Charles Grodin, the TV and movie actor who brought his droll delivery to films such as “The Heartbreak Kid,” “Midnight Run” alongside Robert De Niro, and the “Beethoven” family dog movies, has died. He was 86.
Grodin died Tuesday at his Wilton, Connecticut, home from bone marrow cancer, his son, Nicholas Grodin, confirmed to USA TODAY.
Grodin also starred in “Dave,” “The Woman in Red,” and “Heaven Can Wait.” On Broadway, he starred with Ellen Burstyn in the long-running 1970s comedy “Same Time, Next Year.”
In the 1990s, Grodin made his mark as a liberal commentator on radio and TV. He had his own CNBC talk show in the 1990s and was a frequent late night talk show guest, regularly appearing as a foil on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and on “Late Night With David Letterman.” He moved to MSNBC and then to CBS’ “60 Minutes II.”
He also wrote plays and television scripts, winning an Emmy for his work on a 1997 Paul Simon special. Grodin wrote several books humorously ruminating on his ups and downs in show business, including 1989’s “It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here: My Journey Through Show Business.”
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“One of the funniest people I ever met,” actor Steve Martin, who starred with Grodin in 1984’s “The Lonely Guy,” wrote in a Twitter tribute.
“Chuck was as good a person as he was an actor,” De Niro said in a statement. ” ‘Midnight Run’ was a great project to work…
