James Caan

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So happy I got to know him. Always wanted to be like him. Tributes from across Hollywood have been pouring in for the actor, after the industry learned of his death. The actor is reknowned for his role in the 1990 adaptation of the Stephen King novel Misery, which he appeared in opposite Kathy Bates. James Caan was an American actor who rose to prominece in the 1970s. The actor, known for his roles in some of Hollywood’s most successful films, was confirmed to have passed away by his family.

The US actor, who was Oscar-nominated in 1973 for his performance as Sonny Corleone – the son of Marlon Brando's character, Don Corleone died, on Wednesday ...

“He inspired everyone who has ever been in front of a camera. Actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted: “James Caan was an icon – a legend. Caan was born in March 1940 in the Bronx in New York and initially fancied a career in American football before becoming interested in acting during his time at university.

The actor, who has died aged 82, starred in a slew of classics from 'Thief' to 'Misery' but will be best remembered as the volatile Sonny in 'The Godfather' ...

“It was a private joke,” Caan told The Independent. “‘Let’s get the most neurotic actor in Hollywood and put him in a bed for 15 weeks.’” In 1996 he helped launch Wes Anderson’s career by lending his star appeal to the director’s debut film Bottle Rocket, while in 2003 Caan earned a whole new generation of fans with his turn as Buddy the Elf’s cantankerous biological father in Elf. “I was brought up to defend myself if I have to, but I’ve never started a fight in my life, and I can’t remember the last time somebody started one with me,” he said. In a 1976 interview with Playboy, he complained that the tabloid press kept portraying him as “a macho f***in’ pig” who liked to “get loaded and go around smackin’ people, humpin’ women in the gutter and all that s***.” The truth, Caan maintained with wry humour, was very different. By the time he appeared in The Godfather, aged 32, Caan was already a leading man. He wordlessly reached into his pocket and tossed a couple of bills on top of the wreckage, then turned and walked away. Once set in motion, the character found himself on an inexorable path to his bullet-riddled murder at a toll booth, one of the most famous deaths in cinema history.

The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, and actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro shared tributes to James Caan, who died yesterday aged 82.

Thinking of his family and sending my love.’ His movies were best of the best. So happy I got to know him. Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them. Actor Sandler, who starred with Caan in the 1996 film Bulletproof and the 2012 film That’s My Boy, said: ‘James Caan. Loved him very much. Always wanted to be like him.

The US actor rose to fame for his portrayal of Sonny Corleone in the mafia film.

End of tweet." They say never meet your heroes, but he proved that to be very very wrong". In his later years, he would become prolific on Twitter, building a large following and often capping his posts with the phrase "End of tweet". Caan briefly disappeared from public view in the early 1980s during what he has described as "a pretty scary period" brought on by drug use and his sister's death. He had originally auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone, and was reportedly favoured for the role by studio executives. Among the tributes to Caan, fellow actor Gary Sinise wrote on Twitter that it had been "wonderful to know him and call him a pal", while filmmaker Rob Reiner said he "loved working with him".

James Caan famous for his role as the hot-headed Sonny Corleone in The Godfather has died aged 82.

His gruesome and over-the-top death- in the Coppola classic has gone down in cinematic history for which Caan said he was fitted with over 140 squibs to simulate the gunshot wounds. Love to the family.” He wrote on Twitter: “So sorry to hear the news. Jimmy was so supportive of Gary Sinise Foundation & my work w/ our veterans. Heartbroken for his family & his friends. Forrest Gump actor Gary Sinise tweeted: “Very sad to hear the news that James Caan has died.

Billy Dee Williams, Gary Sinise and Jon Lovitz were among the Hollywood stars remembering the life of James Caan following his death aged 82.

It tweeted: “We celebrate the life and career of @James_Caan and send condolences to his family. You can practically hear the audience cheering.” A highlight of my career. He was always supportive of my career. Jimmy was so supportive of Gary Sinise Foundation & my work w/ our veterans. “Wonderful to know him & call him a pal.

“Team Mates and friends till the end,” Billy Dee Williams tweeted. Williams co-starred with Cann in the 1971 TV-film Brian's Song. “RIP Jimmy.”.

Thinking of his family and sending my love.” A highlight of my career. He was always supportive of my career. He even did a cameo in my tv special and got Robert Duvall to be in it. Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them. Reiner directed Caan in the Stephen King adaptations Misery. “I loved working with him.

James Caan, who starred in The Godfather films, has died at the age of 82, his family have confirmed. The American actor, who was Oscar-nominated in 1973 ...

