Post by petrolino on Apr 18, 2020 23:25:52 GMT
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin was born on April 21, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. His mother, Lena Grodin (née Singer), was a store worker and his father, Theodore I. Grodin, was a wholesaler. Both of his parents were Orthodox Jews. His grandfather, on his mother's side, was a Russian immigrant who came from a long line of rabbis, moving to America at the dawning of the 20th century.
Born a cusp under the sign of Taurus, Grodin shares his birthday with Mexican painter and Academy Award-winning performer Anthony Quinn, psychedelic rock icon and proto-punk pioneer Iggy Pop, and Broadway legend and American Theater Hall of Fame inductee Patti LuPone. His friend and collaborator Elaine May was also born on April 21; in 1932, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Jewish parents who worked in Yiddish theater.
"I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. My family wasn't particularly well off. We lived along a streetcar line. You could hear them clatter past the house. They were part of the noise of everyday life."
- Charles Grodin, The Wall Street Journal
Neil Simon, Charles Grodin & Alan Alda
'My Funny Valentine' - Bobby Short
Grodin studied acting at the HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) in Greenwich Village, New York, which was a hive of radical artistic activity. Here, he became friends with Gene Wilder (born 1933), a young writer and comedian from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their teacher was German theatre practitioner Uta Hagen who was blacklisted during the communist witch-hunts of the late 1940s.
Actress Carroll Baker (born 1931), a Catholic from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, also studied at the HB Studio, as did her contemporary Anne Bancroft (also born 1931). Interestingly, Baker auditioned for the role of Elaine Robinson (played by Katherine Ross) in Mike Nichols' comedy 'The Graduate' (1967) but was deemed to be too old to portray Bancroft's daughter (Nichols and Baker were classmates at the Actors Studio in New York City in the early 1950s). Grodin was nearly cast as Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), having impressed in his audition.
"Shortly after hiring Mike Nichols, Larry Turman started a wish list for the roles of Benjamin Braddock and Elaine Robinson. For “Elaine,” he wrote, “Natalie Wood, Ann-Margret, Jane Fonda, Tuesday Weld, Carroll Baker, Sue Lyon, Lee Remick, Suzanne Pleshette, Carol Lynley, Elizabeth Ashley, Yvette Mimieux, Pamela Tiffin, Patty Duke, Hayley Mills.” Under the “Ben” column, he listed “Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Bob Redford, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Tony Perkins, Keir Dullea, Brandon De Wilde, Michael Parks.”
“When we started talking about actors,” Buck Henry noticed, “they were tall and blond. We were talking Southern California.” Robert Redford, fresh from Barefoot in the Park, auditioned with Candice Bergen, and Charles Grodin, who had made his Broadway debut in 1962 opposite Anthony Quinn in Tchin-Tchin, also read for the part. Turman thought that Grodin “gave a wonderful reading,” and the actor was strongly considered. Nichols and Turman knew the casting of Benjamin was crucial: “Everything is story, everything is script,” Turman says, “but if you don’t have an appealing actor, you’re dead in the water.” He remembers Nichols finally turning to him and saying, “Turman, you S.O.B., you got me into a movie that can’t be cast!”
Then two things happened to change Nichols’s mind. He was reading Henry James’s novella “The Beast in the Jungle,” about a young man who lets life and love pass him by while he waits for a cataclysmic event to transform him. And he auditioned a young New York actor, Dustin Hoffman.
“When I was auditioning for this part,” Dustin Hoffman recalls for Vanity Fair, “I had finally made some inroads in my career.” After 10 years as a struggling actor in New York, Hoffman had won an Obie Award in 1966 for best Off Broadway actor, in Ronald Ribman’s The Journey of the Fifth Horse. He’d been supporting himself with a series of odd jobs—selling toys at Macy’s, working as an attendant at the New York Psychiatric Institute, on West 168th Street, waiting tables at the Village Gate—and sharing an apartment with Gene Hackman and his wife. After he won the Obie, his performance as Valentine Brose, a schizophrenic night watchman in an Off Broadway British farce called Eh?, landed him on the cover of the Arts & Leisure section of The New York Times. And in a daily review, the Times described his performance as “a sort of cross between Ringo Starr and Buster Keaton.”
