James Caan: dead at 82, classic star of The Godfather, Thief and more

Sad news to report today, folks, with news breaking that the legendary James Caan has passed away at 82 years old. Caan’s own family broke the news via the actor’s official Twitter page, where he would memorably sign off each time he posted by writing “end of tweet”:

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6.

The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.

End of tweet

— James Caan (@James_Caan) July 7, 2022

Caan, of course, ranks alongside the biggest screen legends of our era. Nominated for an Oscar for playing the mad-dog Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, he would be considered an icon for that role alone. But Caan was more than just Sonny with him delivering, in my opinion, one of the best performances of his career in Michael Mann’s feature debut Thief. In it, he played a master crook who joins a syndicate and finds that his independence comes with a terrible cost. The film’s finale is Mann’s first significant action setpiece, where he wipes out a load of syndicate goons as Tangerine Dream & Craig Safan’s score plays in the background. The way Caan reloads his gun, like a seasoned pro, clearly was the model for the similarly proficient crooks Robert De Niro & Val Kilmer played in Heat.

Caan had a long career in movies, with his heyday as a movie star being in the seventies, when he was in everything from the first buddy cop movie, Freebie & the Bean, to Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie (as himself). Caan vanished from the film for about five years due to some addiction issues. Still, he re-emerged sober and better than ever, kicking off an impressive second run of stardom that included roles in the cult classic Alien Nation, Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger epic, Eraser. He also dipped his toe into comedy as Will Ferrell’s father in Elf and did some fantastic voice work in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. He went on working until just shortly before his death and will no doubt be remembered as one of the greatest big-screen tough guys of all time.

Rest in peace, Jimmy Caan. You were the greatest.