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Charles Grodin was a curmudgeon with a gooey center
It’s fair to say Charles Grodin, star of stage, screen and radio, had a reputation for being difficult. At times he seemed to relish it.
A new documentary, Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause, contends that his disruptive behavior went all the way back to Hebrew school days. Young Chuck was reportedly ousted from the classroom for having the temerity to ask what the Hebrew words they were singing meant. Thankfully his grandfather was a Talmudic scholar — so an authority on arguments — and coached him for his bar mitzvah.
“But at the bar mitzvah something happened that might have had a lot to do with what triggered a show business career,” Grodin recalls in an archival interview: He got a round of applause.
It’s perhaps a canned bit of mythmaking, but it also flies in the face of his public persona.
Grodin often seemed to chase jeers, playing a string of eminently unlikeable leading men (Elaine May remembers people booing him in a Q&A for The Heartbreak Kid, a film that produced the headline “You’ll Hate Him, Love the Movie”). He later earned the enmity of late-night audiences for being a combative guest on Johnny Carson and David Letterman. He carefully honed the curmudgeon shtick, even as he made a socially conscious pivot to journalism on MSNBC and 60 Minutes 2.
But the documentary by longtime Grodin fan James L. Freedman, his third after one on Carl Laemmle and another on sportscaster Marty Glickman, makes a compelling case for the actor as a softie, who teared up between takes when he had to be cruel to his co-stars, and a crusader for criminal justice reform who spent nearly every weekend in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility meeting with women convicted under the draconian Rockefeller drug laws. (When the law was reformed, Governor George Pataki personally recognized Grodin’s work on the matter.)
This is a kind of unapologetic hagiography. The film begins with a quote from Robert F. Kennedy about “ripples of hope,” then announces that “Charles Sidney Grodin, inspiring, cajoling and annoying people every step of the way unleashed a tidal wave of hope.” But the proof Grodin’s mensch credentials emerges with the interviewees, many of whom are gets for anyone.
Elaine May sat for an interview (Freedman produced Cybill, with Cybill Shepherd, Grodin’s co-star in May’s Heartbreak Kid — interestingly Shepherd herself does not appear). Alan Arkin zoomed in and Robert De Niro — whose reputation as a difficult interview is not just an act — was happy to reminisce about Midnight Run. Steve Martin, Martin Short, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Marc Maron, Ellen Burstyn and Carol Burnett — over the phone — all sing the praises of the man who brought his lawyer on Letterman.
Letterman, sadly, is absent, perhaps keeping the bit of their troubled dynamic going.
Grodin was prickly. His Hebrew school challenge to authority didn’t end there. He would later ask Uta Hagen why so much of her instruction emphasized invisible luggage and, in his first role in a major film in Rosemary’s Baby, he questioned Roman Polanski’s direction. (Grodin was a director himself, and there’s an interesting section on his work for the 1969 Simon and Garfunkel TV special, which southern markets objected to because it showed school integration.)
The film, which goes to great lengths in voiceover to explain things the target audience likely already knows — Gene Wilder was a major movie star; Nichols and May were a legendary comedy duo; a telegram was “kinda like a hand-delivered text” — is at its best as a highlight reel.
Grodin’s all-too-composed or just-on-the-verge performances still impress, and learning how many moments he improvised (e.g. asking De Niro if he ever had sex with an animal) will give you a greater appreciation for his craft.
The film’s departure into Grodin’s social justice work, beginning in the 1990s, is moving, if overscored to make you weepy. (One of the talking heads on the subject of the unjust felony murder rule could have done better without the chyron “social activist / producer The Hangover movies.”)
His advocacy for the unhoused and the wrongfully convicted are an important part of Grodin’s legacy, but Freedman, who divides his film with uninspired title cards like “I’ll never forget that,” could better connect this impulse with that of Grodin as gadfly.
Given the film’s inclusion at Jewish film festivals, you’d think someone could make explicit that at Grodin’s core was a Jewish tendency to argue, refusing to remain silent when he felt something was wrong — be it a directing choice or a systemic miscarriage of justice disproportionately affecting people of color.
