James Caan obit

James Caan, Oscar nominee for ‘The Godfather,’ dies at 82

 

He was not on the list.

James Caan, the curly-haired tough guy known to movie fans as the hotheaded Sonny Corleone of “The Godfather” and to television audiences as both the dying football player in the classic weeper “Brian’s Song” and the casino boss in “Las Vegas,” has died. He was 82.

His manager Matt DelPiano said he died on Wednesday. No cause was given and Caan’s family, who requests privacy, said that no further details would be released at this time.

Many of his collaborators wrote condolences on Twitter Thursday.

Adam Sandler, who acted with him in “Bulletproof” and “That’s My Boy” wrote that he, “Loved him very much. Always wanted to be like him. So happy I got to know him. Never ever stopped laughing when I was around that man. His movies were best of the best.”

A football player at Michigan State University and a practical joker on production sets, Caan was a grinning, handsome performer with an athlete’s swagger and muscular build. He managed a long career despite drug problems, outbursts of temper and minor brushes with the law.

Caan had been a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola since the 1960s, when Coppola cast him for the lead in “Rain People.” He was primed for a featured role in “The Godfather” as Sonny, the No. 1 enforcer and eldest son of Mafia boss Vito Corleone.

Sonny Corleone, a violent and reckless man who conducted many killings, met his own end in one of the most jarring movie scenes in history. Racing to find his sister’s husband, Corleone stops at a toll booth that he discovers is unnervingly empty of customers. Before he can escape he is cut down by a seemingly endless fusillade of machine-gun fire. For decades after, he once said, strangers would approach him on the street and jokingly warn him to stay clear of toll roads.

Caan bonded with Brando, Robert Duvall and other cast members and made it a point to get everyone laughing during an otherwise tense production, sometimes dropping his pants and “mooning” a fellow actor or crew member. Despite Coppola’s fears he had made a flop, the 1972 release was an enormous critical and commercial success and brought supporting actor Oscar nominations for Caan, Duvall and Al Pacino.

Caan was already a star on television, breaking through in the 1971 TV movie “Brian’s Song,” an emotional drama about Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, who had died of cancer the year before at age 26. It was among the most popular and wrenching TV movies in history and Caan and co-star Billy Dee Williams, who played Piccolo’s teammate and best friend Gale Sayers, were nominated for best actor Emmys.

After “Brian’s Song” and “The Godfather,” he was one of Hollywood’s busiest actors, appearing in “Hide in Plain Sight” (which he also directed), “Funny Lady” (opposite Barbra Streisand), “The Killer Elite” and Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two,” among others. He also made a brief appearance in a flashback sequence in “The Godfather, Part II.”

But by the early 1980s he began to sour on films, though Michael Mann’s 1981 neo-noir heist film “Thief,” in which he played a professional safecracker looking for a way out, is among his most admired films.

“The fun of it was taken away,” he told an interviewer in 1981. “I’ve done pictures where I’d rather do time. I just walked out of a picture at Paramount. I said you haven’t got enough money to make me go to work every day with a director I don’t like.”

He had begun to struggle with drug use and was devastated by the 1981 leukemia death of his sister, Barbara, who until then had been a guiding force in his career. For much of the 1980s he made no films, telling people he preferred to coach his son Scott’s Little League games.

Short on cash, Caan was hired by Coppola for the leading role in the 1987 film “Gardens of Stone.” The movie, about life at Arlington National Cemetery, proved too grim for most audiences, but it renewed Caan’s acting career.

He returned to full-fledged stardom opposite Kathy Bates in “Misery” in 1990. In the film, based on Stephen King’s novel, Caan is an author taken captive by an obsessed fan who breaks his ankles to keep him from leaving. Bates won an Oscar for the role.

Once again in demand, Caan starred in “For the Boys” with Bette Midler in 1991 as part of a song-and-dance team entertaining U.S. soldiers during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. The following year he played a tongue-in-cheek version of Sonny Corleone in the comedy “Honeymoon in Vegas,” tricking Nicolas Cage into betting his girlfriend, Sarah Jessica Parker, in a high-stakes poker game so he can spirit her away and try to persuade her to marry him.

