane — Jed
• My Mother the Car
• The Big Valley — Mark Dunigan
• The F.B.I. — Carl Platt
• 1964Sex and the College Girl — Bob
• The Young Marrieds — Matt Crane Stevens
• The Virginian — Arnie Doud
• The Defenders — Thomas Martin
• 195420,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Drummer Boy (uncredited)

Appearances as themselves (14)

• 2026Marty, Life Is Short — Self (archive footage)
• 2017Waiting for Ishtar — Self
• 2012Char·ac·ter — Self
• 2011The Harmony Game — Self
• 2007Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song — Self
• 2002The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s — Self (archive footage)
• The Daily Show — Self
• Late Show with David Letterman — Self - Guest
• 1986King Kong! The Living Legend — Self
• Late Night with David Letterman — Self - Guest
• 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
• The Great American Dream Machine — Himself
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self