James Caan

James Caan was an American actor.

Caan will be best remembered for his performance as Sonny Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972). As the volatile eldest son and heir to his family’s criminal empire, he earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

Another popular performance came in Brian’s Song, a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week. Caan portrayed real-life Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after turning pro.

Caan showed great versatility during his six-decade career. He was the title character in the 1970 adaptation of John Updike’s Rabbit Run, a lonely sailor in Cinderella Liberty (1973), a self-destructive college professor in The Gambler (1974), the aging star athlete of the futuristic sports game Rollerball (1975) and a smooth robber in Thief (1981).

On television, Caan spent four seasons as casino owner Ed Deline on the NBC drama Las Vegas, a season as a Miami mob boss on Starz’s Magic City and a year as a boozing ex-baseball star on the ABC sitcom Back in the Game.

During the ‘60s, Caan frequently popped up on the small screen, with guest spots on Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Death Valley Days, Combat!, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The F.B.I. and, as Rotten Rupert of Rathskeller, Get Smart.

Caan died July 6, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. He was 82.