James Caan Has Died At The Age Of 82

I’ve already fully worn out my Goodfellas DVD from paying tribute to the late Ray Liotta, and it looks like The Godfather is next. Because James Caan’s family confirmed earlier today that the legendary Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy-nominated actor died at the age of 82 yesterday.

The news broke of James Caan’s passing not too long ago, when his family took over his Twitter account, and posted the sad news. If you’re a person who frequents Twitter, then you might already know that James was a prolific user, and wrapped up every tweet he posted with a signature “End of tweet.” That would be why his family did the same after they revealed that James Caan had died on the evening of July 6th, and that his family asks for privacy at this time.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6.

The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.

End of tweet

— James Caan (@James_Caan) July 7, 2022

Nothing else is known about his death at this time. James Caan leaves behind four ex-wives, and five adult children, including his actor son, Scott Caan.

James Caan was born in the Bronx, New York back in 1940, and despite what his role in The Godfather series might lead you to believe, no – he wasn’t Italian (he was the son of Jewish immigrants). He started out aspiring to be a football star, but while at Hofstra University, he discovered that acting was more his thing. So he dropped that football and headed to Broadway, where he started booking roles pretty quickly (not exactly a shock if you’ve ever thrown the words “pictures of young James Caan” into a search engine. He received his first Golden Globe nomination, New Star of the Year – Actor, in 1965. In 1970, he appeared in the ABC movie of the week Brian’s Song, where he was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie.

James Caan went to Hofstra with Francis Ford Copolla, who cast him in his 1969 film The Rain People. That was just three years before Copolla made The Godfather and cast James as beloved mafia son Sonny Corleone, which is arguably the role that fully launched James Caan’s career. He nabbed nominations supporting actor from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards (he lost both to Joel Grey for Cabaret). From there, James Caan worked like he had bills to pay, because his credits during the 1970s have him booking two and three jobs each year. He appeared in The Gambler (again, another Golden Globe nominated performance), Funny Lady with Barbra Streisand (and again, a role that got him another Golden Globe nomination), Rollerball, Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie, and A Bridge Too Far. He worked just a little less in the 80s, but that’s not saying he didn’t appear in anything notable. There’s the incredibly 80s-looking Thief. But if you’re anything like me (aka a lover of true cinema), then James Caan represents two movies of the 90s for you, and I’m of course talking about Honeymoon in Vegas (okay I might have lost you there) and Misery (aaaand I got you back). Obviously the STAR of Misery is the perfect psychopath performance by Kathy Bates, but let’s face it – Annie Wilkes couldn’t have terrorized anyone’s nightmares unless she had James Caan’s Paul Sheldon to terrorize first.

He was less prolific in television, appearing here and there in guest spots on various TV series. But he did do an extended stint on the 2003 NBC series Las Vegas (remember her?), where he showed up in 88 episodes, before leaving and going back to his film career.

For the remainder of his career, James Caan worked steady, and I’d argue one of his career highlights came pretty late in his life, when he showed up in Elf as Buddy’s real dad. So at the very least, James Caan will live forever every December, when Elf is played about a million times between the 1st and the 25th. And, he’ll never truly be gone, so long as his Twitter history remains public, like this devastating burn that was administered swiftly to a troll:

https://twitter.com/aniceburrito/status/1545092307262767110

Pic: Paramount Pictures