He followed it up with the popular Alien Nation but fully re-established himself with the Stephen King adaptation Misery, directed by Rob Reiner, in which Caan played the bedbound author subject to the attentions of obsessive nurse/fan Kathy Bates. Thinking of his family and sending my love., James Caan. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.. He was born in the Bronx, to Sophie (Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, Jewish . My heart has a deep sorrow this day for your passing. Initial theatrical release was on March 15, 1972, by Paramount Pictures. A titan in the film industry, 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). he boasted. Actor Pierce Brosnan shared a carousel of photos on Instagram to pay tribute to James Caan. 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. Given that James fell for so many women, some fans may wonder how many kids the actor fathered. Its hard to believe that he wont be in the world any more because he was so alive and daring. Following a brief stage career, he moved to Hollywood. Legal Statement. Caan was nominated for an Emmy for his role, which led to his reuniting with Coppola for The Godfather. Caan originally auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone that eventually went to Al Pacino, and was favoured by the studio executives, but after Coppola insisted on Pacino, Caan was given another plum role, Corleones older brother Sonny. RELATED GALLERY: Celebrities Who've Died in 2022. The two of them appear in the upcoming film Fast Charlie together. The thing with Caan is, hes got a great sense of humor, director Jon Favreau told Rolling Stone in 2020. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! The legendary actor starred in 'Misery' and 'Elf," in addition to hundreds of other roles. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! In addition, he finds himself at the helm of the hit TV series Las Vegas (2003) as casino security chief "Big Ed" Deline. James Caan died on July 6 at age 82, which these days seems too young (I'm not just saying that because I'm about to turn 63, or . By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. The instance was one of dozens of roles that Caan reportedly turned down as he eschewed blockbusters for more challenging work. Jimmy got a little aggressive, Russo said back in 2017. or redistributed. Over a 60-year career, Caan has definitely earned it, playing one memorable role after another, and managing not to be typecast - Sonny, Don Corleone's hothead son in "The Godfather"; a dying. 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. Five, six years later, Im in Hollywood. He later married Ingrid Hajek in 1990. James was a core cast member on the show since the very beginning. Jen Juneau is a digital news writer for PEOPLE since 2016. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! ", "I will miss him dearly and am proud to have worked with him all these years. A football player at Michigan State University and a practical joker on production sets, Caan was a grinning, handsome performer with an athletes swagger and muscular build. 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. Jimmy was someone who stretched through my life longer and closer than any motion picture figure Ive ever known, the director toldDeadline. After finding fame as a tough guy in Hollywood, James Caan decided it was time for a break. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. I was like a maniac. Market data provided by Factset. He told theNew York Timesin 1991 that after his sisters death: I realized passion is such an important thing to have in life because it ends so soon, and my passion was to grow up with my son.. All rights reserved. Bates won an Oscar for the role. He portrayed real-life New York mobster and crime figure,Henry Hill. JAMES CAAN REMEMBERED BY HOLLYWOOD: 'GODFATHER' STAR HONORED WITH TRIBUTES FOLLOWING HIS DEATH AT 82, James Caan as Santino 'Sonny' Corleone in 'The Godfather, ' the movie based on the novel by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. As Caan told Rolling Stone, Coppola later wanted to cast him as the lead in Apocalypse Now (ultimately played by Martin Sheen), but he and the director couldnt agree on a fee. For more on James Caan, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. From those beginning times working on The Rain People, throughout all the milestones of my life. I'm proud that he's grown up so well.". Losing Ray Liotta and James Caan within months of each other just tells me God is up there making one helluva a mobster movie. "The fun of it was taken away," he told an interviewer in 1981. Why did he leave the show? ", He also said he was itching "to do some really good character stuff" before he died, explaining, "Henry Fonda always said he wanted to do a good picture before he passed away. One of a kind! Caan also had a role in the successful animation Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and in the fondly-remembered Christmas comedy Elf, as Will Ferrells businessman father. ", "But now I get what he meant," Caan continued. Why 'The Godfather' Is Unthinkable Without James Caan, Rob Reiner, who directed Caan in Misery, said in a statement to Deadline Thursday, I was so saddened to hear about Jimmy leaving us. Entertainment, Caan said that he lived with cocaine addiction after turning to the drug when his sister died from leukemia. 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. Caan also became famous for the roles he turned down, including One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Apocalypse Now and Kramer Vs Kramer. He reprised the role for several flashback scenes in the sequel The Godfather Part II (1974) and then moved on to several very diverse projects. "But there were days when I was not on my best behavior. All rights reserved. I just want the opportunity, while I'm still walking, to do something that will have you calling me and saying, 'Jimmy, that was really good.' Caan had been a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola since the 1960s when Coppola cast him for the lead in "Rain People." Caan left the show during the fourth season and it was later canceled. An actor of undeniably manly appeal, James Caan continued to surprise and delight audiences with his invigorating performances up until his death in July 2022 at the age of 82. James Caan's son Scott went on to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. His movies were best of the best.. Trending Related Says Adam Driver, Defending Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' Set 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's family announced his passing on his Twitter account. I enjoy working. What