“I was riding high, so I felt that I was going to have a career in the theater, which is what I wanted. So when the part came along, I read the book, I talked to Mike Nichols on the phone, and I said, ‘I’m not right for this part, sir. This is a Gentile. This is a Wasp. This is Robert Redford.’ In fact, I remember there was a Time magazine on the coffee table in my apartment, and it had the ‘Man of the Year’ on the cover, which was ‘Youth Under 25,’ with a kind of sketch of a young guy who looked like Matt Damon. So I said, ‘Did you see this week’s Time magazine? That’s Benjamin Braddock!’ Nichols replied, ‘You mean he’s not Jewish?’ ‘Yes, this guy is a super-Wasp. Boston Brahmin.’ And Mike said, ‘Maybe he’s Jewish inside. Why don’t you come out and audition for us?’ ”
“When we started talking about actors,” Buck Henry noticed, “they were tall and blond. We were talking Southern California.” Robert Redford, fresh from Barefoot in the Park, auditioned with Candice Bergen, and Charles Grodin, who had made his Broadway debut in 1962 opposite Anthony Quinn in Tchin-Tchin, also read for the part. Turman thought that Grodin “gave a wonderful reading,” and the actor was strongly considered. Nichols and Turman knew the casting of Benjamin was crucial: “Everything is story, everything is script,” Turman says, “but if you don’t have an appealing actor, you’re dead in the water.” He remembers Nichols finally turning to him and saying, “Turman, you S.O.B., you got me into a movie that can’t be cast!”
Then two things happened to change Nichols’s mind. He was reading Henry James’s novella “The Beast in the Jungle,” about a young man who lets life and love pass him by while he waits for a cataclysmic event to transform him. And he auditioned a young New York actor, Dustin Hoffman.
“When I was auditioning for this part,” Dustin Hoffman recalls for Vanity Fair, “I had finally made some inroads in my career.” After 10 years as a struggling actor in New York, Hoffman had won an Obie Award in 1966 for best Off Broadway actor, in Ronald Ribman’s The Journey of the Fifth Horse. He’d been supporting himself with a series of odd jobs—selling toys at Macy’s, working as an attendant at the New York Psychiatric Institute, on West 168th Street, waiting tables at the Village Gate—and sharing an apartment with Gene Hackman and his wife. After he won the Obie, his performance as Valentine Brose, a schizophrenic night watchman in an Off Broadway British farce called Eh?, landed him on the cover of the Arts & Leisure section of The New York Times. And in a daily review, the Times described his performance as “a sort of cross between Ringo Starr and Buster Keaton.”
“I was riding high, so I felt that I was going to have a career in the theater, which is what I wanted. So when the part came along, I read the book, I talked to Mike Nichols on the phone, and I said, ‘I’m not right for this part, sir. This is a Gentile. This is a Wasp. This is Robert Redford.’ In fact, I remember there was a Time magazine on the coffee table in my apartment, and it had the ‘Man of the Year’ on the cover, which was ‘Youth Under 25,’ with a kind of sketch of a young guy who looked like Matt Damon. So I said, ‘Did you see this week’s Time magazine? That’s Benjamin Braddock!’ Nichols replied, ‘You mean he’s not Jewish?’ ‘Yes, this guy is a super-Wasp. Boston Brahmin.’ And Mike said, ‘Maybe he’s Jewish inside. Why don’t you come out and audition for us?’ ”
- Sam Kashner, 'Here’s To You, Mr. Nichols : The Making Of The Graduate'
Ted Turner, Toni Braxton & Charles Grodin
'Late Night With David Letterman' [September 21, 1983] - Home Quarantine Special From Self-Isolation With Charles Grodin, Jerry Seinfeld & Linda Ronstadt
Grodin made his film debut in '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (1954), Richard Fleischer's groundbreaking spectacle produced at Disney. He worked steadily in television throughout the 1960s, all the while developing his talent on the theatre stages of New York. His big film break came when he was cast in Mike Nichols' comedy 'Catch-22' (1970), a bold adaptation of Joseph Heller's satirical war story 'Catch-22' (1961) which had become one of the defining texts of the 1960s.
