James Caan (82) passed away
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 212. James Caan in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967).
On 6 July 2022, American actor James Caan (1940) died. He was best known for his role as Sonny Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's classic The Godfather (1972), for which he received an Oscar nomination. Caan was 82
James Edmund Caan was born in New York in 1939 or 1940 (the sources differ). His parents, Arthur and Sophie Caan, were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. After immigration, his father became a kosher butcher in New York. Caan grew up in the Sunnyside district of Queens. At school, he excelled in sports such as basketball and American football. He first studied economics at Michigan State University and later at Hofstra University. During his studies, he discovered acting. Caan eventually graduated from the New York drama school Neighborhood Playhouse, where the legendary Sanford Meisner was one of his teachers. Caan made his debut in the off-Broadway production 'La Ronde' and went on to work in off-Broadway and Broadway productions such as 'I Roam' and 'Mandingo'. He exited the latter Broadway production after just four performances because of artistic difficulties with star Franchot Tone. After this, he ended up on television, appearing in episodes of several television series, such as The Untouchables and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Caan made his film debut in a small, uncredited role as a sailor in Irma la Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. A larger film role was that of a villain in the thriller Lady in A Cage (Walter Grauman, 1964) opposite Olivia de Havilland. He had his first leading role in the auto-racing drama Red Line 7000 (Howard Hawks, 1965). In 1967, Caan appeared alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the Western El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967) and in 1968 in Countdown (Robert Altman, 1968). Caan received the first good reviews after his role as a deranged footballer in The Rain People (1969), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1971, he received an Emmy nomination for the role of dying American football player Brian Piccolo in the television film Brian's Song. It meant his breakthrough to the general public. A year later, Coppola gave him the role of gangster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, among others. From 1973 to 1982, Caan appeared in several Hollywood films. He played all kinds of roles, to avoid being typecast as a gangster. Some of these films include The Gambler, for which he received a Golden Globe nominee, Funny Lady alongside Barbra Streisand, Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite, Norman Jewison's Rollerball, in which he played a futuristic sports hero, and the star-studded war film A Bridge Too Far. He also made a brief appearance in The Godfather: Part II. Many of the films he made at the time, such as Freebie and the Bean, Harry and Walter Go to New York, the Western Comes a Horseman () co-starring Jane Fonda and Chapter Two, were flops.
In 1980, James Caan directed Hide in Plain Sight, a film about a father searching for his children who he cannot reach because of a witness protection programme. Despite good reviews, the film did not become a hit. A year later, Caan appeared in Thief, a film by Michael Mann, in which he played a professional safecracker. The film would later become a cult classic. Caan has often said that this is the role he is most proud of, next to his role in The Godfather. However, Caan's career had hit the skids and he did not appear in any more films after the romantic film Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) flopped. He suffered from depression caused by the death of his sister and he struggled with a growing cocaine addiction. He returned to film in 1987 thanks to an old friend, Francis Ford Coppola. He gave Caan the role of a sergeant in the war drama Gardens of Stone. In 1988 and 1990, Caan starred in popular films such as the Sci-Fi Alien Nation and Dick Tracy. His career was revived in the early 1990s with Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990), an Stephen King adaptation in which he starred as a novelist held captive by a deranged fan. In 1992, he starred in the hit Honeymoon in Vegas alongside Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. James Caan's character was a parody of Sonny Corleone, his character from The Godfather. In 1996, Caan appeared in the successful independent film Bottle Rocket and alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser. Since 2003, Caan played the role of "Big Ed" Deline, the manager of the Montecito casino, in the television series "Las Vegas". In 2007, he quit the series to focus on his film career. He appeared in projects that ran the gamut from big to small. He'd appear in comedies like Mickey Blue Eyes and Elf, thrillers like City of Ghosts and In the Shadows, and indie films like Lars Von Trier's Dogville and Tony Kaye's Detachment. has been married four times. In 1960, he married Dee Jay Mathis; they had one child together and separated in 1966. His second marriage was very short-lived. He married Sheila Ryan in 1976, but a year later the marriage was over. They had one son together, Scott, who would later become an actor. Between September 1990 and 1995, he was married to Ingrid Hajek. In 1995, he married again, this time to Linda Stokes. Ten years later, in April 2005, this marriage was also over. Linda Stokes and Caan had two children. James Caan died in 2022 at the age of 82 in Los Angeles.
Sources: Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
James Caan (82) passed away
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin, no. 212. James Caan in El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967).
