James Caan

HOLLYWOOD - DECEMBER 13: James Caan at the world premiere of "Ro

Caan in 2006, photo by s_bukley/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: James Edmund Caan

Date of Birth: March 26, 1940

Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: July 6, 2022

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

James Caan was an American actor. Among his roles were The Godfather, El Dorado, Countdown, Brian’s Song, Cinderella Liberty, The Gambler, Rollerball, A Bridge Too Far, Thief, Gardens of Stone, Dick Tracy, Misery, Eraser, This Is My Father, Mickey Blue Eyes, The Yards, Elf, Dogville, Queen Bees, and That’s My Boy.

His parents, Sophie (Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, were German Jewish immigrants. His mother moved to the U.S. in 1934.

James had five children: a daughter with his former wife, Dee Jay Mathis; a son, actor Scott Caan, with his former wife, model Sheila Ryan; a son with his former wife Ingrid Hajek; and two children with his former wife Linda Stokes.

James’s paternal grandfather was Alex Caan (the son of Edmo Caan and Sophia Seligman/Seligmann). Alex was born in Giesenkirchen, Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

James’s paternal grandmother was named Bertha Mayer. Bertha was born in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

James’s maternal grandfather was named Moses Falkenstein.

James’s maternal grandmother was named Regina Niedermann/Neiderman/Niederman (the daughter of Simon Niedermann/Neiderman/Niederman and Rose).

Sources: http://www.cigaraficionado.com

Genealogy of James Caan – https://www.geni.com

James Caan on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

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8 Responses

  1. Dar says:

    Literally watching Misery the other day, never have I ever seen a character go through so much pain, man. He was great in that movie, he deserved an Oscar. He was also great as the dad in Elf too. Was such a great actor. May he Rest In Peace.

  2. andrew says:

    excuse me but that pic..

  3. deadite says:

    Like him.

  4. sadie says:

    Interesting a Jewish guy playing an Italian in The Godfather.

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