Grodin took the lead role in Elaine May's picture 'The Heartbreak Kid' (1972) and the stage was finally set for him to become a film star. Over the next few decades, Grodin established himself as one of cinema's greatest co-stars, something often attributed to his deadpan comic persona which proved to be a perfect foil for other performers to play against.
Headlining Roger Corman & Julie Corman's big summer production 'The Last Resort' (1986), directed by Zane Buzby (from Cheech & Chong's company)
Charles Grodin speaks with Johnny Carson
As other leading north American comedians began struggling to find worthwhile projects in the 1990s, with many turning toward more dramatic roles, Grodin threw a massive curveball, resulting in one of the biggest hits of the 1990s. He partnered with comedienne Bonnie Hunt for Brian Levant's monster hit 'Beethoven' (1992), a delightful family feature co-scripted by filmmakers John Hughes (under the pseudonym Edmond Dantès) and Amy Holden Jones. Budgeted at $18,000,000, the film raked in $147,000,000 at the box-office and became a popular title on home video.
'Beethoven' was followed by the sequels 'Beethoven's 2nd' (1993), 'Beethoven's 3rd' (2000), 'Beethoven's 4th' (2001), 'Beethoven's 5th' (2003), 'Beethoven's Big Break' (2008), 'Beethoven's Christmas Adventure' (2011) and 'Beethoven's Treasure Tail' (2014). An animated television series was also created and this began airing in 1994. During this time, Grodin couldn't go anywhere without kids shouting at him.
Bonnie Hunt & Charles Grodin in a publicity still for 'Beethoven' (1992)
'Beethoven'
Grodin directed the television piece 'Simon And Garfunkel : Songs Of America' (1969) and the comedy sketch compendium 'Acts Of Love And Other Comedies' (1973). He also helmed the television movie 'Paradise' (1974) which aimed to showcase the talents of his friend and fellow HB Studio graduate Joseph Bologna (born 1934) who performed multiple roles.
From 1995 to 1998, Grodin was able to host his own issues-oriented talk show, 'The Charles Grodin Show', which was commissioned by the media network CNBC. He worked as a political commentator for '60 Minutes II' and could be heard talking on a range of subjects on the radio, where he'd begun as a humourist.
Grodin wrote the play 'The Right Kind Of People' (2004) which was produced Off-Broadway. He's also the bestselling author of numerous books and a collection of essays.
Character turn in Richard Martini's independent comedy 'You Can't Hurry Love' (1988) - Martini later produced segments for 'The Charles Grodin Show'
Charles Grodin brings his attorney to see David Letterman
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Charles Grodin : At The Movies
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Charles Grodin in 'Catch-22' (1970)
Charles Grodin & Cybill Shepherd in 'The Heartbreak Kid' (1972)
Rene Auberjonois, Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin & Ed Lauter in 'King Kong' (1976)
Dyan Cannon & Charles Grodin in 'Heaven Can Wait' (1978)
Albert Brooks, Lisa Urette, Charles Grodin & Frances Lee McKain in 'Real Life' (1979)
Art Carney, Farrah Fawcett & Charles Grodin in 'Sunburn' (1979)
Charles Grodin & Goldie Hawn in 'Seems Like Old Times' (1980)
The Great Gonzo, Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy, Charles Grodin & Fozzy Bear in 'The Great Muppet Caper' (1981)
Steve Martin & Charles Grodin in 'The Lonely Guy' (1984)
Gene Wilder, Joseph Bologna, Michael Huddleston & Charles Grodin in 'The Woman In Red' (1984)
Charles Grodin, Gilda Radner & Steve Martin in 'Movers & Shakers' (1985)
Charles Grodin in 'Ishtar' (1987)
Charles Grodin & Richard Romanus in 'The Couch Trip' (1988)
Robert De Niro & Charles Grodin in 'Midnight Run' (1988)
James Belushi, Sweet T. Rodgers & Charles Grodin in 'Taking Care Of Business' (1990)
Kyra Sedgwick, Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard & Robert Downey Jr. in 'Heart And Souls' (1993)
Mary Steenburgen & Charles Grodin in 'It Runs In The Family' (1994)
Martin Short & Charles Grodin in 'Clifford' (1994)
'Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry' - Judy Kuhn
