James Caan Oscar Nominated Actor For The Godfather Misery And Elf Has Died At Age 82.

They did not disclose the cause of death. Caan first found fame playing Chicago Bears halfback Brian Piccolo in “Brian’s Song,” a 1971 television movie that was widely viewed. The tear-jerking film chronicled Piccolo’s real-life battle with terminal cancer and won praise for its treatment of the interracial friendship between Piccolo and a black teammate, Gale Sayers. His next film, 1972’s The Godfather, made Caan a star. Although not Italian, Caan was cast as the hotshot Sonny Corleone, the eldest of the three sons of mobster Vito Corleone, who is memorably murdered by rival gangsters in a toll booth. In a 2021 interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Caan said he based his Sonny persona on the late comedian Don Rickles. “It wasn’t about imitating Don Rickles. It was about having that passion, that thing, you know? I was locked into it,” he said of his performance. The role earned him an Oscar nomination. Caan also appeared in a flashback in “The Godfather, Part II”. Caan was perhaps best known for playing tough characters in movies like “Thief” and “Rollerball.” Still, he was a versatile actor who took on a variety of roles, including “Misery,” the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King about a mild-mannered romance novelist terrorized by an obsessive fan. He is probably best known to younger audiences for his role in “Elf,” the Christmas tale in which he played Will Ferrell’s Scrooge-like father, a children’s book publisher who is displeased to learn that he has an exuberant eldest son who wears an elf costume and pours maple syrup on his spaghetti. In the same interview with CBS, Caan said he almost turned down the role just because of the film’s title, but Ferrell convinced him to join the project. This is a developing story and will be updated.