Cast & creator
Charles Grodin
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Daily Show
Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) 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), the 1976 remake of King Kong, 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 autobiographies; he 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). Grodin won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 1978 for the Paul Simon Special alongside Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, Paul Simon, and Lily Tomlin. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Heartbreak Kid in 1972. He won Best Actor at the 1988 Valladolid International Film Festival for Midnight Run, and the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in Dave in 1993.
66
film credits
26
television credits
84
1954–2026 · acting roles
6.2
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (92)
Showing 92 of 92 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Brett Forrester
1999
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1993
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Late Night with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1982
Great Performances
Jake
1971
American Playhouse
Lord Fancourt Babberly
1982
The Virginian
Arnie Doud
1962
The Defenders
Thomas Martin
1961
The Big Valley
Mark Dunigan
1965
The F.B.I.
Carl Platt
1965
Laverne & Shirley
1976
The Young Marrieds
Matt Crane Stevens
1964
Judd, for the Defense
1967
Felony Squad
1966
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Bells Pickering
1967
Rosemary's Baby
Dr. Hill
1968
The Michael J. Fox Show
Steve Henry
2013
Marty, Life Is Short
Self (archive footage)
2026
Midnight Run
Jonathan Mardukas aka “The Duke”
1988
King Kong
Fred S. Wilson
1976
My Mother the Car
1965
Captain Nice
News Vendor
1967
Shane
Jed
1966
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Drummer Boy (uncredited)
1954
The Great American Dream Machine
Himself
1971
Heart and Souls
Harrison Winslow
1993
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Narrator (voice)
1992
While We're Young
Leslie Breitbart
2015
Beethoven
George Newton
1992
Beethoven's 2nd
George Newton
1993
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Commandeered Car Driver
1993
Catch-22
Captain Aarfy Aardvark
1970
The Woman in Red
Buddy
1984
The Humbling
Jerry
2014
An Imperfect Murder
Arthur
2017
Dave
Murray Blum
1993
Madoff
Carl Shapiro
2016
Taking Care of Business
Spencer Barnes
1990
The Great Muppet Caper
Nicky Holiday
1981
Fresno
Cane Kensington
1986
The Lonely Guy
Warren
1984
Heaven Can Wait
Tony Abbott
1978
The Ex
Bob Kowalski
2006
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
2012
Seems Like Old Times
Ira Parks
1980
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Vance Kramer
1981
The Couch Trip
George Matlin
1988
The Comedian
Dick D'Angelo
2016
The Ultimate Collection starring Johnny Carson - The Best of the 70s and 80s
Self (archive footage)
2002
The Heartbreak Kid
Lenny Cantrow
1972
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
The Meanest Men in the West
Arnie Doud, Harge Gang
1978
Real Life
Warren Yeager
1979
Ishtar
Jim Harrison
1987
Cranium Command
Left Brain (voice)
1989
Thieves
Martin Cramer
1977
Clifford
Martin Daniels
1994
The World of Jim Henson
Nicky Holiday (archive footage)
1994
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Chaz
1994
You Can't Hurry Love
Mr. Glerman
1988
Just Me and You
Michael Lindsay
1978
It's My Turn
Homer
1980
It Runs in the Family
Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
1994
Acts of Love and Other Comedies
Director
1973
It Happened One Christmas
Joseph
1977
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
Quentin Fitzwaller
1990
Sunburn
Jake
1979
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank
Jim Benson
1978
Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Self
1969Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Producer
1969Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America
Director
1969
Last Resort
George Lollar
1986
Sex and the College Girl
Bob
1964
11 Harrowhouse
Howard R. Chesser
197411 Harrowhouse
Adaptation
1974
The Paul Simon Special
Self
1977The Paul Simon Special
Writer
1977
Movers & Shakers
Herb Derman
1985Movers & Shakers
Writer
1985Movers & Shakers
Producer
1985
Charley's Aunt
Lord Fancourt Babberly
1983
Brazzaville Teen-Ager
Father
2013
Char·ac·ter
Self
2012
Paul Simon and Friends | The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Self
2007King Kong! The Living Legend
Self
1986
Charles Grodin: Rebel With a Cause
2025
Waiting for Ishtar
Self
2017
The Harmony Game
Self
2011
Paradise
Director
1974