Other later films included “Flesh and Bone,” “Bottle Rocket” and “Mickey Blue Eyes.” He introduced himself to a new generation playing Walter, the workaholic, stone-faced father of Buddy’s Will Ferrell in “Elf.”

Caan didn’t take a starring role in a TV series until 2003 but his first effort, “Las Vegas,” was an immediate hit. When the series debuted, he was a casino surveillance chief dealing with cheaters and competitors of the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino.

His character rose to become boss of the Montecito but remained the tough guy who had learned judo in an undercover division of the U.S. government. Caan left the show during the fourth season and it was later canceled.

Born March 26, 1939, in New York City, Caan was the son of a kosher meat wholesaler. He was a star athlete and class president at Rhodes High School and, after attending Michigan State and Hofstra University, he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater under Sanford Meisner.

Following a brief stage career, he moved to Hollywood. He made his movie debut in a brief uncredited role in 1963 in Billy Wilder’s “Irma La Douce,” then landed a role as young thug who terrorizes Olivia de Havilland in “Lady in a Cage.” He also appeared opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the 1966 Western “El Dorado” and Harrison Ford in the 1968 Western “Journey to Shiloh.”

Married and divorced four times, Caan had a daughter, Tara, and sons Scott, Alexander, James and Jacob.

Actor (137 credits)

  Acre Beyond the Rye (announced)

Sheriff Doyle

  Redemption (announced)

Marc Benton

 2023 Fast Charlie (post-production)

Stan

 2021 Queen Bees

Dan Simpson

 2020 JL Family Ranch 2 (TV Movie)

Tap Peterson

 2020 The Pack Podcast (Podcast Series)

Arnold

 2018 Out of Blue

Colonel Tom Rockwell

 2018 Con Man

Agent Gamble

 2017 Undercover Grandpa

Grandpa

 2017 Holy Lands

Harry

 2016 The Red Maple Leaf

Senator George Lawrence Secord

 2016 JL Ranch

Tap

 2016/I Good Enough

Roger Flynn

 2016 The Good Neighbor

Harold Grainey

 2015 Sicilian Vampire

Professor Bernard Isaacs

 2015 The Wrong Boyfriend (TV Movie)

Mr. Earnshaw

 2015 The Throwaways

Holden

 2014 Preggoland

Walter Huxley

 2014/I A Fighting Man

Brother Albright

 2013-2014 Back in the Game (TV Series)

Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

- Who's on First (2014) ... Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

- Sports Therapy (2014) ... Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

- Color Barrier (2014) ... Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

- I'll Slide Home for Christmas (2013) ... Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

- Massive Election (2013) ... Terry 'The Cannon' Gannon, Sr.

Show all 13 episodes

 2014 The Outsider

Schuuster

 2013 The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

The Bamboo Cutter (English version, voice)

 2013 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Tim Lockwood (voice)

 2013 Magic City (TV Series)

Sy Berman

- The Sins of the Father (2013) ... Sy Berman

- ...And Your Enemies Closer (2013) ... Sy Berman

- Crossroads (2013) ... Sy Berman

- Angels of Death (2013) ... Sy Berman

- Crime and Punishment (2013) ... Sy Berman

 2013/I Blood Ties

Leon

 2012 For the Love of Money

Micky

 2012 That's My Boy

Father McNally

 2012 Small Apartments

Mr. Allspice

 2012 Hawaii Five-0 (TV Series)

Tony Archer

- Lekio (2012) ... Tony Archer

 2011 Detachment

Mr. Charles Seaboldt

 2010 The Annoying Orange (TV Series)

Jalapeno

- Jalapeno (2010) ... Jalapeno (voice)

 2010 Henry's Crime

Max Saltzman

 2009 Family Guy (TV Series)

James Caan

- Something, Something, Something, Dark Side (2009) ... James Caan (voice)

 2009 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Tim Lockwood (voice)

 2009/I Mercy

Gerry

 2009 Middle Men

Jerry Haggerty

 2008 New York, I Love You

Mr. Riccoli (segment "Brett Ratner")

