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Charles Grodin biography

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Charles Grodin is an actor, comedian and talk show host known for his roles in The Heartbreak Kid and Beethoven.

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Charles Grodin was born on April 21, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After studying acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, he made his film debut in Sex and the College Girl (1964). Grodin starred in 1972's The Heartbreak Kid and played the villain in 1978's blockbuster Heaven Can Wait. During the 1980s, he gave memorable performances in Ishtar and Midnight Run. Grodin published his autobiography, It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here,

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in 1988.

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Actor. Born Charles Grodinsky on April 21, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After attending the University of Miami, Grodin studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen. The low-key comic actor made his Broadway debut in 1962 in Tchin Tchin. Two years later, with deadpan wit and a wry sense of humor, Grodin appeared for the first time on the big screen in Sex and the College Girl.

He played small but memorable roles throughout the late 1960s, receiving his big break in 1972 when he landed the lead in The Heartbreak Kid as a sporting goods salesman who leaves his wife on their honeymoon. Subsequent roles included headlining 1974's Thieves on Broadway (he also directed the Broadway version) and the villain in 1978's blockbuster Heaven Can Wait. Throughout the 1980s, Grodin turned in a number of acclaimed supporting roles in such films as The Woman in Red (1984), The Couch Trip (1987) and the Steve Martin vehicle The Lonely Guy (1984). Two of his most memorable films of the era were Ishtar (1987) and Midnight Run (1988), where he plays an uninspired embezzler opposite Robert De Niro.

Grodin published his autobiography, It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here, in 1988.

 

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