A statement on Twitter said: “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. The American actor, who was Oscar-nominated in 1973 for his performance as Sonny Corleone – the hot-headed on-screen son of Marlon Brando’s character, died on Wednesday evening. James Caan, who starred in The Godfather films, has died at the age of 82, his family have confirmed.

The American actor, who was Oscar-nominated in 1973 for his performance as Sonny Corleone – the hot-headed on-screen son of Marlon Brando's character, died on ...

A statement on Twitter said: “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6. The American actor, who was Oscar-nominated in 1973 for his performance as Sonny Corleone – the hot-headed on-screen son of Marlon Brando’s character, died on Wednesday evening. James Caan, who starred in The Godfather films, has died at the age of 82, his family have confirmed.

The Oscar-nominated actor, known for his roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery and many others, died on Wednesday aged 82.

He tweeted: “He inspired everyone who has ever been in front of a camera. Thinking of his family and sending my love.” He said: “It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. His movies were best of the best. Love to the family.” Jimmy was so supportive of Gary Sinise Foundation & my work w/ our veterans. “He was a great training partner in the gym and a true friend, and I’ll miss him.” A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. Arnold Schwarzenegger, best-known for his role in action film The Terminator, said that Caan was an “icon” and a “legend”. “Wonderful to know him & call him a pal. “Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times,” he said in a statement. Shire, who played Connie Corleone in the crime saga films, said in a statement given to the PA news agency: “James was a good man, a kind man, a family man, and a wildly gifted man – whose great talent will always be loved and remembered.

The actor has left behind a long, acclaimed career in film, from crime roles in The Godfather and Thief to a fan favourite turn in Rob Reiner's Misery.

In his uncredited cameo at the very end of The Godfather Part II, he is unforgettable in his rage at Michael joining the army, almost punching him at the dinner table for his disloyalty to the family and – a brilliant touch – contemptuously grabbing the hand that Fredo had offered him in congratulation and wrenching it away. Yet he was effortlessly authentic as Frank in Michael Mann’s Thief in 1981, the professional jewel thief and ex-convict who is as hard as they come but still yearning to settle down and have something like a normal human existence with the young woman he’s been dating, and to have a baby, which is to lead him into the black market in adoption. It was his destiny to be associated with one great role: Santino “Sonny” Corleone, eldest son and putative heir of mob chieftain Vito Corleone in Coppola’s classic movies The Godfather and The Godfather Part II – Sonny is the raging hothead, the uneducated loudmouth, the undisciplined id of the mobster mind, without his father’s strategic wisdom or his brother’s watchful presence, the Corleone who hysterically demands all-out war against the family’s gangster enemies when they move against Vito but with no real idea how this is to be planned or executed.

Hollywood star James Caan has died aged 82, leaving behind a legacy of iconic film roles including his explosive performance as Sonny in The Godfather.

Asked in 2016 if anyone had ever suggested he should boycott the country, he replied in characteristically forceful style: “They would have gotten punched in the face. No, I don't hang around with antisemites if that's what you mean and I don't know any. It seems the movie-going public had other ideas.

The Oscar-nominated actor, known for his roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery and many others, died on Wednesday aged 82.

He tweeted: “He inspired everyone who has ever been in front of a camera. Thinking of his family and sending my love.” He said: “It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. His movies were best of the best. Love to the family.” Jimmy was so supportive of Gary Sinise Foundation & my work w/ our veterans. “He was a great training partner in the gym and a true friend, and I’ll miss him.” A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. Arnold Schwarzenegger, best-known for his role in action film The Terminator, said that Caan was an “icon” and a “legend”. “Wonderful to know him & call him a pal. “Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times,” he said in a statement. Shire, who played Connie Corleone in the crime saga films, said in a statement given to the PA news agency: “James was a good man, a kind man, a family man, and a wildly gifted man – whose great talent will always be loved and remembered.

The Oscar-nominated actor, known for his roles in The Godfather, Thief, Misery and many others, died on Wednesday aged 82.

He tweeted: “He inspired everyone who has ever been in front of a camera. Thinking of his family and sending my love.” He said: “It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. His movies were best of the best. Love to the family.” Jimmy was so supportive of Gary Sinise Foundation & my work w/ our veterans. “He was a great training partner in the gym and a true friend, and I’ll miss him.” A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. Arnold Schwarzenegger, best-known for his role in action film The Terminator, said that Caan was an “icon” and a “legend”. “Wonderful to know him & call him a pal. “Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times,” he said in a statement. Shire, who played Connie Corleone in the crime saga films, said in a statement given to the PA news agency: “James was a good man, a kind man, a family man, and a wildly gifted man – whose great talent will always be loved and remembered.

