the heartbreak kid 12 pm run deliciously droll and the beethoven actor charles grodin who charmed audiences with his droll understated and awkward humour has died he was 86 as per report grodin passed away on tuesday local time of bone marrow cancer at his home in wilton connecticut his child nicholas revealed grodin invigorated neil simons seems like old times 1980 when he depicted a driven da whose spouse goldie hawn and life are diverted and upset when her ex chevy chase plops into their serious marriage on the other side the pittsburgh native carried a tricky cleverness to a positive character in sunburn 1979 playing an insurance investigator who poses as a tourist while investigating a murder in albert brooks mockumentary of a commonplace american family real life 1979 grodins deadpan depiction of the veterinarian spouse and father of two layered in a vegan wackiness to the satire grodins characters sometimes showed an evil side in king kong 1976 he played the obscure businessman who attempts to take advantage of the goliath gorilla after two years he depicted a slick legal advisor in the screwball parody change heaven can wait featuring warren beatty early in his career grodin was in the running to star as benjamin braddock in the graduate 1967 at that point played an obstetrician in rosemarys baby 1968 grodin vaulted into the public eye in elaine mays the heartbreak kid 1972 when he featured as outdoor supplies sales representative lenny cantrow a caddish love bird who falls for another lady cybill shepherd while on his miami vacation i thought the character in the heartbreak kid was a despicable guy but i play it with full sincerity my job isnt to judge it if it wasnt for elaine may i probably would never have had that movie careerhe said in a 2009 interview per report grodin might have crested among mainstream movie audiences in 1988 when he featured opposite robert de niro in the action road comedy midnight run as an accountant sentenced for misappropriation and being shipped crosscountry to face justice he eventually displays his overall decency along the way selfdescribed as low key but high strung grodin often played uptight and cranky characters who ultimately were likeable he coincided with those tangled characteristics in the popular family comedy beethoven 1992 and its 1993 spinoff as a petaverse patriarch in the movie he played straight man to the family dog a lumbering and lovable saint bernard grodin was appealingly twitchy in the great muppet caper 1981 he featured nicky holiday a human suitor who equalled kermit the frog for the affections of miss piggy cerebral obstinate and consistently inquisitive grodin from 199598 hosted an issueoriented talk show and served as an andy rooneystyle commentator for 60 minutes ii delivering satirical perspectives on politics and social issues he also was an accomplished talk show guest adjusting the persona of a peevish pickedon person in front of johnny carson and david letterman and he starred and directed