This article will answer every question you have about Charles Grodin. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.
- What does Charles Grodin do for a living?
- Who are Charles Grodin’s parents and siblings?
- What are Charles Grodin’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Charles Grodin married or does he have a girlfriend?
- Does Charles Grodin have any children?
- Where is Charles Grodin now?
- How tall is Charles Grodin?
- How much money does Charles Grodin earn?
- What is Charles Grodin’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Charles Grodin?
Charles Grodin 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) 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 several autobiographies, and 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).
Charles Grodin’s Career
Early career
Grodin’s film debut was an uncredited bit part in Disney’s 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A student of Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Tchin-Tchin, opposite Anthony Quinn. In 1965, he became an assistant to director Gene Saks and appeared on several television series including The Virginian. Grodin had a small but pivotal part playing an obstetrician in the 1968 horror film Rosemary’s Baby. In 1964, he played Matt Stevens on the ABC soap opera The Young Marrieds.
During the late 1960s, he also co-wrote and directed Hooray! It’s a Glorious Day…and All That, a Broadway play, and directed Lovers and Other Strangers and Thieves, also on Broadway. He also directed Simon and Garfunkel’s television special Songs of America in 1969. However, he turned down the part of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate because of the low salary offered by producer Lawrence Turman, although Turman assured him that the part would make him a star, as it ultimately did for Dustin Hoffman.
Family films and talk show host
Grodin’s career took a turn in 1992, when he played the nervous family man George Newton in the kids’ comedy Beethoven, opposite Bonnie Hunt. The film was a box-office hit, and he reprised the role in the 1993 sequel, Beethoven’s 2nd. Also in 1993, Grodin played the role of Harrison Winslow in the film Heart and Souls. After a supporting role in the acclaimed Ivan Reitman comedy Dave, Grodin signed on to play The Old Man in the 1994 limited release sequel to A Christmas Story, It Runs in the Family (a.k.a. My Summer Story). That same year also saw the much-delayed release of Clifford, in which Grodin portrayed the frustrated uncle opposite Martin Short’s title role.
From 1995 to 1998, Grodin hosted his own issues-oriented talk show, The Charles Grodin Show, on CNBC, replacing Tom Snyder after he left to start The Late Late Show on CBS. Grodin’s show aired for a final year on MSNBC before ending in late 1999. From 2000 to 2003, he was a political commentator for 60 Minutes II.
Career resurgence
In the 2010s, Grodin made more frequent acting appearances, guest-starring on television shows such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and The Michael J. Fox Show. Grodin had several supporting roles in films, including Barry Levinson’s The Humbling (2014) and Taylor Hackford’s The Comedian (2016). He had a prominent supporting role in Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young (2015), playing a celebrated documentary filmmaker and the father of one of the lead characters.
In 2015, Grodin was cast in a recurring role in Louis C.K.’s acclaimed FX show Louie as Dr Bigelow, C.K.’s philosophical doctor and mentor in Season 4 and 5. In an interview with Deadline, Grodin talked about his relationship with C.K. stating, “I find him to be the single most talented person that I’ve ever worked with, he’s a wonderful director, writer, and actor”.
He also portrayed the philanthropist and defrauded investor Carl J. Shapiro in the 2016 miniseries, Madoff, on ABC based on the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme debacle.
Death
Grodin died from bone marrow cancer at his home in Wilton, Connecticut, on May 18, 2021. He was 86.
Charles Grodin‘s Family
Grodin had two children: daughter Marion (a comedian), from his marriage to Julie Ferguson, and son, Nicholas, from his marriage to Elissa Durwood. For a period in the 2000s, Grodin gave up show business to be a stay-at-home dad to his children.
Charles Grodin‘s Children – Kids
Grodin’s children are Marion and Nicolas Grodin.
Charles Grodin’s Net Worth
Grodin has an estimated net worth of $12 million.
Height/Measurements
Grodin stands at a height of 1.83 m.
