The son of a Jewish family in the meat business, alexander james caan was born on March 26, 1940. He was a star athlete and class president at Rhodes High School in Queens, New York.
He studied at Michigan State and Hofstra universities before joining The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner. He had a distinguished career as a tough-guy actor. He starred in the NBC drama Las Vegas as a casino surveillance chief.
He was born in Queens, New York
Alexander James Caan was born on April 10, 1991 in Queens, New York. He is the son of legendary actor James Caan and costume designer Linda Stokes.
He was raised in Sunnyside, Queens. His father was a kosher meat wholesaler and his mother was a homemaker. He attended Rhodes High School and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner.
In his younger years, Caan was an athlete and class president. He later became an actor and appeared in numerous films, including Brian’s Song, Cinderella Liberty, The Gambler, Freebie and the Bean, Rollerball, Funny Lady, Slither, A Bridge Too Far and Another Man Another Chance.
After his career began to decline in the 1980s, he began to work on film again. He made several appearances on television, including as the head of security at a casino in Las Vegas.
He attended Rhodes College
James Caan attended Rhodes College in New York, where he was a star athlete and class president. He later transferred to Michigan State University, where he studied economics. He also studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre under Sanford Meisner and Wynn Handman.
His early career included roles in films such as ‘Lady in a Cage’, ‘El Dorado’ and ‘The Rain People’. These performances increased James Caan net worth significantly.
In 1971, he was cast in the movie ‘Brian’s Song’, a television film about cancer-stricken Chicago Bears football player Brian Piccolo. The movie won him acclaim and an Emmy nomination.
The following year, he starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s gangster film ‘The Godfather’ as mob boss Sonny Corleone. The role was a big breakthrough for him and it helped him build his career. He also appeared in ‘Funny Lady’ and ‘Thief’.
He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre
The eldest son of Arthur (a wholesale meat dealer) and Sophie Caan, alexander james caan was raised in Sunnyside, Queens. He studied economics at Michigan State University before transferring to Hofstra where he majored in theater.
He honed his acting skills by studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, which was run by Sanford Meisner and Wynn Handman. During his time there, Caan played in several films including Irma la Douce, Lady in a Cage, Red Line 7000 and Howard Hawks Western El Dorado.
In 1969, he starred in The Rain People, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which helped boost his career. The next year, he starred in The Godfather, based on Mario Puzo’s novel, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in The Thief, Funny Lady, Chapter Two, Rollerball, Kiss Me Goodbye, Alien Nation, Misery and Honeymoon in Vegas.
He made his directorial debut with Hide in Plain Sight
Caan made his directorial debut with Hide in Plain Sight, a 1980 drama film. It was his first feature film and marked his transition from a stage actor to a full-fledged movie star.
After being cast as Santino Corleone in the hit movie The Godfather, Caan became a household name. He was rewarded with a number of awards and nominations for his performance in this movie, including an Oscar.
Though he had many successful roles on the silver screen, James Caan suffered from personal problems. He had run-ins with the law, drug abuse, and depression.
But he was able to come out of it with a bang when he played the lead in the Stephen King-based psychological thriller Misery, which reunited him with Kathy Bates and provided him with his most significant role in years. He also took on a role in Michael Mann’s neo-noir heist film Thief.
He married four times
Best known for his role as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, American actor Alexander James Caan was married four times. He was married to Dee Jay Mathis from 1961-1966, Sheila Marie Ryan from 1976-1977, Ingrid Hajek from 1990-1995 and Linda Stokes from 1995-2017.
He and his second wife, Sheila Ryan, had a daughter together, Tara, who is now 57 years old. But their marriage wasn’t a smooth one, as they divorced in 1966.
His third marriage was to model Ingrid Hajek, who was 20 years younger than him. The pair were married five years before they separated, and had a son.