Age, Biography, and Wiki
James Caan was born on March 26, 1940, in the Bronx, New York. He passed away on July 6, 2022, at the age of 82. Caan's early life was marked by his parents, Sophie and Arthur, who were Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father worked as a butcher, and Caan grew up in Queens with his siblings Ronnie and Barbara.
| Occupation | Voice Actors |
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| Date of Birth | 26 March 1940 |
| Age | 85 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 6 July, 2022 |
| Died Place | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Although specific details about James Caan's height and weight are not widely documented, he was known for his robust and masculine presence on screen.
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Dating & Relationship status
Caan was married four times and had five children. His personal life was marked by a series of marriages and divorces, reflecting a complex and often tumultuous relationship history.
His father was a kosher meat dealer. James grew up a lively boy and often participated in street fights. At that time he enjoyed boxing, rodeo and motorcycle riding. One of three siblings, Caan grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. His sister, Barbara Emily Caan (Licker), died of leukemia in 1981, aged 38.
In 1978, Caan directed Hide in Plain Sight, a film about a father searching for his children, who were lost in the Witness Protection Program. Despite critical praise, the film was only moderately successful with the public.
Caan was a gangster in the comedy Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) and played Coach Winters in The Program (1993). He had supporting roles in Flesh and Bone (1993) and A Boy Called Hate (1995), the latter starring his son Scott Caan. In 1996, he appeared in North Star, a Western; Bottle Rocket, the directorial debut of Wes Anderson; Eraser, with Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Bulletproof with Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans. In 1998, Caan portrayed Philip Marlowe in the HBO film Poodle Springs. He was also in This Is My Father (1998). Caan was a gangster for comedy in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), with Hugh Grant.
In 2003, Caan portrayed Jimmy the Con in the film This Thing of Ours, whose associate producer was Sonny Franzese, longtime mobster and underboss of the Colombo crime family. The same year, Caan played Will Ferrell's estranged book publisher father in the enormously successful family Christmas comedy Elf, and auditioned for, and won, the role of Montecito Hotel/Casino president "Big Ed" Deline in Las Vegas. On February 27, 2007, Caan announced that he would not return to the show for its fifth season to return to film work; he was replaced by Tom Selleck.
Caan returned to film work with A Fighting Man (2013) and The Outsider (2014). In 2014, Caan appeared in the dramatic comedy Preggoland, playing a father who is disappointed with his daughter's lack of ambition, but who becomes overjoyed when she (falsely) announces that she is pregnant. The film premiered in the Special Presentations section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival The film had its U.S. premiere on January 28, 2015, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Crackle premiered The Throwaways on January 30, 2015. Caan plays Lt. Col. Christopher Holden, who leads a team fighting a cyberterrorist.
Caan's later films include The Wrong Boyfriend (2015), Sicilian Vampire (2015), JL Ranch (2016), and Good Enough (2016). He had the lead in The Good Neighbor (2016), The Red Maple Leaf (2016), and Undercover Grandpa (2017). In 2019, he starred in Carol Morley's crime drama Out of Blue. In 2021, he appeared in Queen Bees with Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret. In 2023, he appeared with Pierce Brosnan in the film Fast Charlie, his final film role.
Caan married four times. In 1961, he married Dee Jay Mathis; they divorced in 1966. They had a daughter, Tara (born 1964). Caan's second marriage to Sheila Marie Ryan (a former girlfriend of Elvis Presley) in 1976 was short-lived; they divorced the following year.
Caan was married to Ingrid Hajek from September 1990 to March 1994; they had a son, Alexander James Caan, born 1991. In a 1994 interview with Vanity Fair, Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss claimed to be in a relationship with Caan during his marriage to Hajek in 1992, visiting him on the set of Flesh and Bone in Texas. Caan said his relationship with Fleiss was platonic.
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| Husband | Dee Jay Mathis (m. 1961-1966) Sheila Marie Ryan (m. 1976-1977) Ingrid Hajek (m. 1990-1995) Linda Stokes (m. 1995-2017) |
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Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his death in 2022, James Caan's net worth was estimated at $20 million by several sources, including Celebrity Net Worth and Marca. However, some sources suggested a higher net worth of $40 million, reflecting discrepancies in such estimates.