a loss.. The Best Picture Race Got a Lot More Confusing This Week, Tom Cruise Made the Rounds This Week, but Other Oscar Nominees Got More Applause Than Top Gun: Maverick, These Oscar Categories Are the Hardest to Predict, Translating the Unconscious Into Images: The Cinematography of Bardo, Poker Face Takes Viewers on a Cross-Country Road Trip Without Leaving New York, Why TR Looks Different from Every Other Movie of 2022, The 50 Best Movies of 2022, According to 165 Critics from Around the World, All 81 Titles Unceremoniously Removed from HBO Max (So Far), 10 Shows Canceled but Not Forgotten in 2022. For decades after, he once said, strangers would approach him on the street and jokingly warn him to stay clear of toll roads. His manager Matt DelPiano said he died Wednesday. The fun of it was taken away, he told an interviewer in 1981. In 2018 he appeared in Carol Morleys Martin Amis adaptation Out of Blue, as the father of murder victim Jennifer Rockwell. The creators obliged, and Ed Deline's character was born. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. I got so into the character, I could see people backing away from me, Caan told Rolling Stone in 1981 of the arduous Thief shoot. pic.twitter.com/jHynv2BcR9. ", JAMES CAAN, 'GODFATHER' STAR, DEAD AT 82, FAMILY SAYS, James Caan and Barbra Streisand starred in Funny Lady circa 1975. After playing the lead in a disappointing 1970 adaptation of John Updikes celebrated novel Rabbit, Run, Caan achieved a major breakthrough with Coppolas The Godfather. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. When the series debuted, he was a casino surveillance chief dealing with cheaters and competitors of the fictional Montecito Resort and Casino. Over the years, Sirco appeared in several projects, includingThe Sopranos,Goodfellas, Mighty Aphrodite, and Caf Society. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "It. "You gave of yourself to the art of acting and performance to the very end. Related Stories ", At the times, his dad James, said: "He saw me when I was a little rough around the edges. Fox News' Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report. James Caan's son on 'dysfunctional' relationship with dad. I shall cherish the memory of you always. He was 82 years old. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. We had many laughs together over those five days in New Orleans. James Caan R.I.P: So Much More Than A "Tough Guy" Actor. Caan did not take a starring role in a TV series until 2003, but his first effort, "Las Vegas," was an immediate hit. After appearing in the daytime program from 1978 to 1981, he moved toLos Angeles,Californiain favor of a motion picture career. The character is a real ballbreaker, Caan told Rolling Stone in 1981. (Warner Brothers-Seven Arts). The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The actor has been seen in a wheelchair in more recent years as his health has declined since the incident. The 45-year-old told the news outlet: "To say our relationship wasn't dysfunctional would be a lie." At the times, his dad James, said: "He saw me when I was a little rough around the . He brought a pathos and authenticity to the role of Tim Lockwood that held the film together. He had a fight with someone else. ", Once he said a line in his low gravelly voice & we said try one with a little more projection, you and Flint will be outside on opposite ends of the backyardSo he said Flint cmere I dont wanna yell and then the rest of the line at the same volume. And I had to work very hard to make Frank human, because the guy is really a prick, a killer., What a terrible and tragic loss, Thief director Michael Mann said in a statement to Rolling Stone Thursday. James Caan, whose indelible, Oscar-nominated performance as Sonny Corleone, the recklessly hotheaded son of Marlon Brando's Mafia don in "The Godfather," is sure to be remembered as long as . RIP to a legend", We were lucky enough to work with James Caan on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The 45-year-old told the news outlet: "To say our relationship wasn't dysfunctional would be a lie. as Sonny Corleone in, October 7, 1995 - 2016 (divorced, 2 children). Last modified on Wed 10 Aug 2022 07.41 EDT. Caan then went on to star in string of high-profile films in the 1970s that bracketed him firmly in the new generation of American acting talent, including The Gambler (directed by Karel Reisz), buddy cop comedy Freebie and the Bean alongside Alan Arkin, and dystopian sci-fi parable Rollerball. 1 enforcer and eldest son of Mafia boss Vito Corleone. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn Im gonna miss him., Robert De Niro said: Im very very sad to hear about Jimmys passing., Adam Sandler, who starred with Caan in both Bulletproof and Thats My Boy, wrote: Loved him very much. All rights reserved. Robert Duvall, James Caan, The Godfather. Market data provided by Factset. Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them. Gianni Russo, the 78-year-old actor who played Carlo Rizzu in The Godfather, recounted a time when James Caan's agent called him as "Any Given Sunday was being produced. I said you havent got enough money to make me go to work every day with a director I dont like.". I wouldnt give Jimmy Caan a part in anything. He was so rude to me.". status, James Caan is New York-born and bred. friend . Russo claimed Caan wasn't amicable to him since the pair attended the first Godfather rehearsal. In 1978, he graduated with a degree in acting from the University ofMiamiand moved toNew York Cityafterward. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. Las Vegas Has Basically Shut Down Thanks to the Coronavirus, FaZe Banks and His Crew Caused $30,000 in Damages to a Las Vegas Hotel Room, Man's Text Messages With Friend Who Was In Las Vegas Massacre Emerge Online. He appeared in comedies, such as Honeymoon in Vegas, Bulletproof and Mickey Blue Eyes, Hollywood thrillers, including Flesh and Bone and Eraser, and occasional prestige dramas, including The Yards, a sprawling crime epic directed by James Gray, and Lars von Triers Brechtian parable Dogville. We all will miss him terribly. It renewed Caan's career, and he became busy as ever. He didn't feature in any movies in 1994, and he went on another break between 1996 and 1998. Caan was again candid about his past drug use in Hollywood. The Offer premieres April 28 on the streamer. There was a core of values within him about how people should be, more or less. The following contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of Fox's Alert: Missing Persons Unit. He returned to full-fledged stardom opposite Kathy Bates in Misery in 1990. 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