Charles Grodin is an American comedian, producer of various entertainment shows and television personality. In his filmography, there are more than 60 roles.
Childhood and education
The real name of the future actor, given to him at birth, is Charles Grodinski. Later, he will change this surname to a slightly more familiar and understandable for the hearing of Americans - Grodin. He was born in 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Charles became the second child in a family of small merchants. The entire family of Charles Grodin adhered to orthodox Jewish views.
The grandfather of the future actor on the mother's side was a Jew who emigrated from Russia to the states at the beginning of the 20th century. He was the bearer of an honorary religious title awarded after receiving a special Jewish education - Rabbi. It was thanks to my grandfather that the whole family adhered to a religious worldview.
From childhood, Grodinsky demonstrated himself as a charming and talented child, and no one had any doubts that he would achieve success in the creative profession. Immediately after graduating from high school, he went to Miami to study art at a local university, and later moved to New York, where he did professional acting training at HB Acting Studio. His teacher and mentor in the studio was the inimitable Uta Hagen, winner of the Presidential Medal of Arts and one of the best theater teachers of the 20th century. She adhered to the theory of the performing arts of Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky. In addition, one of Grodin's teachers was Oscar nominee Lee Strasberg, head of the above-named acting studio.
Actor career
The very first work on the stage of the theater took place with Charles Grodin in 1962 on the most elite theatrical street in New York - Broadway. For the next few years, he only played in the theater.
The 1964 film Sex and the College Girls made its debut on the big screen, but the work turned out to be too experimental and failed at the box office. Charles Grodin's first successful film was the 1968 horror film Rosemary's Baby directed by French director Roman Polanski. Although Grodin got a cameo role, his performance was noticed and highly praised by critics. During the same period, he tried himself as a director of Broadway productions.
The job, which turned the entire career of an actor on the right track, went to him in 1972. The main role in the comedy film Heartbreaker brought him the fame of a real comedian, a master of the comedy genre. Since this year, he has been constantly invited to films of this genre, and the actor willingly agrees.
Nevertheless, films of other genres were highly appreciated in his filmography. So, one of his most successful roles during the 70-80s was the character of Fred Wilson in the adventure film King Kong in 1976, and later in the sports melodrama Heaven Can Wait.
But the main activity for decades was still theater, so the period of the early 80s was not distinguished by particularly successful cinematographic works. The only recognized film with high ratings was the comedy "Like in the Good Old Time" released in 1980, but the rest of the films (of which there were more than 10) were released almost unnoticed.
The situation changed again in 1988, when the comedy and action film "Catch Before Midnight" was released, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. The film itself was awarded a Golden Globe nomination, and Grodin gained worldwide fame. In 1990, Grodin played the fearful millionaire Spencer Barnes in the film How to Deal With Business. His work partner was the successful comedian James Belushi.
In 1992, one of the most famous, striking and successful works in the career of Charles Grodin came out - the family comedy about St. Bernard "Beethoven". The film brought the actor millions in royalties, he reached the pinnacle of his popularity. Only a year later, the second part of the acclaimed comedy “Beethoven 2” is released. Unfortunately, after the role of George Newton in this series of films, Grodin appears less and less in films, and his roles become less and less visible.
Other activities
Since the mid-1990s, the actor has gradually abandoned his acting career. He tries himself in other fields: screenwriter, director, author of entertaining TV shows, talk show host, etc. He launches his own television show, The Charles Grodin Show, but the project, after only 3 years, was canceled. For some time he hosted programs on political topics. In the early 2000s, he began publishing his own books.
Personal life
Charles Grodin entered into his first marriage in the early 60s, but the relationship ended a few years later. His chosen one was Julia Ferguson, from whom the actor has a daughter, Marion. In 2003, the daughter of the famous comedian played in the film "Three Long Years", but this work was the only one in her filmography.
Grodin officially formalized his next relationship at the age of 50. Ellisa Durwood became his new wife. The lovers have been together for over 30 years, they currently live in Connecticut. In 1988, they had a son, and a few years later they adopted a boy suffering from the disease "autism" - Alex Fischetti.
