Caan died Wednesday night in Los Angeles, his rep Arnold Robinson told The Hollywood Reporter, confirming a post on the actor's Twitter account. A masculine and enigmatic actor whose life and movie career have had more ups and downs than the average rollercoaster and whose selection of roles has arguably derailed him from achieving true superstar status, James Caan is New York-born and bred. In 2021, he told "CBS Sunday Morning" that he "had a bad bout with cocaine for a little while" after the 1981 death of his younger sister Barbara from leukemia. 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. In 2018 he appeared in Carol Morleys Martin Amis adaptation Out of Blue, as the father of murder victim Jennifer Rockwell. Kathy Bates And James Caan paired up for the chilling Misery flick in 1990, Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines 7/6, death of his younger sister Barbara from leukemia, for a featured role in "The Godfather" as Sonny, Michael B. Jordan apologized to his mom before steamy Calvin Klein underwear ad was released, Kristin Cavallari jokes shes 'heartless' for breaking up with guys over text: 'I know thats horrible', Gisele Bndchen shares tips for when 'life gets challenging': 'Remember that the sun rises everyday', Amy Grant says she leaned on her faith after horrific bike accident: Its helped me not be afraid, Bette Midler confesses to plastic surgery: Time smooths 'everything out', Meghan Markle, Prince Harry 'stunned' by King Charles' 'cruel' Frogmore Cottage eviction, report says. "My dad never told me he loved me, and consequently I told Scott I loved him every other minute. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Loved him very much. His Legacy: Get to Know Late Actor James Caan's 5 Children John announced his wife's death on Facebook with a heartfelt post in February 2023. Free shipping for many products! The two divorced in 1995, and he wed Linda Stokes later that year. 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. Caan died from a heart attack in early July. The legendary actor is survived by one daughter, Tara Caan. Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Trending Caan was also known for appearances on television perhaps most notably for starring as Ed Deline in the dramedy series Las Vegas, which ran for five seasons on NBC from 2003 to 2008. James Caan's son Scott went on to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Who Are James Caan's Children? Caan had been a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola since the 1960s when Coppola cast him for the lead in "Rain People." He starred as a self-destructive gambling addict in the 1974s now-cut classic The Gambler, the foil to Barbra Streisands Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl sequel Funny Lady and as a superstar athlete-turned-revolutionary in the 1974 sci-fi sports film Rollerball. He made his movie debut in a brief uncredited role in 1963 in Billy Wilders Irma La Douce, then landed a role as young thug who terrorizes Olivia de Havilland in Lady in a Cage. He also appeared opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the 1966 Western El Dorado and Harrison Ford in the 1968 Western Journey to Shiloh.. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Las Vegas provided him with an exceptional opportunity to experience an aspect of film production he was more or less unacquainted with before. Given that James fell for so many women, some fans may wonder how many kids the actor fathered. The legendary actor starred in 'Misery' and 'Elf," in addition to hundreds of other roles. However, he did score again with the stylish Michael Mann-directed heist movie Thief (1981). He managed a long career despite drug problems, outbursts of temper and minor brushes with the law. ", A post shared by Pierce Brosnan (@piercebrosnanofficial), 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. 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He then won a scholarship to study under acting coach Wynn Handman and began to appear in several off-Broadway productions, including "I Roam" and "Mandingo".He made his screen debut as a sailor in Irma la Douce (1963) and began to impress audiences with his work in Red Line 7000 (1965) and the western El Dorado (1966) alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Godfather co-star calls James Caan rude, continued. "The fun of it was taken away," he told an interviewer in 1981. Al Jean, a producer of The Simpsons, tweeted a joke on Saturday that the three actors would now be "having a sitdown up in heaven.". "Godfather" star James Caan's cause of death has been revealed. Caan, who passed away on Wednesday at age 82, once recalled to The Independent in 2021 how he "started doing cocaine, which is like a death sentence" and it "lasted a while. But Im thinking he was in character cause hes a thespian. He was a star athlete and class president at Rhodes High School and, after attending Michigan State and Hofstra University, he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater under Sanford Meisner. 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: the hard-working star who mixed the rough with the smooth, James Caan: some of The Godfather star's most memorable scenes video, Caan said he was fitted with over 140 squibs. Related James struggled with various mental and physical health complications over the years, including depression, severe chest pain, and back problems. So happy I got to know him. 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. Scoot Caan, also an actor like his dad, opened up to PEOPLE back in 2010 about their relationship. I wouldnt give Jimmy Caan a part in anything. He was so rude to me.". The Saved By the Bell star announced thathis son, Santino Rafael, is named after Caans character in The Godfather in an Instagram post on Thursday. He was never satisfied. His films and the many great roles he played will never be forgotten. Further work followed in Journey to Shiloh (1968) and in the sensitive The Rain People (1969). Caan then joined the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre; his first significant acting credit was a small role in the 1961 Broadway production of Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole, a second world war play by William Goldman and his brother James. He was 82. His son, Scott Caan, grew up to be an actor as well. 