James Caan, ‘The Godfather’, ‘Thief’, ‘Elf’ Actor Dies at 82

James Caan‘s family announced today that the actor passed away on July 6th at the age of 82 on Twitter. No cause of death was given, as the family asks fans to respect their privacy:

Caan was best known for his performances in Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Godfather, as Santino “Sonny” Corleone, Karel Reisz‘s The Gambler as Axel Freed, Norman Jewison‘s Rollerball as Jonathan E, Michael Mann‘s Thief as Frank, Rob Reiner‘s Misery as Paul Sheldon, and in Jon Favreau‘s Elf as Walter Hobbs, father of Will Ferrell‘s Buddy the Elf. He was recently seen in Michael Lembeck‘s Queen Bees as Dan Simpson, which was his final film role.

Tributes poured all over social media, including Misery director Rob Reiner who recalled loving to work with him on the movie:

Jennifer Tilly, who worked with Caan in Alberto Sciamma‘s Jericho Mansions, told a funny story the actor shared with her:

Adam Sandler, who worked with James in Ernest R. Dickerson‘s Bulletproof, said that he “always wanted to be like him” and thought that his movies “were the best”:

Thief director Michael Mann recalled working with James on the film, saying that “I loved him and I loved working with him. He reached into the core of his being during difficult personal times to be the rebellious, half-wild child, institutionalized outsider Frank, in my first film, Thief. Frank is half Frank, half Jimmy.”

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs co-director Christopher Miller also talked about his experience working with James, stating that “he brought a pathos and authenticity to the role of Tim Lockwood that held the film together.”

Kathy Bates, who co-starred with Caan in Misery, thanked him via a Tweet:

Source: James Caan