With this documentary Grodin, ever a kochleffel, possibly a tzadik, can be appreciated as a humanitarian, but it’s perhaps a better tribute to pop on Clifford, Real Life or even Beethoven. Wherever he is, he’ll surely hold for applause.
James L. Freedman’s Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause is playing at the New York Jewish Film Festival beginning Jan. 14. Tickets and more information can be found here.
The post Charles Grodin was a curmudgeon with a gooey center appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump Cancels Envoys’ Pakistan Trip, in Blow to Hopes for Iran War Breakthrough
US President Donald Trump speaks on the day he honors reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Inter Miami CF players and team officials with an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 5, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump canceled a trip by two US envoys to Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday, dealing a new setback to peace prospects after Iran’s foreign minister departed Islamabad after speaking only to Pakistani officials.
While peace talks failed to materialize Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his troops to “forcefully” attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, his office said, further testing a three-week ceasefire.
Trump told reporters in Florida that he decided to call off the planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expense, and Iran’s latest peace offer was not good enough for him.
Before boarding Air Force One on Saturday for a return flight to Washington, Trump said Iran had improved an offer to resolve the conflict after he canceled the visit, “but not enough.”
In a social media post, Trump also wrote there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” he posted on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi earlier left the Pakistani capital without any sign of a breakthrough in talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials.
Araqchi later described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful,” adding in a social media post that he had “shared Iran’s position concerning (a) workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy”.
Iranian media reported that Araqchi had flown to Oman’s capital Muscat, saying he will meet with senior officials to “discuss and exchange views on bilateral relations and regional developments”.
Sharif wrote in a post on X that he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about the regional security situation and told him that Pakistan was committed to serving “as an honest and sincere facilitator — working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability.”
Tehran has ruled out a new round of direct talks with the United States and an Iranian diplomatic source said his country would not accept Washington’s “maximalist demands.”
IRAN AND US AT AN IMPASSE
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while the US blocks Iran’s oil exports.
The conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since carried out strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, and the war has pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.
Araqchi “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran,” said a statement on the minister’s official Telegram account.
Asked about Tehran’s reservations over US positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: “Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come over the weekend, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.
Vance led a first round of unsuccessful talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month.
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Hezbollah Says Ceasefire ‘Meaningless’ as Fighting Continues in South
Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in a village in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army operates in it as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 23, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said a US-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone.
US President Donald Trump announced the three-week extension on Thursday after hosting Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House. The ceasefire agreement between the governments of Lebanon and Israel had been due to expire on Sunday.
While the ceasefire has led to a significant reduction in hostilities, Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued to trade blows in southern Lebanon, where Israel has kept soldiers in a self-declared “buffer zone.”
Responding to the extension, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said “it is essential to point out that the ceasefire is meaningless in light of Israel’s insistence on hostile acts, including assassinations, shelling, and gunfire” and its demolition of villages and towns in the south.
“Every Israeli attack… gives the resistance the right to a proportionate response,” he added.
Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire agreement, and has strongly objected to Lebanon’s face-to-face contacts with Israel.
BUFFER ZONE
The April 16 agreement does not require Israeli troops to withdraw from the belt of southern Lebanon seized during the war. The zone extends 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 miles) into Lebanon.
Israel says the buffer zone aims to protect northern Israel from attacks by Hezbollah, which fired hundreds of rockets at Israel during the war.
Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when the group opened fire in support of Iran in the regional war. The ceasefire in Lebanon emerged separately from Washington’s efforts to resolve its conflict with Tehran, though Iran had called for Lebanon to be included in any broader truce.
Nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2, the Lebanese health ministry says.
ISRAELI MILITARY WARNS RESIDENTS TO LEAVE TOWN
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike killed two people in the southern village of Touline on Friday.
Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone, the group and the Israeli military said. Hezbollah identified it as a Hermes 450 and said it had downed it with a surface-to-air missile.