Caan returned to acting in 1987, when Coppola cast him as an army platoon sergeant for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) in Gardens of Stone, a movie that dealt with the effect of the Vietnam War on the United States homefront. He only received a quarter of his pre-hiatus salary, and then had to kick in tens of thousands more to the completion bond company because of Holcroft. "I don't know what it is, but, boy, when you're down, they like to stomp on you", he said. The movie was not a popular success but Alien Nation (1988), where Caan played a cop who partnered with an alien, did well. The film received a television spinoff. He had a support role as Spaldoni, under much make up, in Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy.
In 1982, according to a conversation intercepted by the FBI between Caan and mobster Anthony Fiato, Caan requested that Fiato beat up actor Joe Pesci over Pesci failing to pay an $8,000 bill to a hotel.
Career, Business, and Investments
James Caan's acting career was illustrious, with over 130 credits. He made his film debut in "Irma la Douce" (1963) and gained prominence with his role as Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather" (1972), earning him an Oscar nomination. Other notable films include "Brian's Song" (1971), "The Gambler" (1974), "Misery" (1990), and "Elf" (2003). He also starred in the TV series "Las Vegas" from 2003 to 2007. There is limited information available on specific business investments or ventures beyond his acting career.
Caan appeared in Henry's Crime (2010), Detachment (2011), Small Apartments (2012), That's My Boy (2012) with Adam Sandler, For the Love of Money (2012), and Blood Ties (2013). In 2012, Caan was a guest star on the re-imagined Hawaii Five-0 TV series, playing opposite his son, Scott Caan who played Danny "Danno" Williams. As of 2010 Caan was the chairman of an Internet company, Openfilm, intended to help up-and-coming filmmakers. In 2013, Caan portrayed Chicago mob kingpin Sy Berman in the Starz TV drama Magic City. He tried another regular series, the sitcom Back in the Game (2013) with Maggie Lawson.
Social Network
Although James Caan was active in the traditional media landscape, specific details about his social media presence are not widely documented. His announcement of death was made through his official Twitter account.
During Caan's peak years of stardom, he rejected a series of starring roles that proved to be successes for other actors, in films including M*A*S*H, The French Connection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Kramer vs. Kramer ("it was such middle class bourgeois baloney" ), Apocalypse Now (because Coppola "mentioned something about 16 weeks in the Philippine jungles" ), Blade Runner, Love Story, and Superman ("I didn't want to wear the cape". ). In 1977, Caan rated several of his movies out of ten – The Godfather (10), Freebie and the Bean (4), Cinderella Liberty (8), The Gambler (8), Funny Lady (9), Rollerball (8), The Killer Elite (5), Harry and Walter Go to New York (0), Slither (4), A Bridge Too Far (7), and Another Man Another Chance (10). He also liked his performances in The Rain People and Thief.
Caan was in The Yards (2000) with Mark Wahlberg and director James Gray, Luckytown (2000) with Kirsten Dunst, and The Way of the Gun (2000) for Christopher McQuarrie. Caan starred in TV movies like Warden of Red Rock (2001) and A Glimpse of Hell (2001), and was in some thrillers: Viva Las Nowhere (2001), In the Shadows (2001), and Night at the Golden Eagle (2002). He was in Lathe of Heaven with Lukas Haas (2002), City of Ghosts (2002) with Matt Dillon, Blood Crime (2002), The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003), and Jericho Mansions (2003). Most of these films were not widely seen, but Dogville (2003) and Elf (2003), in which Caan had key supporting roles, were big successes on the art house and commercial circuit respectively.
Education
Caan attended Michigan State University, where he studied economics and played football. Later, he attended Hofstra University, developing an interest in acting. He further honed his craft at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner.
Caan was educated in New York City, and later attended Michigan State University (MSU). He was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity during his two years at Michigan State. During his time at MSU he wanted to play football but was unable to make the team. He later transferred to Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, but did not graduate. His classmates at Hofstra included Francis Ford Coppola and Lainie Kazan.
While studying at Hofstra University, Caan became intrigued with acting. He enrolled in New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where he studied for five years. One of his instructors was Sanford Meisner. "I just fell in love with acting," he later recalled. "Of course all my improvs ended in violence."
Caan was a practicing martial artist. He trained with Takayuki Kubota for nearly 30 years, earning various ranks. He was a Master (6th Dan) of Gosoku-ryu Karate and was granted the title of Soke Dai by the International Karate Association.