 2008 Get Smart

The President

 2008 Wisegal (TV Movie)

Salvatore Palmeri

 2003-2007 Las Vegas (TV Series)

Ed Deline

- A Hero Ain't Nothing But a Sandwich (2007) ... Ed Deline

- Heroes (2007) ... Ed Deline

- Junk in the Trunk (2007) ... Ed Deline

- Barechested in the Park (2007) ... Ed Deline

- The Burning Bedouin (2007) ... Ed Deline

Show all 88 episodes

 2007 The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Video Game)

Sonny Corleone (voice)

 2007 The Godfather: The Don's Edition (Video Game)

Sonny Corleone (voice)

 2006 The Godfather: Mob Wars (Video Game)

Sonny Corleone (voice)

 2006 The Godfather (Video Game)

Sonny Corleone (voice)

 2005 Santa's Slay

Darren Mason (uncredited)

 2004 The Simpsons (TV Series)

James Caan

- All's Fair in Oven War (2004) ... James Caan (voice)

 2004 Crossing Jordan (TV Series)

Ed Deline

- What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston (2004) ... Ed Deline

 2003 Elf

Walter

 2003 Jericho Mansions

Leonard Grey

 2003 The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (TV Movie)

Mr. Dewitt

 2003 Dogville

The Big Man

 2002 Untitled Eric Gilliland Project (TV Movie)

 2002 Blood Crime (TV Movie)

Sheriff Morgan McKenna

 2002 City of Ghosts

Marvin

 2002 Lathe of Heaven (TV Movie)

Dr. William Haber

 2002 This Thing of Ours

Jimmy

 2001 Night at the Golden Eagle

Prison Warden (uncredited)

 2001 In the Shadows

Lance Huston

 2001 Viva Las Nowhere

Roy Baker

 2001 A Glimpse of Hell (TV Movie)

Capt. Fred Moosally

 2001 Warden of Red Rock (TV Movie)

John Flinders

 2000 The Way of the Gun

Joe Sarno

 2000 Luckytown

Charlie Doyles

 2000 The Yards

Frank Olchin

 1999 Mickey Blue Eyes

Frank Vitale

 1998 Poodle Springs (TV Movie)

Philip Marlowe

 1998 This Is My Father

Kieran Johnson

 1996 NewsRadio (TV Series)

James Caan

- Movie Star (1996) ... James Caan

 1996 Bulletproof

Colton

 1996 Eraser

DeGuerin

 1996 Bottle Rocket

Mr. Henry

 1996 North Star

Sean McLennon

 1995 A Boy Called Hate

Jim

 1993 Flesh and Bone

Roy Sweeney

 1993 The Program

Sam Winters

 1992 Honeymoon in Vegas

Tommy Korman

 1991 For the Boys

Eddie Sparks

 1991 The Dark Backward

Doctor Scurvy

 1990 Misery

Paul Sheldon

 1990 Dick Tracy

Spaldoni

 1988 Alien Nation

Matthew Sykes

 1987 Gardens of Stone

Sgt. Clell Hazard

 1983 Les uns et les autres (TV Mini Series)

Glenn Sr. / Glenn Jr. / Jason et Jack Gleen

- Episode #1.5 (1983) ... Glenn Sr. / Glenn Jr.

- Episode #1.4 (1983) ... Jason et Jack Gleen

- Episode #1.3 (1983) ... Glenn Sr. / Glenn Jr.

- Episode #1.2 (1983) ... Glenn Sr. / Glenn Jr.

- Episode #1.1 (1983) ... Glenn Sr. / Glenn Jr.

 1982 Kiss Me Goodbye

Jolly

 1981 Bolero

Jack Glenn / Jason Glenn

 1981 Thief

Frank

 1980 Hide in Plain Sight

Thomas Hacklin, Jr.