An Israeli drone was heard circling above Beirut throughout the day on Friday, Reuters reporters said.
The Israeli military warned residents of the southern town of Deir Aames to leave their homes immediately, saying it planned to act against “Hezbollah activities” there.
Deir Aames is located north of the area occupied by Israeli forces, and it was the first time Israel had issued such a warning since the ceasefire came into force on April 16. Posted on social media, the Israeli warning gave no details of the activities it said Hezbollah was conducting in the town.
The Israeli military also said it had intercepted a drone prior to its crossing into Israeli territory, and that sirens were sounded in line with protocol.
WAR-WEARY RESIDENTS SEEK END TO FIGHTING
The continued fighting has angered war-weary Lebanese, who say they want to see a genuine ceasefire put a full halt to violence.
“What’s this? Is this called a ceasefire? Or is this mocking (people’s) intelligence?” said Naem Saleh, a 73-year-old owner of a newsstand in Beirut.
Residents of northern Israel had mostly returned to daily life, but expressed pessimism about the longevity of the ceasefire with Lebanon.
“I believe that the ceasefire is so fragile, and unfortunately it won’t stand long, in my opinion,” said Eliad Eini, a resident of Nahariya, which lies just 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed at least five people in the south, including a journalist.
Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, in his opening remarks at Thursday’s talks, said “Lebanon should acknowledge the temporary presence of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the right of Israel to defend itself from a hostile force that is firing on the population.”
Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States Nada Moawad, in a written statement sent to Reuters, called for the ceasefire to be fully respected and said it would allow the necessary conditions for meaningful negotiations.
Lebanon has said it aims to secure the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from its territory in broader talks with Israel at a later stage.
Trump said on Thursday that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future, and said there was “a great chance” the two countries would reach a peace agreement this year.
Hezbollah attacks killed two civilians in Israel after March 2, while 15 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since then, Israel says.
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Only Five Ships Pass Through Strait of Hormuz in 24 hours
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Only five ships, including one Iranian oil products tanker, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, Friday shipping data showed, after Iran seized two container ships this week and the US continues to blockade Iranian ports.
Shipping traffic passing through the crucial waterway at the entrance to the Gulf during an uneasy ceasefire between Washington and Tehran represents a fraction of the average 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on February 28.
“For most shipping companies, they will need a stable ceasefire and assurances from both sides of the conflict that the Strait of Hormuz is safe to transit,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at shipping association BIMCO.
“In the meantime, shipping will be restricted to using routes close to Iran and Oman. Due to their confined nature, these routes cannot safely accommodate the normal volumes of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Larsen added.
The Iranian-flagged oil products tanker Niki, which is subject to US sanctions, was among the few vessels that sailed out of the strait with no destination listed, Kpler analysis and tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Friday.
It was unclear what would happen if it continued to sail further east towards the blockade line imposed by the US Navy.
Nearly two months after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, there is little sign of peace talks resuming.
Container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said on Friday that one of its ships has crossed the strait but did not provide any information on the circumstances or timing.
The Comoros-flagged supertanker Helga arrived at an offshore oil loading terminal in Iraq’s southern Basra port on Friday, the second vessel to reach Iraq since the strait’s closure.
Iran’s use of a swarm of small, fast boats to seize two container ships near the strait on Wednesday has heightened concerns among many shipping and oil companies.
“The latest seizures make clear, even an ‘open’ Strait of Hormuz is not a safe Strait of Hormuz for seafarers, ships and cargo,” Peter Sand, chief analyst with ocean and air freight intelligence platform Xeneta, said in a note.
Between April 22 and early April 23, seven vessels transited the strait, six of which were involved in Iran-related trade, analysis from Lloyd’s List Intelligence showed.
The closure of the strait has disrupted a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies and triggered a global energy crisis.
Hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers remained stranded inside the Gulf with war risk insurers and oil companies watching for any sign that the risks may have eased so they can prepare to sail through.