He was also willing to take supporting roles in movies such as Get Smart (2008), Mercy (2009), which was written by and starred his son Scott, Middle Men (2009), The Outsider (2014) and The Good Neighbor (2016). End of tweet. Caan's earliest on-screen roles were in television, where he notched appearances on anthology series like "Route 66" and "Naked City." "The Godfather" has long been dogged with questions of how much of the story is based on true events, and how much the real-life mafia was involved with the film's production. ", He's most known for his work in "The Godfather," "Thief," "Misery" and "Rollerball.". James Caan and Gianni Russo in the fight scene from The Godfather, in which Russo claims he broke two ribs. The elder Caan experienced addiction in the 1980s, which required him to take a step back from acting. As the actor described in a previous interview with Today, the creators were very open to his suggestions granting him plenty of opportunities to get involved in the creative process. Throughout his career, Caan faced a parade of allegations of other instances of assault. Check out what clicked this week in entertainment. Russo told EW: With this being my first film, I didnt want to complain he chipped my elbow with the garbage pail cover, and he broke two ribs. Born on March 26, 1940, in The Bronx, New York, Caan's path to acting began while attending college, according to Britannica. Copyright 2023 Distractify. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. In Carol Morleys Out of Blue (2018), an adaptation of Martin Amiss 1997 novel Night Train, he was the intimidating father of a murdered astrophysicist daughter, and his movie work continued up to the time of his death. He has the pedigree, too: his grandfather Bob was a left tackle and offensive captain on Packers teams that won five NFL championships from 1961-67. In a 2013 interview with the AV Club, Caan took credit for discovering Mann, recounting how the fledgling filmmaker waited to talk to him on the set of the Neil Simon adaptation "Chapter Two." News, the couple's tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship officially ended after 18 years of marriage back in 2015. Jon Favreau's 2003 family comedy hit "Elf" has something for everyone, a warmhearted holiday story wrapped in a hip, retro vibe and starring a murderer's row of indie and alt comedy stars, including Zooey Deschanel, Kyle Gass, Andy Richter, a pre-"Game of Thrones" Peter Dinklage, and Amy Sedaris. James was best known for playing Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather," which won him both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Caan embraced his role as the hotheaded Sonny, turning to his friend, insult comic extraordinaire Don Rickles, for inspiration. Caan receive good reviews for the role he called the most physically demanding of his career as he had to stay in bed most of the time. The actor's family announced . Market data provided by Factset. It was a nightmare, Caan said. The full statement reads, "It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. At times Caan gave the impression he wished to be seen as an artist, not a tough guy. Caan's character spends the film searching for his wife and children, who have entered the witness protection program after Jack testifies against the Mafia. The creators obliged, and Ed Deline's character was born. I wear $150 slacks, I wear silk shirts, I wear $800 suits, I wear a gold watch, I wear a perfect D flawless three-karat ring, I change cars like other guys change their f---ing shoes! 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Instead of a passive, relatively one-sided character, he wanted to play someone able to walk around the casino and engage in small talk with its most eccentric customers. Legal Statement. Caan was four times divorced, had a cocaine addiction, used prostituted women, was accused of beating his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend and of involvement in multiple violent assaults on other men, he had mobster friends whom he defended, and once lived at the Playboy Mansion, and apparently terrified his co-stars on multiple sets. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and raised in Queens, where his father was a kosher butcher. Caan went along with it, checked out with Mann wrote, and recognized something good was brewing. There are some film stars for whom the frisson of fame and the exultation of acting are not enough. I am doing fine. Caan briefly lived at the Playboy Mansion and, in 2010, People reported that his son, Scott, spent much of his unconventional childhood inside the walls of the Playboy Mansion. James Caan told People, Id have Scott bring me girls. Behind the scenes, Caan and his character were not too far apart, as Ferrell once noted on a 2018 episode of "The Late Late Show with James Corden." While James Caan will be remembered for his prolific acting career, he also directed one feature film, 1980's "Hide in Plain Sight." He wasn't afraid to play against his tough guy image, either, in sensitive supporting turns opposite Barbra Streisand and Jane Fonda in "Funny Lady" and "Comes a Horseman," respectively. 