James Caan

Like so many other prominent actors of the 1970s, the versatile James Caan rose to success on the strength of his riveting performance in The Godfather. Born March 26, 1939 in the Bronx, New York, Caan decided to pursue a career in acting while attending college, and in 1960 was accepted by Sanford Meisner into the Neighborhood Playhouse. After making his debut off-Broadway in I Roam, he landed in the Broadway production of Mandingo, but exited after just four performances because of artistic difficuties with star Franchot Tone. Caan then landed in television, where he became a busy character actor; he made his film debut in an unbilled performance in 1963's Irma La Douce, followed by a meatier role in Lady in a Cage the following year. The 1965 Howard Hawks auto-racing drama Red Line 7000 was his first starring role, followed two years later by the Hawks Western El Dorado, which cast him opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum; in 1968 Caan starred in Robert Altman's Countdown, and in 1969 he appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's The Rain People.

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