Charles Grodin

Here is an actor's autobiography that transcends genre. Grodin writes about his share of catastrophic setbacks with candor and liberating humor. He dispenses invaluable advice about the art of surviving in the celluloid jungle. Photos.

In his candid and engaging new book HOW I GOT TO BE WHOEVER IT IS I AM, successful actor, author, and activist, Charles Grodin, looks back at the major events and private moments that have shaped his life. And, since Grodin is one of the best storytellers around, he can't help but entertain while offering insight gained from a wealth of experience.The combination of being impeached as class president by his fifth grade teacher (and then winning many school elections thereafter) with being thrown out of Hebrew School for asking too many questions (only to find a much better teacher as a result) informed Grodin's view of himself and made him adept at dealing with rejection--an important skill for an actor. Grodin's success in plays in high school and adventures in college theater led him to a career in acting, studying with the great teachers like Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg.Grodin shares behind-the-scenes tales of working on plays like Same Time Next Year and movies like The Heartbreak Kid and Midnight Run --even how close he came to playing the lead in The Graduate. His stories feature the many actors, directors, writers, and producers, with whom he's worked, such as Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Johnny Carson, Orson Welles, Warren Beatty, and other colorful characters.Grodin's greatest work isn't limited to stage and screen, however. He has been an award winning talk show host and commentator on Sixty Minutes II , and he reveals insights about the political and personal side of journalism and some of the larger-than-life characters he's interviewed.Still, it is the personal aspects of Grodin's life that are truly revealing and funny. He shares intimate anecdotes of humorous dating experiences during the carefree 70s along with stories of what it was like to be a young actor then with friends and colleagues like Robert Redford, Gene Wilder, and Dustin Hoffman.But it is Grodin's tales of the lives he's helped save with his relentless advocacy work that make you realize what a great guy Charles Grodin really is. We are lucky that the nice guy his friends call, "Chuck" brings us along to share a little of his journey of how he got to be who he really is!The author is donating 100 percent of his royalties from sales of this book to Mentoring USA, a New York City based nonprofit that forges powerful, transformative connections for young people through the advocacy and involvement of mentors.

Bestselling author, 60 Minutes II commentator, and world-champion raconteur Charles Grodin is back and better than ever in this revealing, opinionated, and delightful memoir about life, America, and cable TV.In a thirty-five-year acting career that ranged from studying at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg to appearing in a box-office smash with a dog named Beethoven, Charles Grodin achieved the American dream. But at the peak of his career in the early 1990s, with a son entering first grade, he decided to give it all up so he could stay close to home. Years earlier, Johnny Carson had put him under exclusive contract as a guest on The Tonight Show. Now, he began a career in television with his own daily talk show on the cable channel CNBC. In I Like It Better When You’re Funny, we join him on a behind-the-scenes journey through the television industry. What he discovers there is more challenging, more startling, and funnier than he ever could have imagined.In this wide-ranging memoir, Charles Grodin describes the life of a talk show host; his favorite and least favorite guests; the unspoken rules of working in television; and how this wild experience affected his views on America’s culture, government, and media. Along the way, he shares memorable stories and unfettered opinions about some of the industry’s renowned figures—Johnny Carson, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Carol Burnett, Bill O’Reilly, and Don Imus, to name a few.With candor and liberating humor, Charles Grodin proves once again that he is one of America’s most entertaining and insightful storytellers.

The well-known actor takes readers backstage for a revealing and humorous look at what really happens on movie sets and talk shows, discusses critics, and discloses that he was banned from the "Tonight Show" more than once

The acclaimed actor, writer, producer, and director tells how he navigates the ups and downs of show business and family life, discussing such problems as parents, jobs, sex, money, children, friendship, and gossip

Humorous observations on life in America from the actor, author, director, playwright, radio & tv talk show host Charles Grodin. A perfect Father's Day gift!

While traveling with his parents to visit his grandmother, Nicky befriends a fly that helps him out when he's in trouble

The author having served on a New York City Fifth Ave. co-op apartment board for several years in the eighties and nineties, observed a board member casually commenting that a prospective buyer clearly bought his clothes off the rack. The author commented, "I get my clothes off the rack." When the board member said "I know," the idea of this play was born. Some parts of the play were actually witnessed and more comes from research from brokers and real estate attorneys in New York City. All of the board positions are real. While the play is set in a New York City Fifth Avenue co-op board, it reflects the same biases that can be found in private organizations all over America. This play had a completely sold out run in New York, in addition to a sold out run in San Francisco where there are very few co-op apartments.