R.I.P. James Caan 1940-2022

The entertainment world was saddened to learn that James Caan died of a heart attack this week at age 82. One of cinema's longtime tough guys, the native New Yorker fell in love with acting in the 1960s and forged a life-changing friendship with Frances Ford Coppola. Sonny Corleone was a great character, and "The Godfather I and II" are among the greatest movies ever made. Caan never quite reached the same career highs as his famed castmates Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but his presence livened up nearly every film he appeared in. Michael Mann's directorial debut "Thief" couldn't have had a more credible star, and Caan was perfectly cast as captive novelist Paul Sheldon in Rob Reiner's instant classic "Misery". Jimmy's other hits included "The Gambler", "Freebie and the Bean", "A Bridge Too Far", "Alien Nation", "The Program", "Eraser", and "Elf". His energy and talent will be sorely missed.

Complete filmography- "Irma la Douce"(1963), "Lady in a Cage"(1964), "The Glory Guys"(1965), "Red Line 7000"(1965), "El Dorado"(1967), "Games"(1967), "Countdown"(1968), "Submarine X-1"(1968), "Journey to Shiloh"(1968), "The Rain People"(1969), "Rabbit, Run"(1970), "T.R. Baskin"(1971), "The Godfather"(1972), "Slither"(1973), "Cinderella Liberty"(1973), "The Gambler"(1974), "Freebie and the Bean"(1974), "The Godfather Part II"(1974), "Gone with the West"(1975), "Rollerball"(1975), "Funny Lady"(1975), "The Killer Elite"(1975), "Silent Movie"(1976), "Harry and Walter Go to New York"(1976), "A Bridge Too Far"(1977), "Another Man, Another Chance"(1977), "Comes a Horseman"(1978), "1941"(1979), "Chapter Two"(1979), "Hide in Plain Sight"(1980)-also director, "Thief"(1981), "Kiss Me Goodbye"(1982), "Les Uns et Les Autres"(1984), "Gardens of Stone"(1987), "Alien Nation"(1988), "Dick Tracy"(1990), "Misery"(1990), "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"(1999), "Mickey Blue Eyes"(1999), "The Yards"(2000), "Luckytown"(2000), "The Way of the Gun"(2000), "Viva Las Nowhere"(2001), "In the Shadows"(2001), "Night of the Golden Eagle"(2001), "City of Ghosts"(2002), "Dogville"(2003), "This Thing of Ours"(2003), "Jericho Mansions"(2003), "Elf"(2003), "Santa's Slay"(2005), "Wisegal"(2008), "Get Smart"(2008), "New York, I Love You"(2008), "Middle Men"(2009), "Mercy"(2009), "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"(2009), "Henry's Crime"(2010), "Minkow"(2010), "Detachment"(2011), "Small Apartments"(2012), "That's My Boy"(2012), "For the Love of Money"(2012), "Blood Ties"(2013), "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"(2013), "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"(2013), "The Outsider"(2014), "A Fighting Man"(2014), "Preggoland"(2014), "The Throwaways"(2015), "Sicilian Vampire"(2015), "The Good Neighbor"(2016), "The Red Maple Leaf"(2016), "Undercover Grandpa"(2017), "Holy Lands"(2017), "Out of Blue"(2018), "Con Man"(2018), "Queen Bees"(2021), "Fast Charlie"(2023)