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James Caan (Photo: Twitter)
James Caan, who played football at Michigan State University and made his mark in cinema early in his career as the hot-tempered Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather," died Wednesday at 82.
A native New Yorker, the son of Jewish German immigrants, he first attended Michigan State University in 1956, where he studied economics, according to a 2004 story in the Los Angeles Times. He stayed two years and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He reportedly played for the football team for one year.
He later transferred to Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., but did not graduate.
"It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6," his Twitter page posts Thursday. "The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time."
Over the years, he acted in a number of films including "El Dorado," "The Rain People," "Brian's Song," "Cinderella Liberty," "The Gambler," "Rollerball," "A Bridge Too Far," "Thief," and "Misery."
But it was his role in "The Godfather" that will be best-remembered. As Sonny, eldest son of Marlon Brando's Don Corleone, he had one of cinema's most indelible death scenes, slaughtered by gunmen at a toll plaza.
The New York Times obit says:
Some even mistook him for a real mobster. “I’ve been accused so many times,” he told Vanity Fair in 2004. “I won ‘Italian of the Year’ twice in New York, and I’m not Italian.”
He was in fact Jewish, reared in Sunnyside, Queens, by German-born parents. “I was denied in a country club once,” he said. “Oh, yeah, the guy sat in front of the board and he says, ‘No, no, he’s a wiseguy, been downtown. He’s a made guy.’ I thought, ‘What, are you out of your mind?’ ”
Caan was married and divorced four times.
