James Caan, an onscreen tough guy and movie craftsman, has died at 82

[peppertree]

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, gangsters and was one of the most recognizable screen actors of his era.

Best known for his explosive turn as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and as a dying professional football player in the made-for-TV-movie Brian's Song (which earned him Oscar and Emmy nominations, respectively), Caan lent an eminently watchable machismo to dozens of films and shows.

In Misery, he was a famous author held captive by Kathy Bates. In Gardens of Stone, he was a heartsick Vietnam vet reluctantly guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In Elf, he played against type as a failing children's book publisher who is also the main character's dad.

After starting in theater and television, Caan burst into Hollywood like a comet, appearing in films by some of the most renowned auteurs of the era, including Howard Hawks (El Dorado), Robert Altman (Countdown) and Francis Ford Coppola (The Rain People).

His burst of early success led to a period of difficulty, both personal and professional. Caan married and divorced several times, got into on-set arguments and publicly struggled with substance abuse and depression.

At: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/07/1110286405/james-caan-died

Tough guy and legend: James Caan, 1940-2022.