 1979 Chapter Two

George Schneider

 1979 1941

Sailor in Fight (uncredited)

 1978 Comes a Horseman

Frank

 1977 The Godfather Saga (TV Mini Series)

Sonny Corleone

- Episode #1.4 (1977) ... Sonny Corleone

- Episode #1.3 (1977) ... Sonny Corleone

- Episode #1.2 (1977) ... Sonny Corleone

- Episode #1.1 (1977) ... Sonny Corleone

 1977 Another Man, Another Chance

David Williams

 1977 A Bridge Too Far

SSgt. Dohun

 1976 Harry and Walter Go to New York

Harry Dighby

 1976 Silent Movie

James Caan

 1975 The Killer Elite

Mike Locken

 1975 Rollerball

Jonathan E.

 1975 Funny Lady

Billy Rose

 1974 Gone with the West

Jebediah Kelsey

 1974 The Godfather: Part II

Sonny Corleone (uncredited)

 1974 Freebie and the Bean

Freebie

 1974 The Gambler

Axel Freed

 1973 Cinderella Liberty

John Baggs Jr.

 1973 Slither

Dick Kanipsia

 1972 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series)

Guest Performer

- James Caan (1972) ... Guest Performer

 1972 The Godfather

Sonny

 1971 Brian's Song (TV Movie)

Brian Piccolo

 1971 T.R. Baskin

Larry Moore

 1970 Rabbit, Run

Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom

 1969 The Rain People

Kilgannon

 1969 Get Smart (TV Series)

Rupert of Rathskeller

- To Sire, with Love: Part 2 (1969) ... Rupert of Rathskeller (uncredited)

- To Sire, with Love: Part 1 (1969) ... Rupert of Rathskeller (uncredited)

 1969 The F.B.I. (TV Series)

Eugene David Holt

- A Life in the Balance (1969) ... Eugene David Holt

 1968 Journey to Shiloh

Buck Burnett

 1968 Submarine X-1

Commander Bolton

 1967 Games

Paul Montgomery

 1967 Countdown

Lee Stegler

 1966 El Dorado

Mississippi

 1965 Red Line 7000

Mike

 1965 The Glory Guys

Pvt. Anthony Dugan

 1965 Wagon Train (TV Series)

Paul

- The Echo Pass Story (1965) ... Paul

 1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series)

Jay Shaw / Phil Beldone

- Memo from Purgatory (1964) ... Jay Shaw / Phil Beldone

 1964 Lady in a Cage

Randall Simpson O'Connell

 1964 Channing (TV Series)

Jeff Brubaker

- My Son, the All-American (1964) ... Jeff Brubaker

 1964 Breaking Point (TV Series)

Gerry

- Glass Flowers Never Drop Petals (1964) ... Gerry

 1963 Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV Series)

Rick Peterson

- The Hunt (1963) ... Rick Peterson

 1963 Combat! (TV Series)

Sgt. Beckman

- Anatomy of a Patrol (1963) ... Sgt. Beckman

 1963 Death Valley Days (TV Series)

Jim McKinney / Bob

- Deadly Decision (1963) ... Jim McKinney

- Shadow of Violence (1963) ... Bob

 1963 Ben Casey (TV Series)

Dr. Keith Gregory

- Justice to a Microbe (1963) ... Dr. Keith Gregory

 1963 Irma la Douce

Soldier with Radio (uncredited)

 1963 Dr. Kildare (TV Series)

Charley Johnson

- The Mosaic (1963) ... Charley Johnson

 1963 Wide Country (TV Series)

Buddie Simpson

- A Cry from the Mountain (1963) ... Buddie Simpson

 1962 The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series)

Dr. Dick Harris

- Frieda (1962) ... Dr. Dick Harris

 1962 The Untouchables (TV Series)

Keir Brannon

- A Fist of Five (1962) ... Keir Brannon

 1962 Alcoa Premiere (TV Series)

Arch Williams

- The Masked Marine (1962) ... Arch Williams

 1961 Route 66 (TV Series)

Johnny Berenson

- ...And the Cat Jumped Over the Moon (1961) ... Johnny Berenson (as Jimmy Caan)

 1961 Play of the Week (TV Series)

- Black Monday (1961)

 1961 Naked City (TV Series)

Marty Feketi

- Bullets Cost Too Much (1961) ... Marty Feketi (as Jimmy Caan)