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. James disappeared from Hollywood on several occasions, intermittently working as a children's sports coach. End of tweet" (via Twitter). And with that, "Thief" was underway. Life on a third straight one-year contract with the mega-talented Astros isnt bad at all. Paramount Pictures hired Coppola to adapt and direct the film, feeling that having an Italian-American at the helm would ensure that the film was authentic, and would protect them against charges of racism. Enter your email below to sign in or become a 4W member and join the conversation. Its a thriller with plausible people in it. But Caan hit the headlines again in the 90s for the wrong reasons. I would love to do a real character thing. Sign up now to get updates and support our team of feminist writers. Caan was also the first significant film star to admit to being friends with the Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, although he said the relationship was platonic. ", JAMES CAAN, GODFATHER STAR, DEAD AT 82, FAMILY SAYS, 'Godfather' actor James Caan died on Wednesday, July 7. The actor is currently single, his starsign is Aries and he is now 82 years of age. Cookies help us deliver our Services. So, what happened? No cause was given and Caans family, who requests privacy, said that no further details would be released at this time. James Caan was rushed to a hospital in Toronto on Tuesday. Many actors become associated with one particular role, and this was certainly true for Caan, especially in his later years; many of his roles in the 1990s and 2000s like "Mickey Blue Eyes" and "The Way of the Gun" played on the audience's familiarity with Sonny Corleone. I looked guilty.. Actor James Caan passed away on Wednesday, July 6, but fans did not learn the details until several weeks later. The Chicago in Thief is the Chicago of the Green Mill Lounge and Wise Fools Pub, of the alleys behind Wabash Avenue in the Loop, of the intersection of Ashland and Webster, of diners and finished basements and used car lots but its also almost surreal in its beauty, from the consistent use of neon to the sparkling, rain-soaked streets. "The Moth Keeper," byK. ONeill (Random House Graphic, fiction): This beautifully illustrated fantastical graphic novel tells the story of Anya the Moth Keeper, whose village needs her to protect its precious lunar moths. I loved him, gonna miss him. Robert De Niro also wrote that he was, very very sad to hear about Jimmys passing.. Growing up on the mean streets of Sunnyside, Queens, in the 1950s, Caan made a name for himself two names, in fact with his physical prowess. A 1999 article in The Guardian states the LAPD arrested Caan at the time and interrogated him for 10 hours over Schwartz death. I have more fun when I'm working, and I have a lot of laughs. "I was very fortunate that I was able to do whatever the hell I wanted to do, so I put it together right away," he said. I got into the whole lifestyle of girls and drugs and partying you really do get caught up in it, and its very destructive, the Times reports Caan told Entertainment Weekly. Caan was not afraid to study or to work hard, but it was clear early on that neither the life of an academic or a meatpacker was for him. HOLLYWOOD (AP) - The sister of actor James Caan and president-chief operating officer of the actor's film and television production company has died at the age of 38, a spokesman said. During this time Caan's sister Barbara died of leukemia. Entertainment, Caan said that he lived with cocaine addiction after turning to the drug when his sister died from leukemia. Unfortunately, he passed [] Perhaps surprising to some, Caan could also sing, dance, and deliver a comedic line with precision (via theLos Angeles Times). But coaching Little League doesn't pay the bills, and due to some financial chicanery on the part of his accountant, Caan's financial situation took a significant hit. He married and divorced four times. Caan never admitted to hurting his co-star, claiming that he worked with a stunt double . 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 Buddys Will Ferrell in Elf., Adam Sandler, who acted with him in Bulletproof and Thats My Boy tweeted that he, Loved him very much. FILE - James Caan attends the 2016 Summer TCA "Hallmark Event" on July 27, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Caan, whose roles included "The Godfather," "Brians Song" and "Misery," died Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at age 82. During his fallow period between 1982 and 1987, he spent his days coaching his son Scotts soccer and basketball teams, and his nights at the Playboy Mansion (There were tons of girls over there and, call me sick, call me crazy, but I liked em!) and taking cocaine. Hip hop artist Derek Lee, who went by the stage name Doc Rapper, intervened, at which point, according to Lee, Caan pointed a pistol at Lee. Frank is a hard-talking tough guy, pressed into one last job by a dangerous mobster (Robert Prosky), but Mann and Caan give him vast reserves of pain and trauma just under the surface. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Caan's movie and TV career stretches back over 60 years, with some of his most notable roles being in The Godfather (1972), Misery (1990) and Elf (2003). (The matter was settled out of court.) The GM and coach seem to be more cohesive than Ryan Pace was with Matt Nagy and John Fox. She was the only person I was afraid of. Then he had a motorcycle accident and his house was nearly destroyed by a landslide. As Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Duvall, and James Caan were working on "The Rain People," author Mario Puzo released his bestselling crime novel "The Godfather," a multi-generational look at America through the changing fortunes of a mafia leader and his children. "Godfather" star James Caan's cause of death has been revealed. Lee called the police and Caan was arrested on a misdemeanor charge, then released later that night. He