Oscar nominated actor James Caan, who is best known for playing tragic and hot-tempered gangster heir Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, passed away at the age of 82 on Wednesday.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Caan died Wednesday night in Los Angeles, his representative Arnold Robinson told the outlet, confirming a post on the actor’s Twitter account. Neither he nor the family would reveal a cause of death.
"It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6," Caan's family said in a tweet posted to his account. The actor had a breakthrough television role in 1970 American football drama Brian's Song, portraying the dying gridiron star Brian Piccolo, a performance that earned him an Emmy Award.
The celebrated actor had roles in Misery, Thief and Rollerball, received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a mafia family's eldest son in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 classic The Godfather. Briefly the highest grossing film of all time, The Godfather won three Oscars including best picture and best actor for Marlon Brando.
James Caan was among three cast members nominated for best supporting actor, along with Al Pacino and Robert Duvall. He reprised his role in a small cameo for The Godfather Part II. As THR shares, Caan almost didn’t get to play the part that would become his signature role. Paramount originally cast him as younger brother Michael and Carmine Caridi as Sonny. But Coppola, who had directed Caan in The Rain People (1969), insisted that only he could do justice to the character.
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