James Caan was born on March 26 1940 in New York City. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father was a butcher and meat dealer. He grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. He attended Michigan State University and later Hofstra University. Despite not graduating from college, it was his years in college that fuelled his interest in acting. He studied acting at The Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York City.
James Caan made his television debut in 1961 in an episode of The Naked City. In the Sixties he guest starred on such shows as Play of the Week, Route 66, Alcoa Premiere, The Untouchables, The Nurses, Wide Country, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Death Valley Days, Combat!, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Breaking Point, Channing, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Wagon Train, The F.B.I., and Get Smart. He made his television debut in 1963 in a bit part in Irma la Douce. In the Sixties he appeared in the movies Lady in a Cage (1964), The Glory Guys (1965), Red Line 7000 (1965), El Dorado (1966), Countdown (1967), Games (1967), Submarine X-1 (1968), Journey to Shiloh (1968), The Rain People (1969), Rabbit Run (1970).
In 1972 James Caan appeared in his breakout role as Sonny in The Godfather. This would led to lead roles in several notable movies during the Seventies, including Cinederella Liberty (1973), Rollerball (1975) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). He also appeared in the movies T. R. Baskin (1971), Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Freebie and Bean (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Gone with the West (1974), Funny Lady (1975), The Killer Elite (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), Un autre homme, une autre chance (1977), Comes a Horseman (1978), 1941 (1979), Chapter Two (1979), and Hide in Plain Sight (1980). On television he starred in the TV movie Brian's Song and guest starred on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
In the Eighties he appeared in the movies Thief (1981), Les uns et les autres (1981), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), Gardens of Stone (1987), Alien Nation (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), and Misery (1990).
In the Nineties James Caan appeared in the movies The Dark Backward (1991), For the Boys (1991), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), The Program (1993), Flesh and Bone (1993), A Boy Called Hate (1995), North Star (1996), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Bulletproof (1996), This is My Father (1998), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), The Yards (2000), Luckytown (2000), and The Way of the Gun (2000). In the Nineties he guest starred on the television show NewsRadio. He played Phillip Marlowe in the HBO TV movies Poodle Springs.
In the Naughts James Caan starred on the television series Las Vegas, on which he played Ed Deline, President of Operations at the fictional Montecito casino. He also guest starred as Ed Deline on the TV show Crossing Jordan. He guest starred on the animated series The Simpsons, Family Guy, and The Annoying Orange. He appeared in such TV movies as Lathe of Heaven (2002), Blood Crime, The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie, and Wisegal. He appeared in the movies Viva Las Nowhere (2001), In the Shadows (2001), Night at the Golden Eagle (2001), This Thing of Ours (2002), City of Ghosts (2002), Dogville (2003), Jericho Mansions (2003), Elf (2003), Santa's Slay (2005), Get Smart (2008), New York, I Love You (2008), Middle Men (2009), Mercy (2009), and Henry's Crime (2010). He was the voice of Tim Lockwood in the animated movie Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs (2009).
In the Teens James Caan was a regular on the TV shows Magic City and Back in the Game. He guest starred on the show Hawaii Five-0. He appeared in the TV movies Wuthering High and JL Family Ranch: The Wedding Gift. He appeared in the movies Detachment (2011), Small Apartments (2012), That's My Boy (2012), For the Love of Money (2012), Blood Ties (2013), The Outsider (2014), A Fighting Man (2014), Preggoland (2014), The Throwaways (2015), Sicilian Vampire (2015), The Good Neighbour (2016), Good Enough (2016), JL Ranch (2016), The Red Maple Leaf (2016), Holy Lands (2017), Undercover Grandpa (2017), Con Man (2018), and Out of the Blue (2018). He provided voices for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) and the English version of Kaguya-hime no monogatari (2013). He appeared in the episode "House of Louis" on The Pack Podcast.
James Caan was an incredibly talented actor. He may always be best remembered as the temperamental Sonny in The Godfather, but he played a wide variety of other roles. He played the somewhat naive Mississippi in El Dorado. In the TV movie Brian's Song he played Brian Piccolo, the Chicago Bears player who develops cancer. In Cinderella Liberty he played the lonely sailor John Baggs Jr. He was the stalwart Houston rollerball team captain in Rollerball and Frank, the jewel thief of the title in Thief. James Caan was best known for his "tough guy" roles, but he was quite adept at comedy, as shown by his appearances in such films as Slither, Freebie and the Bean, and Elf. James Caan was a great talent capable of playing a diverse number of roles.
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