managed a long career despite drug problems, outbursts of temper and minor brushes with the law. In the 1981 Rolling Stone interview, for example, when he claimed his first wife, Dee Jay Mattis, only allowed him to see his daughter, Tara, once in 10 years, he said, I just send the cheque every month. I said you havent got enough money to make me go to work every day with a director I dont like.. So happy I got to know him. As at home as Caan felt at the Playboy Mansion, he seems to have felt just as welcome in the magazine's pages. (Getty Images), Caan's early work included "Red Line 7000," "El Dorado" and "The Rain People. Great job.". Seldom unemployed, he traded happily on his 70s persona, particularly playing older and wiser versions of Sonny Corleone, either as mafia bosses, louche gamblers or businessmen with mafia connections in films such as Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), with Hugh Grants British art auctioneer getting mixed up with the mob, City of Ghosts (2002) and Dogville (2003). Distractify is a registered trademark. Try refreshing the page!). Playing Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather" earned James Caan a Golden Globe nomination and his sole Academy Award nod; he might have won if the Academy had not pitted him against co-stars Robert Duvall and Al Pacino in the Best Supporting Actor category. No one could say no to a cute little boy. Scott himself has acknowledged that their relationship was dysfunctional., In 1980 pictures of a bruised and battered Sheila Ryan appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer. 5 He was a famously tricky interview subject, by turns hostile to journalists and refreshingly forthright. A few, but not all, of these allegations have received some attention in last weeks articles venerating Caan and his reputation as a mans man, tough guy, and bad boy. The news of his death was reported around the world the next day. Caan studied and performed at the acting school for five years, working closely with famed acting teacher Sanford Meisner, whose technique revolved reaction rather than calculated performance. "If there's anything I can attribute my success to," Caan told Roger Ebert in 1988, "it's that I said 'no.'" However, the many superb portrayals he gave in scores of films and TV episodes will outlive the gossip and sensational headlines. According to the death certificate obtained by TMZ, Caan died from a heart attack and coronary artery disease. FILE - James Caan attends the 2016 Summer TCA "Hallmark Event" on July 27, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Caan, whose roles included "The Godfather," "Brian's Song" and "Misery," died Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at age 82. . Caan said, "They don't want to watch it if it's bad. Based on the life of 1980s Ponzi schemer turned Evangelical minister Barry Minkow, the film went into production in 2009 with Minkow producing and even playing himself. ", Caan died from a heart attack in early July. Al Pacino called Caan, A great actor. Las Vegas had practically reignited the actor's career, and through it, James garnered an armada of new fans. "The Godfather" would sit at the top of nearly any actor's resume, and rightly so, but James Caan had other, less heralded favorites. The coverage reveals something that most women in the industry already know: the Post-#MeToo era has not prompted a larger examination of Hollywoods beloved cast and their treatment of women. Jul 15, 2022 7 min. Fans of a certain age will no doubt know James Caan best from "The Godfather," but their children and grandchildren might have a different experience of the actor not as a violent mid-century mobster but as a grumpy dad who needs to learn the true meaning of Christmas. Even when playing a bedridden romance novelist in "Misery," Rob Reiner's 1990 Stephen King adaptation, Caan's physicality plays an important part. Then came the morning when he woke up in a friends flat to find 10 Los Angeles policemen standing over him with guns drawn. "Then I felt there was this stigma to doing a TV series. All titles are on sale Tuesday. For more must-readbook recommendations, check out our interview with Jos Olivarez about his new poetry collection, and the March USA TODAY Book Club pick, "Promises of Gold;"the 20 books we were most excited for this winter, including a collaboration betweenColleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, andRebecca Makkai's"I Have Some Questions for You";ourfavoritebooks of 2022that received perfect four-star reviews;and the juiciest celebrity memoirs released last year from Matthew Perry, Tom Felton, William Shatner, Jennette McCurdy and more. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Caan would act as a kind of good luck charm to other young directors, appearing in Christopher McQuarrie's debut "The Way of the Gun" and James Gray's sophomore effort "The Yards," both in 2000. The actor's official Twitter account announced the news on Thursday:. But by the early 1980s he began to sour on films, though Michael Manns 1981 neo-noir heist film Thief, in which he played a professional safecracker looking for a way out, is among his most admired films. 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 Brians Song and the casino boss in Las Vegas, has died. His second wife, Sheila Marie Ryanwho dated Elvis and appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in 1973 was 12 years his junior and died in 2012 (m. 1976-1977). He was 82. 