Yesterday we were all saddened by the loss of actor James Caan who has been in comedies, action films, dramas, and so many more. Let's pay a tribute to James Caan's fantastic career.
He was born to Jewish parents in The Bronx and was always unapologetic about his Jewish heritage and his New York attitude. That same attitude, as well as his charming smile, lead him to theater and acting. He did play football when he went to Michigan State University, but he transferred to Hofstra University and went to school with Francis Ford Coppola. That is also where he began acting and enrolled in Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre to scratch his acting itch. He fell in love with it and ditched college to become an actor.
He began acting in the 1960s and had noticeably good roles in Howard Hawks' 1966 flick El Dorado and an early Robert Altman film called Countdown. He was not showing skin in either film, but there is a bath scene in El Dorado with Robert Mitchum. His first meaty role was in the 1964 film Lady in a Cage in which he played a criminal opposite Olivia de Havilland. It is an underrated classic, in my opinion. Olivia de Havilland acts her heart out and young James is hot.
He starred in the 1970 film Rabbit, Run which he said that he really wanted to work on. He loved working on the film, but after almost a decade in the industry, he started to get a minor reputation for being in films that did not make money. All of that would change in the 1970s with his notorious role in The Godfather.
The role that really put him in the spotlight was Sonny Corleone in the one and only The Godfather. Coppola's 1972 film put him in the spotlight and earned him nominations for Academy Awards and Golden Globes. In fact, he joked that he was so believable in this role that he was rejected from a country club for being in the Italian mob. The people at the country club thought he was a made man, believing he really was Sonny Corleone. He isn't even Italian!
Caan dabbled in directing, but he kept acting. He acted in Thief by Michael Mann in which he once again played a guy who was street smart. His work after that was either to be a criminal or a soldier. This started to change as he got older. He even became the victim in Misery in 1990 and he eventually played the angry dad in Elf which may be how younger generations know him. He went from a wiseguy to a distant father. That's range, sweetie!
When Caan was not acting, he was practicing martial arts. He was even a karate master and was given the title Soke Dai by the International Karate Association. He knew how to kick ass and take names! His personal life was all over the place with several wives and an alleged relationship with Heidi Fleiss (according to her). Still, he kept it all under wraps and was focused on his work. His final film, Fast Charlie, will be released in the future.
Several celebrities have since paid tribute to their friend since his death. He passed away at 82, gone but never forgotten.
