Veteran Hollywood actor James Caan, who acted in the movies like The Godfather and Misery, passed away at the age of 82 on Wednesday.
He was known to his fans as the rough and tough guy with curly hair. He was also known as the hot-headed gangster Sonny Corleone of The Godfather, and to the television audience, he was fondly remembered as the ailing and dying football player in the emotional drama classic Brian’s Song and as the casino mogul in Las Vegas. He is no one else but the legendary James Caan himself, and he passed away at the age of 82 on Wednesday.
The news was disclosed by his long-time manager, Matt Delpiano on Wednesday, and no cause for his death was disclosed.
Matt Delpiano, upon breaking the sad news, commented on how he considered the actor one of the greatest. Not only was he the best actor, but Matt also regarded him as one of the funniest, caring, loyal and beloved people in show business. He sadly stated that he was going to miss him and will always cherish the time they spent together in their show business.
Director Robert Reiner who worked with Caan in the movie Misery posted a tweet where he mentioned his lovely experience working with him. He also said that he was “the only Jew I knew who could calf rope with the best of them.”
Caan has always been Francis Ford Coppola’s favourite person to work with since the decade of the 60s. He was cast by Coppola as the lead in the movie Rain People. He was then cast by Coppola in a prime role in the movie The Godfather as the eldest son of Mafia mogul Vito Corleone and the top advisor and gangster after his father. His acting, along with that of Duvall and Al Pacino made the movie commercially and critically successful. It also fetched them a supporting actor Oscar nomination.
Caan was already well popular among TV audiences and was featured in the 1971 TV film Brian’s Song, an emotional drama about a dying footballer, and was nominated for best actor Emmys alongside his co-actor Billy Dee Williams.
He also worked in countless hit movies such as Hide in Plain Sight, Funny Lady, The Killer Elite, and Neil Simon’s Chapter Two, among others. His career suffered a setback after his struggle with drugs and the death of his sister Barbara, who had been his strength.
He was back with a bang with the movie Misery, alongside Kathy Bates, in the year 1990. He later went on to work in films such as For the Boys, and Honeymoon in Vegas.