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. And it was one of the main reasons, at least for me, the movie worked.". A July 7 obituary in The New York Times of Caan frames the actors violent tendencies as part of his bad boy reputation. Most of his behavior is blamed on his cocaine addiction, which began after the premature death of his sister. I hardly ever go out, he told an interviewer in 1986. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. For Women. I was doing this thing with Marsha Mason [Note: Chapter Two] and some guy was sitting there on a little wooden chair and he had this script and asked me to read it. In 1981, Caans sister Barbara, to whom he was very close and who ran his production company, died of leukaemia, aged 38. As they traveled to the Vibrato Grill Jazz in Los Angeles for supper, the 79-year-old Godfather actor was spotted enjoying time with his youngest child, who is 21. It was among the most popular and wrenching TV movies in history and Caan and co-star Billy Dee Williams, who played Piccolos teammate and best friend Gale Sayers, were nominated for best actor Emmys. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. In 1995 he married actress/costume designer Linda Stokes who looks at least a decade younger than him and they divorced in 2016, after filing for divorce three times. Three years later luck would strike again when Caan's old Hofstra classmate Francis Ford Coppola cast him as a former football player in the road trip drama "The Rain People" opposite Shirley Knight and Robert Duvall. He even popped up briefly in a 2005 episode of the E! One such project included the 2018 biopic/federal crime "Con Man.". With all due respect to Sonny Corleone, "Thief" is arguably Caan's finest performance. Natalie Daniels-Read more. Many reporters have ignored or downplayed his behavior toward women and used euphemisms, particularly in reference to prostituted women, sometimes calling them girls. The Washington Post, for example, referred to Caans decadent lifestyle as an habitue of the Playboy Mansion., Celebrity memorials of Caan on Twitter and in the media would leave most readers completely unaware of the actors darker side. There was something really strange and enticing about the script for Thief, James Caan now recalls. More violence came his way as the brutal CIA man in Sam Peckinpahs The Killer Elite and, in contrast, he portrayed Billy Rose, the gambling, philandering husband of Barbra Streisands Fanny Brice in Funny Lady, all in the same year. Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. First among those was "Thief," the 1981 debut feature of writer-director Michael Mann, who would go on to revolutionize the crime drama on television and film with "Miami Vice," "Manhunter," and "Heat," among many others. "Jimmy was one of the greatest," Del Piano said in a statement. Scoot Caan, also an actor like his dad, opened up to PEOPLE back in 2010 about their relationship. In the film, based on Stephen Kings novel, Caan is an author taken captive by an obsessed fan who breaks his ankles to keep him from leaving. Caan threw a billy club at Russos head, bit his hands, and lifted him off the sidewalk with a kick actions Russo claims were not part of the choreography. The legendary actor starred in 'Misery' and 'Elf," in addition to hundreds of other roles. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the film also stars Caan who plays "a blue-collar worker in Buffalo whose estranged wife, Ruthie (Barbara Rae), has taken up with a local mobster, Jack Scolese (Robert Viharo)." If macho means Im going to drive the car, then Im macho. Caan was already a star on television, breaking through in the 1971 TV movie Brians Song, an emotional drama about Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, who had died of cancer the year before at age 26. Coppola had to fight the studio over everything, including the casting of Caan and newcomer Al Pacino as mob sons Sonny and Michael Corleone. By Claire Jimenez(Grand Central, fiction). This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, In addition to famous lines like "Leave the gun, take the cannoli," the film (and book) gave new meaning to the word"godfather," a title that did not have sinister connotations before the novel. On top of this, he walked off the set of The Holcroft Covenant (1985) and was replaced by Michael Caine. But then he has to get rid of all the s--- he got in B so he can go back to A, you see what Im saying? On July 6, 2022, the film world was stunned by the death of actor and filmmaker James Caan. When the series debuted, he was a casino surveillance chief dealing with cheaters and competitors of the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino. Entertainment, Caan said that he lived with cocaine addiction after turning to the drug when his sister died from leukemia. I had a couple of guys show me all the stuff, it was unbelievable, the stuff these guys could do, said Caan And I pulled it off and [made a convincing thief] and I was really proud of myself and so were my parents.. I spend most of my time upstairs in my bedroom, wearing out one spot on the bed where I sit when Im making phone calls. When he had not appeared in a film for four years, people in Hollywood were beginning to ask, What ever happened to ?. When 13-year-old Ruthy disappeared after track practice, it left the Ramirez family scarred. He also made a brief appearance in a flashback sequence in The Godfather, Part II.. Between 1982 and 1987, he went on what he would later call the Hollywood burnout. He made his 40 million dollar fortune with Countdown, The Killer Elite, Bottle Rocket.
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