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. Caan was again candid about his past drug use in Hollywood. I mean, I thought he did a couple of great pictures, you know? The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed biographical information to this report. or redistributed. I loved him, gonna miss him. Robert De Niro also wrote that he was, very very sad to hear about Jimmys passing.. We all will miss him terribly. Both James Caan and Tony Sirico died this week, only two days apart from each other. Published on July 7, 2022 01:27 PM. Market data provided by Factset. He was born in the Bronx, to Sophie (Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, Jewish immigrants from Germany. End of tweet. (Caan, a habitual Twitter user, would often write End of tweet on his own messages.) ", JAMES CAAN, 'GODFATHER' STAR, DEAD AT 82, FAMILY SAYS, James Caan and Barbra Streisand starred in Funny Lady circa 1975. Says Adam Driver, Defending Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' Set, Damien Chazelle Compared Diego Calva to Al Pacino During 'Babylon' Casting, 22 Great Erotic Thrillers, from Adrian Lyne to Brian De Palma, 45 Great Films That Failed at the Box Office. His anger at Coppola, 83, aside, "Otherwise, he gave me a great honor," Caan said with a laugh of the film's director and co-writer. Absolute king. He was born in the Bronx, to Sophie (Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, Jewish . Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Initial theatrical release was on March 15, 1972, by Paramount Pictures. The athletically gifted Caan played football at Michigan State University while studying economics, holds a black belt in karate and for several years was even a regular on the rodeo circuit, where he was nicknamed "The Jewish Cowboy". (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. ", He added: "He made mistakes that affected him and me but he's always been there for me no matter what. "If you know any directors, tell 'em I'm ready," he added. Farewell Jimmy. 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. "Then I felt there was this stigma to doing a TV series. James acted for decades in numerous blockbuster movies, including Misery, Dick Tracy and most endearingly, Elf.. Caan had begun to struggle with drug use and was devastated by the 1981 leukemia death of his sister, Barbara, who until then had been a guiding force in his career. The actor died earlier this month due to heart problems, according to a death certificate for the star that was obtained by . According to Yahoo! Fox News' Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report. Robert Duvall, James Caan, The Godfather. We all will miss him terribly. ", "But now I get what he meant," Caan continued. All rights reserved. All Rights reserved. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. You can bull---t your way around it, but it is there, you know?" In the film, based on Stephen Kings novel, Caan is an author taken captive by an obsessed fan who breaks his ankles to keep him from leaving. Caan received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in the drama The Gambler (1974), and the musical Funny Lady (1975). James disappeared from Hollywood on several occasions, intermittently working as a children's sports coach. My son saw me cry. The thing with Caan is, hes got a great sense of humor, director Jon Favreau told Rolling Stone in 2020. 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 . James was not married at the time of his death. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. 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After finding fame as a tough guy in Hollywood, James Caan decided it was time for a break. more ups and downs than the average rollercoaster and whose selection It might be variable, the corners could be rounded with urban irony, but there was a line and it was non-fungible. Always wanted to be like him. "You gave of yourself to the art of acting and performance to the very end. "The point is, I'll make less mistakes than my dad, my sons hopefully will make less mistakes than me, and their sons will make less mistakes than their dads. He didn't feature in any movies in 1994, and he went on another break between 1996 and 1998. He was so talented., In a statement, Pacino shared: Jimmy was my fictional brother and my lifelong friend. Goodfellas star Ray died in his sleep on May 26 at the age of 67. The action-crime-thriller is listed as in post-production, and costars Morena Baccarin and Pierce Brosnan. My heart felt condolences to your family. Losing Ray Liotta and James Caan within months of each other just tells me God is up there making one helluva a mobster movie. One of his most noteworthy big-screen gigs was in Martin Scorsese's crime movie Goodfellas. A fan posted a tribute to both iconic actors, writing: "2 legends gone in the space of a week. The 45-year-old told the news outlet: "To say our relationship wasn't dysfunctional would be a lie. FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA THOUGHT GODFATHER WAS GOING TO BE A SPECIAL FAILURE, RECEIVES WALK OF FAME STAR, Kathy Bates And James Caan paired up for the chilling Misery flick in 1990 (Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection). Between 1982 and 1987, he went on what he would later call the Hollywood burnout. I enjoy working. of roles has arguably derailed him from achieving true superstar status, James Caan is New York-born and bred. And its clear that co-star Duvall clicked with Caan right away. "People were talking about me quitting acting, and they would say, What about your creative juices? Coaching is creative because you could take a kid who thought he wasnt any good and, within four minutes, change his mind. Sending my love to his family.. 'All Good Here!' James Caan, the American actor renowned for his role as Sonny Corleone in the mafia epic The Godfather, as well as a string of . Legal Statement. However, while studying at Hofstra University, he became intrigued by acting and was interviewed and accepted at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse. From those beginning times working on The Rain People, throughout all the milestones of my life. RAY LIOTTA: A LOOK AT THE 'GOODFELLAS' STAR'S LIFE BEHIND THE CAMERA AND AS A HOLLYWOOD LEGEND, James Caan first worked with director Francis Ford Coppola in 'The Rain People' in 1969. Among Caan's numerous accolades are four Golden Globe nominations, along with nods from both the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards. Caan would not appear in another Hollywood film until 1987, when Coppola cast him in his Vietnam war drama Gardens of Stone. James Caan says that he walked out of an initial The Godfather screening after realizing director Francis Ford Coppola cut a key scene involving Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen. 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 . Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. He came in, and we made up the whole fight. Following a brief stage career, he moved to Hollywood. And everything you saw in there is something that Paul and I created the day before.. [on being voted "Italian of the Year" in New York twice, after his role The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time 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 . 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