Profile of James Caan on Famous Like Me

James Caan (born March 26, 1939, The Bronx, New York) is an American actor. Caan's parents were Jewish refugees from Germany. He currently stars as "Big Ed Deline" on the NBC hit series, Las Vegas.

A graduate of New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse where one of his instructors was teaching legend Sanford Meisner, Caan began acting in television in such series as The Untouchables. His first substantial film role was as a menacing villain in the 1964 thriller Lady In A Cage. In 1967, Caan appeared in El Dorado with John Wayne. Caan first won praise for his role as a brain-damaged football player in The Rain People (1969), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1971, Caan won even greater acclaim as dying football player Brian Piccolo in the television movie Brian's Song. The following year Coppola cast Caan as mobster Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, which also helped launch Al Pacino's career. For his role Caan was nominated for an Academy Award.

Stardom

From 1973 to 1982, Caan appeared in many Hollywood films. He played a wide variety of roles and refused to be typecast as a mobster. His many films include Cinderella Liberty, Freebie and The Bean, The Gambler, The Killer Elite, Rollerball, Harry And Walter Go To New York, A Bridge Too Far, Comes A Horseman and Chapter Two (a play screenplay conversion by Neil Simon).

In 1980, Caan directed Hide In Plain Sight a film about a father searching for his children lost in the Witness Protection Program. Despite critical praise, the film was not a hit.

The following year, Caan appeared in Thief, directed by Michael Mann, where he played a professional safe cracker. This film is today regarded as a film noir classic and Caan has often said it is the role he is proudest of next to The Godfather.

From 1982 to 1987, Caan did not act in any films. He was suffering from depression over his sister's death, a growing problem with cocaine, and what he described as Hollywood burnout. He made a return to film in 1987 when his old friend Francis Ford Coppola cast him as an Army Sergeant in Gardens Of Stone, a film that dealt with the effect of the Vietnam War on the homefront.

In 1988 and 1990, Caan starred in the popular films Alien Nation, Dick Tracy and Misery (co-star Kathy Bates won a Best Actress Oscar). In 1992, Caan made the hit Honeymoon in Vegas. He co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicolas Cage and hilariously spoofed his "Sonny Corleone" character from The Godfather.

In 1996 he appeared in the indie hit Bottle Rocket and pursued Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser.

In 1999, Caan joined the ranks of Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum and Powers Boothe when he portrayed Philip Marlowe in the HBO film Poodle Springs.

Some of his most recent appearances have been in The Yards (2000), City of Ghosts (2002), Dogville (2003) and Elf (2003).

Caan has been married four times. In 1960 he married Dee Jay Mathis; they divorced in 1966 and had one child. His second marriage with Sheila Ryan (1976) was short lived, and they divorced the next year. His son Scott was born in 1976. Between September 1990 and March 1995 Caan was married to Ingrid Hajek; they also had one child. He married Linda Stokes in October 1995, but got recently divorced from her in April 2005. They have two children.

James Caan was a Turnberry Island regular. He was friendly with marijuana smugglers Joey Ippolito and Ben Kramer. In 1994, Caan offered his home as collateral toward the $2-million bail and appeared as a character witness for his “dear friend”, Joey Ippolito, who was on trial for cocaine distribution.

As a result of his excellent portrayal of Sonny Corleone, Caan is often mistaken for being of Italian ancestry, and has even received recognition from a few Italian-American organizations. However, Caan is of German Jewish descent.

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