The Oscar-nominated star, known for his roles in The Godfather, Elf, Misery and many others, died on Wednesday at the age of 82.

“And the only Jew I knew who could calf rope with the best of them. He said: “It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. “There was a core of values within him about how people should be, more or less. “I loved working with (Caan),” he wrote. A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend. “Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times,” he said in a statement.

Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro lead the tributes to the late Godfather actor.

"A great actor, a brilliant director and my dear friend," he added. "Jimmy was not just a great actor with total commitment and a venturesome spirit, but he had a vitality in the core of his being that drove everything from his art and friendship to athletics and very good times," he said in a statement. Joe Mantegna, who appeared in the third film in the Godfather series, paid his respects over Twitter. "One of the great gifts in being part of The Godfather family was becoming friends with James Caan. Rest In Peace Jimmy," he posted. Talia Shire, who played Caan's on-screen sister Connie Corleone told PA he was "a good man, a kind man, a family man, and a wildly gifted man - whose great talent will always be loved and remembered." Pacino, who starred as Michael Corleone, described him as a "great actor" and a "dear friend". Speaking of his "fictional brother and lifelong friend", Pacino said: "It's hard to believe that he won't be in the world any more because he was so alive and daring.

He punched co-stars, lived happily at the Playboy mansion, was often called a 'macho pig'… And that's why he was so gripping to watch.

There were arrests and lawsuits too – and, after the death of his sister in 1981, a spiralling cocaine habit which was partly responsible for his five-year absence from the business later that decade. And he saw the potential in a part many of his contemporaries turned down: Paul Sheldon, the romance novelist abducted by an obsessive fan, in Rob Reiner’s 1990 adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery. Even under hostage conditions, he held his audience captive. The youngster spotted the sleight, leapt up in a fury and swung for the older star: the punch didn’t connect though; fortunately Robert Mitchum intervened. Perhaps to quietly maintain dominance, Wayne pointed to the horizon and asked this young upstart if he could see anything, then shifted a piece in his favour while his rival’s back was turned. Cinema-goers were no longer interested in the 6’4” icon: they wanted the punk who swung the punch at him. Wayne, meanwhile, was still a Hollywood icon, riding high in the twilight of the studios’ glory years.

Superb actor whose defining role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather found echoes in his colourful personal life.

In later years, Caan was content to have the security of a popular TV series, Las Vegas (2003-07), appearing as a former CIA agent now the head of security at the fictional Montecito resort and casino. In The Rain People, the first of the three films Caan made with Coppola, a certain vulnerability and warmth surfaced as he played a soft-hearted drifter. While studying at Hofstra, he became interested in acting and was soon taken on by the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York, where he studied under Sanford Meisner, whose technique was allied to the method. His first role was as a young thug terrorising Olivia de Havilland in Lady in a Cage (1964). Tough insouciance was his style, well suited to handsome but rather emotionless features. When his brother Ronnie was held at gunpoint by gangsters, Caan enlisted the help of his mafia pal Anthony “the Animal” Fiato. Caan arranged to meet and pay the kidnappers, then arrived with Fiato and his crew with guns and baseball bats. His first and last directorial effort, Hide in Plain Sight (1980), in which he starred as a man in search of his ex-wife and children, was generally given a chilly critical reception. Although he received professional help and was cured of the addiction, he was unemployable in Hollywood. After attending various schools, he entered two universities, Michigan State University, at which he was a football hero, and Hofstra University, Long Island, but failed to graduate from either. (The matter was settled out of court.) Then came the morning when he woke up in a friend’s flat to find 10 Los Angeles policemen standing over him with guns drawn. His defining role came as Sonny Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972). Caan, who was nominated for an Oscar, was perfect as the hedonistic and volatile heir apparent to the Corleone family, whose bloody ways end in his own death. On another occasion, the FBI intercepted a phone conversation between Fiato and Caan concerning the actor Joe Pesci. Caan asked his friend to “take care” of Pesci after learning about an unpaid $8,000 bill from Pesci’s stay at a friend’s Miami hotel. More violence came his way as the brutal CIA man in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite and, in contrast, he portrayed Billy Rose, the gambling, philandering husband of Barbra Streisand’s Fanny Brice in Funny Lady, all in the same year.

American Horror Story actress Kathy Bates 'can't believe' The Godfather legend James Caan has died as she honours her late Misery co-star.

The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.’ Sending all my love to the Caan family.’ Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them. Sending my love to his family.’ Hilarious. He would have something insightfully funny to say right now. ‘I loved working with him.

The legendary film actor has died at the age of 82 - but his remarkable body of work lives on.

