Highlight
- The veteran actor James Caan died, on the evening of Wednesday, 6 July at the age of 82.
- The US actor is best known for playing Sonny Corleone in ‘The Godfather’.
- Caan also received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the eldest son of a mafia family, in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic The Godfather.
- Caan’s manager shared the news of the veteran actor’s demise.
- The actor’s family appreciates the outpouring of love and condolences and has requested privacy during this difficult time.
The industry lost another legend this year. On Wednesday, 6 July, the Oscar-nominated actor James Caan passed away at the age of 82.
James Caan is best known for his role as a tragic and hot-tempered gangster heir, Sonny Corleone in the cult classic, The Godfather, and his commendable roles in some other movies such as ‘Thief’, ‘Misery’, and ‘Elf’.
The role in The Godfather earned him an Oscar nomination. James Caan Godfather star also appeared in a flashback in ‘The Godfather Part ||’.
James Caan’s Most Acclaimed Movies
James Caan rose to fame with the 1971 American footballer drama, ‘ Brian Song’ portraying cancer-afflicted gridiron star, Brian Piccolo. But his role as the reckless Sonny Corleone, in The Godfather, established him as a major actor.
The actor is well known for playing tough-guy characters in many movies such as ‘Thief’ and ‘Rollerball’ but he has always been versatile and exuded vulnerability in movies like ‘Misery’, a 1990 Stephen King adaptation about a mild-mannered romance novelist, who was held captive by an obsessive fan.
Among the younger audience he is probably known for his role in 2003s ‘Elf’, the Christmas tale in which he played Will Ferrell, who was accidentally transported to the North Pole and raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves, his workaholic father was unhappy to learn about his abnormally cheerfully grown son.
Some other remarkable movies of Caan include Howard Hawks ‘El Dorado’, ‘The Gambler’ written by James Toback, and Richard Attenborough’s ensemble of world War || epic ‘A Bridge too far’.
Early Life
The Godfather star was born on, March 26, 1940, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie and Arthur Caan. His father was a butcher. He was educated in New York City and after that attended MSU (Michigan State University) where he played football and wanted to make a team, but he was unable to do so. Later he began studying acting at Hofstra University, where he met Francis Ford, the director of Godfather, who was his classmate at that time.
After being a part of a few plays on and off-Broadway, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s to kick start his film career. He got his first role in the 1969 drama, ‘The Rain People’ as a drifter, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
James married and divorced four times and is survived by his five children, a daughter Tara and sons, Scott, Alexander, James, and Jacob.
Caan’s death drew expressions of grief and tributes from the Hollywood industry, colleagues, and fans all around the world.
Rest in Peace, James Caan.