The world lost a major talent when James Caan died at age 82 on July 6th, 2022. A classic tough guy who had a tender heart (and was a heckuva piano player!).
In no particular order, here are the five roles that I enjoyed the most from James Caan over the years.
THE GODFATHER
I mean…come on.
ELF
A role that introduced James Caan to a whole new generation. Some really funny stuff here and a great chance to make a grumpy old workaholic a savior of Christmas! His straight faced character makes the silliness and chaos well balanced in this yuletide classic.
LAS VEGAS (TV Series)
Starring North Dakota’s own Joshy boy, this show was a great chance for the gangster side of Caan to play the calm, cool and scary manager of a Las Vegas casino/hotel. An all time favorite series…for some reason…
ROLLERBALL
Don’t watch the remake. Check out the original. It’s a perfect blend of over the top, future inspired and crazy sports all rolled (pun intended) into one. I watched this way too many times when I was younger. Probably why I am always afraid of the sound of roller skates.
MISERY
This is an annual winter time watch at my house. Caan and Bates go toe to toe in this thriller that spends 80% of the movie in one room. James Caan is the perfect Paul Sheldon and does a great job making you think he is in true pain. The sweat, the eyes – its the whole package!
James Caan will sure be missed. His son Scott Caan has delighted us with some fun roles over the years and we can look forward to plenty of people watching his work and doing their best to channel that cool cool cool cool cool RAGE cool cool cool that he so easily mustered!
