Charles Grodin was born on the 21st April 1935, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA, and is a Golden Globe Award-nominated actor, comedian and author, best known for his roles in such movies as “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972), and “Midnight Run” (1988). Charles also played in “Beethoven” (1992) and “Beethoven’s 2nd” (1993). Grodin’s career started in 1954.
Have you ever wondered how rich Charles Grodin is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Grodin’s net worth is as high as $12 million, earned through his successful acting career. In addition to playing both on television and in film, Grodin has also worked as a talk show host on CNBC, and is a bestselling author, which have improved his wealth.
Charles Grodin Net Worth $12 Million
Charles Grodin grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in Pennsylvania with his older brother Jack, and went to the University of Miami, but dropped out to pursue his acting career.
In 1954, Grodin debuted in Richard Fleischer’s Oscar-winning movie called “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Paul Lukas, and spent the next ten years appearing in TV series before being cast in “Sex and the College Girl” (1964). Four years later, Grodin played Dr. Hill in Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning “Rosemary’s Baby” with Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon, while in 1970 he had a minor role in the BAFTA nominated “Catch-22” alongside Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, and Richard Benjamin. Grodin starred in “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972) for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and he also had a lead role in the Oscar-nominated “King Kong” (1976) alongside Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. By the end of the ‘70s, Charles had played parts in Warren Beatty’s Oscar-nominated “Heaven Can Wait” (1978), “The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank” (1978), and in Albert Brooks’ “Real Life” (1979), all of which increased his net worth.
In the early ‘80s, Grodin appeared alongside Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in “Seems Like Old Times” (1980) and in Jim Henson’s Oscar-nominated “The Great Muppet Caper” (1981). In 1984, Charles sterred with Steve Martin in the comedy called “The Lonely Guy”, while that same year, he co-starred in Gene Wilder’s Oscar-winning “The Woman in Red”. Grodin ended the ‘80s with Martin Brest’s Golden Globe Award-nominated “Midnight Run” (1988) alongside Robert De Niro. His net worth was rising steadily.
In 1990, he had a role in ”Taking Care of Business” starring Jim Belushi, while in 1992 Charles played with Bonnie Hunt in “Beethoven”. The next year, Grodin appeared in three movies: “Dave”, “So I Married an Axe Murderer”, and “Heart and Souls” before he starred again in the Oscar-nominated “Beethoven’s 2nd” (1993).
However, after filming “Clifford” (1994) with Martin Short and Mary Steenburgen, Grodin retired from acting, and became the host of his “The Charles Grodin Show” on CNBC, which aired from 1995 to 1998. Charles has also written seven books so far, including “ It Would be so Nice If You Weren’t Here: My Journey Through Show Business” (1989) and “We’re Ready for You, Mr. Grodin: Behind the Scenes at Talk Shows, Movies, and Elsewhere” (1994). Most recently, he published “How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am” (2009) and “Just When I Thought I’d Heard Everything: Humorous Observations on Life in America” (2013), the sales of which certainly increased further his net worth.
Grodin returned to acting in “The Ex” (2006) with Zach Braff and Amanda Peet, while in recent years he has appeared in Barry Levinson’s “The Humbling” (2014) starring Al Pacino, Greta Gerwig and Dianne West, and in “While We’re Young” (2014) with Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts. Most recently, Charles worked in the TV series “Louie” (2014-2015) and “Madoff” (2016 -).
Regarding his personal life, Charles Grodin was married to Julia Ferguson until divorce in 1968, and has a daughter with her, while in 1985 he married Elissa Durwood and they have a son together. He currently lives in Fairfield County’s Wilton, Connecticut.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy, Variety, or Music Special, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
Movies
Midnight Run, Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, The Heartbreak Kid, The Woman in Red, While We're Young, Heaven Can Wait, Seems Like Old Times, Rosemary's Baby, The Lonely Guy, King Kong, Heart and Souls, The Ex, The Great Muppet Caper, Ishtar, Dave, The Couch Trip, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Taking Ca...
TV Shows
The Young Marrieds, The Charles Grodin Show
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Trademark
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Deep smooth voice
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Frequently portrays uptight, bland and world-weary white-collar professionals.
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Grodin's trademark is his petulant loutishness that he employs as a guest on various talk shows. Seemingly miffed or angry, his act is strictly tongue-in-cheek as he lobs offensive verbal attacks at his hosts.
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Quote
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I'm not that easy to insult, believe me, but cracks about people on movies who are there to pick up paychecks or actors who look like they phoned it in get me. People who write this stuff obviously have never been on the set of a movie from beginning to end. Just showing up somewhere every day for twelve to sixteen hours for three or four months should be enough to disqualify movie people from those cracks. The only thing about a movie that can be phoned in is a review.
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Fact
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Turned down a $500 a week offer to star in "The Graduate.".
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His direction of "Lovers and Other Strangers" introduced him to Elaine May who became his 'professional benefactor' Elaine May, who cast him in "The Heartbreak Kid.".
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His father, Theodore Isadore Grodin, was born in Pennsylvania, to Russian Jewish parents. His mother, Lena (Singer), was a Jewish immigrant from Yanov, Tatsinsky District, Russia (her father was born in Brest, Belarus and her mother was born in Poland).
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Longtime resident of Fairfield County's Wilton, Connecticut. [May 2007]
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Attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
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Studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
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Admitted in a 2006 interview on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) that the surly attitude he adopts on talk shows is an act he developed in order to be a more interesting guest. According to Grodin, he was scheduled to make his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) in 1973, and was to be in the segment immediately following Diana Ross performing a medley of her hits. Realizing that he would bomb if he followed her as himself, he adopted this churlish character who has little patience for the questions of the host. Carson loved it and it became his trademark.
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He auditioned as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967), but was never offered the role. Mike Nichols still offered him a role in Catch-22 (1970), which he was already scheduled to direct at the time.
Having already been cast as Captain Aarfy Aardvark in Catch-22 (1970), director Mike Nichols asked him to take over the role of Colonel Cathcart when the original actor did not work out. As the role was written for an older man, old age make-up was experimented with for several days, until it was decided to cast Martin Balsam instead, and Grodin returned to his original role.
$12 Million
