Portrait of Charles Grodin

Birthday profile

Charles Grodin

Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host (died 2021)

Born
April 21, 1935
Died
May 18, 2021
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1935

About Charles Grodin

Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, Grodin became familiar as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies. After a small part in Rosemary's Baby in 1968, he played the lead in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972) where he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Grodin also starred in 11 Harrowhouse (1974), for which he also wrote the adaptation. Grodin achieved fame through roles in Catch-22 (1970), The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and King Kong (1976). Other notable film roles include Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), The Lonely Guy (1984), Midnight Run (1988), Taking Care of Business (1990), Beethoven (1992), and its sequel, Beethoven’s 2nd (1993). Grodin made his acting debut in 1958 appearing in the NBC anthology series Decision. He then appeared in numerous TV serials throughout the next decade. Grodin made frequent appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for the Paul Simon Special (1978) alongside Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, Paul Simon, and Lily Tomlin. Grodin portrayed Carl Shapiro in the miniseries Madoff (2016). Grodin wrote eight books and three plays. He also hosted a talk show on CNBC and was a political commentator for 60 Minutes II in 2000. Grodin returned to acting in Louis C.K.'s FX show Louie and Noah Baumbach's film While We're Young (2014). Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, Grodin became familiar as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies of the era. He then directed his first television special, Songs of America, with Simon and Garfunkel in 1969. I've ever worked with, he's a wonderful director, writer, and actor." Grodin also portrayed the philanthropist and defrauded investor Carl J.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Charles Grodin timeline

  1. After a small part in Rosemary's Baby in 1968, he played the lead in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid (1972) where he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
  2. He then directed his first television special, Songs of America, with Simon and Garfunkel in 1969.
  3. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for the Paul Simon Special (1978) alongside Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, Paul Simon, and Lily Tomlin.

The world when Charles Grodin was born

Charles Grodin was born in 1935. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1935

  • #1 song"Cheek to Cheek" – Fred Astaire
  • Top movieMutiny on the Bounty
  • Best-selling bookGreen Light - Lloyd C. Douglas

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJesse Owens sets 3 world records in 45 minutes at Big Ten meet
  • Top headlineSocial Security Act signed into law by FDR
  • Technology milestoneRadar first demonstrated
  • Defining fadMonopoly officially released by Parker Brothers
  • Notable inventionBeer in cans
  • World population2.23 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championDetroit Tigers (World Series)
  • U.S. population127.3M

1935 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Charles Grodin's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19352026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,000$435,000
Average income$2,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population127.3M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.