American actor James Caan, star of the films “The Godfather” and “Misery”, has died at the age of 82, his family and manager announced on Thursday.
Born in New York, in the Bronx district, in 1940, James Caan had played Sonny Corleone in 1972 in the legendary film by Francis Ford Coppola on the Italian-American mafia, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
He had been nominated for an Oscar for this role of Sonny Corleone, whose brutal assassination under a hail of bullets at a toll booth became one of the most memorable moments of the film, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
“One of the greatest”
For one of his other great roles, in “Misery”, adapted from Stephen King’s book, he played a writer kidnapped by an evil woman played by Kathy Bates.
“Jimmy was one of the greats. Not only was he one of the best actors our industry has ever seen, but he was funny, loyal, caring and loved,” his manager Matt DelPiano said. Caan had also had roles in the films “Le Solitaire” and “Rollerball”.