On 6 July 2022, American actor James Caan (1940) died. He was best known for his role as Sonny Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's classic The Godfather (1972), for which he received an Oscar nomination. Caan was 82
James Edmund Caan was born in New York in 1939 or 1940 (the sources differ). His parents, Arthur and Sophie Caan, were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. After immigration, his father became a kosher butcher in New York. Caan grew up in the Sunnyside district of Queens. At school, he excelled in sports such as basketball and American football. He first studied economics at Michigan State University and later at Hofstra University. During his studies, he discovered acting. Caan eventually graduated from the New York drama school Neighborhood Playhouse, where the legendary Sanford Meisner was one of his teachers. Caan made his debut in the off-Broadway production 'La Ronde' and went on to work in off-Broadway and Broadway productions such as 'I Roam' and 'Mandingo'. He exited the latter Broadway production after just four performances because of artistic difficulties with star Franchot Tone. After this, he ended up on television, appearing in episodes of several television series, such as The Untouchables and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Caan made his film debut in a small, uncredited role as a sailor in Irma la Douce (Billy Wilder, 1963), starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. A larger film role was that of a villain in the thriller Lady in A Cage (Walter Grauman, 1964) opposite Olivia de Havilland. He had his first leading role in the auto-racing drama Red Line 7000 (Howard Hawks, 1965). In 1967, Caan appeared alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the Western El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1967) and in 1968 in Countdown (Robert Altman, 1968). Caan received the first good reviews after his role as a deranged footballer in The Rain People (1969), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1971, he received an Emmy nomination for the role of dying American football player Brian Piccolo in the television film Brian's Song. It meant his breakthrough to the general public. A year later, Coppola gave him the role of gangster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, among others. From 1973 to 1982, Caan appeared in several Hollywood films. He played all kinds of roles, to avoid being typecast as a gangster. Some of these films include The Gambler, for which he received a Golden Globe nominee, Funny Lady alongside Barbra Streisand, Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite, Norman Jewison's Rollerball, in which he played a futuristic sports hero, and the star-studded war film A Bridge Too Far. He also made a brief appearance in The Godfather: Part II. Many of the films he made at the time, such as Freebie and the Bean, Harry and Walter Go to New York, the Western Comes a Horseman () co-starring Jane Fonda and Chapter Two, were flops.
In 1980, James Caan directed Hide in Plain Sight, a film about a father searching for his children who he cannot reach because of a witness protection programme. Despite good reviews, the film did not become a hit. A year later, Caan appeared in Thief, a film by Michael Mann, in which he played a professional safecracker. The film would later become a cult classic. Caan has often said that this is the role he is most proud of, next to his role in The Godfather. However, Caan's career had hit the skids and he did not appear in any more films after the romantic film Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) flopped. He suffered from depression caused by the death of his sister and he struggled with a growing cocaine addiction. He returned to film in 1987 thanks to an old friend, Francis Ford Coppola. He gave Caan the role of a sergeant in the war drama Gardens of Stone. In 1988 and 1990, Caan starred in popular films such as the Sci-Fi Alien Nation and Dick Tracy. His career was revived in the early 1990s with Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990), an Stephen King adaptation in which he starred as a novelist held captive by a deranged fan. In 1992, he starred in the hit Honeymoon in Vegas alongside Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. James Caan's character was a parody of Sonny Corleone, his character from The Godfather. In 1996, Caan appeared in the successful independent film Bottle Rocket and alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser. Since 2003, Caan played the role of "Big Ed" Deline, the manager of the Montecito casino, in the television series "Las Vegas". In 2007, he quit the series to focus on his film career. He appeared in projects that ran the gamut from big to small. He'd appear in comedies like Mickey Blue Eyes and Elf, thrillers like City of Ghosts and In the Shadows, and indie films like Lars Von Trier's Dogville and Tony Kaye's Detachment. has been married four times. In 1960, he married Dee Jay Mathis; they had one child together and separated in 1966. His second marriage was very short-lived. He married Sheila Ryan in 1976, but a year later the marriage was over. They had one son together, Scott, who would later become an actor. Between September 1990 and 1995, he was married to Ingrid Hajek. In 1995, he married again, this time to Linda Stokes. Ten years later, in April 2005, this marriage was also over. Linda Stokes and Caan had two children. James Caan died in 2022 at the age of 82 in Los Angeles.
Sources: Jason Ankeny (AllMovie), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.