Charles Grodin, the droll, offbeat actor and writer who scored as a caddish newly-wed in 1972's The Heartbreak Kid and later had roles from Robert De Niro's counterpart in the comic thriller Midnight Run to the bedevilled father in the Beethoven comedies, has died. He was 86.
Grodin died Tuesday in Wilton, Connecticut, from bone marrow cancer, his son Nicholas Grodin said.
An illustrious career
Known for his deadpan style and everyday looks, Grodin also appeared in Dave, The Woman in Red, Rosemary's Baby and Heaven Can Wait. On Broadway, he starred with Ellen Burstyn in the long-running 1970s comedy Same Time, Next Year, and he found many other outlets for his talents.
With bone-dry understatement, Grodin could steal entire scenes with just a look. His commitment, whether acting across De Niro or Miss Piggy, was unsurpassed. Among his many late-night appearances, he once brought a lawyer with him to threaten David Letterman for defamation. (The lawyer instead took a shine to Letterman.)
Hosting Saturday Night Live, he pretended to not understand live television, ruining all the sketches. Steve Martin, who co-starred with Grodin in 1984's The Lonely Guy, remembered him as "one of the funniest people I ever met".
In the 1990s, Grodin made his mark as a liberal commentator on radio and TV. He also wrote plays and television scripts, winning an Emmy for his work on a 1997 Paul Simon special, and wrote several books humorously ruminating on his ups and downs in show business.
Actors, he wrote, should "think not so much about getting ahead as becoming as good as you can be, so you're ready when you do get an opportunity. I did that, so I didn't suffer from the frustration of all the rejections. They just gave me more time." He spelled out that advice in his first book, It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here, published in 1989.
From 'Rosemary's Baby' to 'Beethoven'
Grodin became a star in the 1970s, but might have broken through years earlier: he auditioned for the title role in Mike Nichols's 1967 classic The Graduate, but the part went instead to Dustin Hoffman.
Grodin did have a small role in Rosemary's Baby and was part of the large cast of Nichols' adaptation of Catch-22 before he gained popularity in the 1972 Elaine May comedy The Heartbreak Kid.
He starred as a Jewish newly-wed who abandons his comically neurotic bride to pursue a beautiful, wealthy blonde played by Cybill Shepherd. The movie was a hit and Grodin received high praise. He commented: “After seeing the movie, a lot of people would approach me with the idea of punching me in the nose.”
"I thought the character in The Heartbreak Kid was a despicable guy, but I play it with full sincerity," Grodin told the AV Club in 2009. "My job isn't to judge it. If it wasn't for Elaine May, I probably would never have had that movie career."
In the next few years, Grodin played a greedy showman who brings the big ape to New York in a lavish 1976 film remake of King Kong. He was Warren Beatty's devious lawyer in Heaven Can Wait, and Gene Wilder's friend in The Woman in Red. (Less successfully, he appeared in May's 1987 adventure comedy Ishtar, a notorious flop). His turn in 1981's The Great Muppet Caper was typically dedicated as a thief wooing Miss Piggy.
In 1988's Midnight Run, Grodin was a bail-jumping accountant who took millions from a mobster and De Niro was the bounty hunter trying to bring him cross-country to Los Angeles. They're being chased by police, another bounty hunter and the mob, and because Grodin is afraid of flying, they are forced to go by car, bus, even boxcar.
Grodin and De Niro improvised in many scenes in the film, revered as among the greatest buddy comedies.
“I moved a little more toward drama and he moved a little toward comedy,” Grodin said at the time. “And we met on a very good ground.”
Beethoven brought him success in the family-animal comedy genre in 1992. Asked why he took up such a role, he told The Associated Press he was happy to get the work.
“I’m not that much in demand,” Grodin replied. “It’s not like I have this stack of wonderful offers. I’m just delighted they wanted me.”
A television and on-stage regular
Amid his film gigs, Grodin became a familiar face on late-night TV, perfecting a character who would confront Johnny Carson or others with a fake aggressiveness that made audiences cringe and laugh at the same time.
"It's all a joke," he told The Los Angeles Times in 1995. "It's just a thing. It was a choice to do that."
His biggest stage success, by far, was Same Time, Next Year, which opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for nearly three-and-a-half years. He and Burstyn were two people who – though each happily married – meet in the same hotel once a year for an extramarital fling.
He played basketball and later described himself as 'a rough kid, always getting kicked out of class'
Beyond the humour, the play won praise for deftly tracing the changes in their lives, and in society, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Critic Clive Barnes called Grodin's character "a monument to male insecurity, gorgeously inept".
After 1994's My Summer Story, Grodin largely abandoned acting. From 1995 to 1998, he hosted a talk show on CNBC cable network. He moved to MSNBC and then to CBS' 60 Minutes II.
In his 2002 book, I Like It Better When You're Funny, he said too many TV programmers' believe that viewers are best served "if we hear only from lifelong journalists". He argued that "people outside of Washington and in professions other than journalism" also deserved a soapbox.
He returned to the big screen in 2006 as Zach Braff's know-it-all father-in-law in The Ex. More recent credits include the films An Imperfect Murder and The Comedian and the TV series Louie.
Who was Charles Grodin?
Grodin was born Charles Grodinsky in Pittsburgh in 1935, son of a wholesale dry goods seller who died when Charles was 18. He played basketball and later described himself as “a rough kid, always getting kicked out of class”.
He studied at the University of Miami and the Pittsburgh Playhouse, worked in summer theatre and then struggled in New York, working nights as a taxi driver, postal clerk and watchman while studying acting during the day.
In 1962 Grodin made his Broadway debut and received good notices in Tchin-Tchin, a three-character play starring Anthony Quinn. He followed with The Absence of a Cello in 1964.
He co-wrote and directed a short-lived 1966 off-Broadway show called Hooray! It's a Glorious Day ... and all that. That same year, he made his movie debut in a low-budget flop called Sex and the College Girl.
In 1969, Grodin demonstrated his early interest in politics by helping write and direct Songs of America, a TV special starring Simon and Garfunkel that incorporated civil rights and anti-war messages. But the original sponsor pulled out and Simon later called the little-noticed effort "a tragedy".
Simon returned with a special in 1977 that spoofed show business and featured Grodin as the show’s bumbling producer. Grodin and his co-writers won Emmys.
Grodin and his first wife, Julia Ferguson, had a daughter, comedian Marion Grodin. The marriage ended in divorce. He and his second wife, Elissa Durwood, had a son, Nicholas.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