It’s impossible not to include Caan’s later more comedic parts in a list of films celebrating his flexibility and sense of fun as an actor. Ultimately a rather sleazy and ambiguous character study, examining the self-lacerating nature of the serial gambling addict, this is a film deeply uncosy in its conclusions and played with often uncomfortable intensity by Caan. This dark, pessimistic retelling of a Fyodor Dostoyevsky story focuses on Axel Freed: Caan as a louche, sexy young English Lit professor by day and a degenerate in gambling debt up to his eyeballs by night. The hand-in-glove suitability of James Caan to his part in The Godfather is hard to overstate. Shot on location mostly in Arizona and Colorado by Pakula mainstay Gordon Willis – the legendary cameraman also shot The Godfather – this is a gorgeously appointed film that roundly points the finger at corporate, capitalist forces for ruining traditional American routes to success. A Bronx-born son of a Jewish butcher, Caan was working class to the hilt and never lost a streetwise sensibility: his entire aura reeked of red-blooded masculinity, which in the 1970s was not looked upon as unfashionable.

Actor who played Sonny Corleone in the groundbreaking 1972 epic engineered a comeback after his career went off the rails in the early 1980s.

Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them. Thief, released in 1981 and directed by Michael Mann, in which Caan played a safecracker who takes on the mob, boded well for his ability to reinvent himself for the new decade, but Caan’s career would swiftly derail. Caan was born in 1940 in the Bronx, New York City, the son of a kosher butcher. He had five children, one of whom, Scott, followed him into acting, appearing in Gone in 60 Seconds, Ocean’s Eleven and the Hawaii Five-0 reboot. In 2018 he appeared in Carol Morley’s Martin Amis adaptation Out of Blue, as the father of murder victim Jennifer Rockwell. The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

James Edmund Caan was an athletic kid from the Bronx, the son of German-Jewish immigrants who grew up to play tough movie guys: sailors, football players, ...

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Caan's family said on Twitter that the actor died on 6 July, adding: "The family appreciate the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences".

End of tweet". Actor James Caan - star of films including The Godfather and Elf - has died at the age of 82. Caan's family said on Twitter that the actor died on 6 July, adding: "The family appreciate the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences".

The Hollywood veteran, who played Sonny Corleone in the mobster classic, passed away on Wednesday, their statement read.

Caan's second marriage to Sheila Marie Ryan - a former girlfriend of Elvis Presley - in 1976 was short-lived as they divorced the following year. But by the early 1980s he began to sour on films. He also urged his fans to watch Thief in a follow-up post. He also made a brief appearance in a flashback sequence in 'The Godfather, Part II.' And the only Jew I knew who could calf rope with the best of them. Rest in Peace. God bless you.' Comedian Andy Richter said he was 'shocked' to learn of Caan's death. He was always kind to me. He added: 'His movies were best of the best. Thinking of his family and sending my love.' Love to the family.' Maria Shriver wrote: 'So sad about Jimmy Caan. He was a legend. His manager DelPiano added: 'Jimmy was one of the greatest. He was always kind to me.

James Caan, who played Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and appeared in dozens of other movies, has died aged 82, his family has said.

In one of his last public appearances, James appeared with Coppola at the 50th anniversary of the release of The Godfather in February. The Godfather raised his profile further and James was never short of film offers with Brian's Song, The Gambler and A Bridge Too Far being added to his acting CV during the 70s. James reprised the role of Sonny for The Godfather Part II with a cameo appearance at the end.

James Caan, the curly-haired tough guy known to movie fans as the hotheaded Sonny Corleone of “The Godfather” and to television audiences as the dying ...

The following year he played a tongue-in-cheek version of Sonny Corleone in the comedy “Honeymoon in Vegas." He also made a brief appearance in a flashback sequence in “The Godfather, Part II.” But by the early 1980s he began to sour on films. Sonny Corleone, a violent and reckless man who conducted many killings, met his own end in one of the most jarring movie scenes in history. He managed a long career despite drug problems, outbursts of temper and minor brushes with the law. Not only was he one of the best actors our business has ever seen, he was funny, loyal, caring and beloved,” DelPiano said.

Acting legend Caan died after an incredible career, which saw him star in iconic films including The Godfather, A Bridge Too Far and, in more recent years, Elf.

Met him once at a party in LA and he was a very funny & highly entertaining man. Acting legend Caan had an incredible career, but is particularly well known for playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, a role which has gone down in film history. He was always supportive of my career. Reiner, who directed Caan in the 1990 psychological horror Misery, was one of the first to pay tribute. Deepest condolences to all of his family and loved ones. Besides being a talented instinctive actor, he was the only Jew I knew who could rope a calf with the best of them.