Scott Caan
Caan in 2011, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Scott Andrew Caan
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: August 23, 1976
Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – Irish, possibly other
Scott Caan is an American actor, director, photographer, writer, and rapper. He began his music career in hip-hop group The Whooliganz, under the name Mad Skillz, along with The Alchemist. His roles include A Boy Called Hate, Bongwater, Enemy of the State, Varsity Blues, Black and White, Boiler Room, Ready to Rumble, Gone in 60 Seconds, American Outlaws, Ocean’s Eleven, Into the Blue, Sonny, Dallas 362, and Hawaii Five-0. He is also known as Scotty Caan.
He is the son of actor James Caan and model Sheila Ryan. He is married to Kacy Byxbee, with whom he has two children.
Scott’s paternal grandparents were German Jewish immigrants. Scott’s mother had Irish ancestry.
Scott’s paternal grandfather was Arthur Caan (the son of Alex Caan and Bertha Mayer). Alex was born in Giesenkirchen, Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, the son of Edmo. Caan and Sophia Seligman. Bertha was born in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Scott’s paternal grandmother was Sophie Falkenstein (the daughter of Moses Falkenstein and Regina Niedermann/Neiderman/Niederman). Sophie came to the U.S. in 1934. Regina was the daughter of Simon Niedermann/Neiderman/Niederman and Rose.
Sources: Genealogy of Scott Caan – https://www.geni.com
Scott’s father on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
His maternal grandparents were Frank Joseph Ryan and Alice Jane Smith (the daughter of Gerald John Smith and Marion Griffin. Gerald was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of John George Smith and Jenny Ahern. Jenny was Irish. Marion was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Robert N Griffin and Mayme Mary Dodds. Robert was the son of Irish parents Martin Griffin and Johnna Scanlan.
Source/Reference of maternal grandparents: U.S. Newspapers.com obituary Index 1800-current Sheila M. Ryan (ancestry.com)
No, that’s probably the wrong woman, since she has no grandson named Scott.
https://www.johnson-danielson.com/obituaries/alice-jane-ryan/
Correction. He is German as well. It looks like his mom was the daughter of Gordon Henry Ryan and Ardeth Arlene Bitner.
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/1647403/family?cfpid=-485248002
No mention of Sheila in Ardeth’s obituary:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66482661/obituary-for-ardeth-arlene-ryan/
Bitner is a German surname, though. I can’t see Cdonorab’s link, though.
https://www.geni.com/people/Scott-Caan/6000000009988746562?through=6000000009988539645
he played Casey Affleck’s brother in Ocean’s 11