James Caan, the curly-haired stubborn who moviegoers know as the short-sighted Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, and TV viewers as the dying football player in the classic Brian’s Song crybaby and casino boss in Las Vegas, “died at the age of 82.
His manager, Matt DelPiano, said he died Wednesday. The reason was not specified.
“Jimmy is one of the best. He is not only one of the best actors our business has ever seen, he is also funny, dedicated, caring and loved,” DelPiano said. “Our relationship has always been a friendship, not a business. I am proud to work.”
Michigan State University football player and on-set joker, Caan is a smiling, handsome actor with the pride and muscular physique of an athlete. Despite his drug problems, tantrums, and petty crimes, he managed to build a long career.
Caan has been a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola since the 1960s, when Coppola appointed him leader of the Rain People. He’s ready to play as the #1 Sonny in The Godfather. 1 eldest son of practitioner and mafia boss Vito Corleone.
Left to right: Salvatore Corsitto as Bonasera, James Caan as Santino “Sonny” Corleone and The Godfather, Marlon Brando (1924-2004) as Don Vito Corleone in 1972. Bonasera asks Don Corleone to avenge the brutal rape of her son. . (Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Sonny Corleone, a brutal and reckless man who commits multiple murders, finds himself in one of the most intense movie scenes in history. Years later, he once said that strangers would approach him on the street and jokingly warn him to stay away from toll roads.
Despite Coppola’s fears that it would fail, it was a huge critical and commercial success in 1972, earning Oscar nominations for supporting actors for Caan, Duval, and Al Pacino.
Caan is already a television star and starring in the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song, an emotional drama about the return of Brian Piccolo, who died of cancer at the age of 26 last year.
He was one of the hottest actors in Hollywood after Song of Brian and The Godfather, starring in “Chapter Two” from Hiding in Plain Sight (which he also directed), Funny Lady (with Barbra Streisand), Killer Elite and Neil Simon . others. . He also made a brief appearance in a flashback series in The Godfather Part II.
But it started to go sour in movies in the early 1980s. He began to struggle with drug use and was discouraged when his sister, Barbara, who had been a guiding force in his career until then, died of leukemia in 1981.
She returned to full star in 1990 with Kathy Bates in Misery.
Actors Kathy Bates and James Caan in a scene from the movie Misery, 1990. (Stanley Bieleki Film Collection/Getty Images)
James Caan joins Will Ferrell in the classic Christmas comedy Elf. (Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema)
Again, upon request, Caan, in 1991, II. The following year, he played a humorous version of Sonny Corleone in the comedy Vegas Honeymoon.
Other upcoming movies include Flesh and Bones, Bottle Rocket, and Mickey Blue Eyes. In Elf, he introduces himself to a new generation by playing Buddy’s Will Ferrell’s rock-like workaholic father, Walter.
Having been married and divorced four times, Caan had a daughter, Tara, and sons, Scott, Alexander, James, and Jacob.
Source: Breitbart
