Already a legend thanks to his role as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, the veteran movie star eased right into the role of “Big Ed” Deline, security boss turned head of operations at the Montecito, as well as father figure to Danny—and the father of Delinda, Danny’s eventual meant-to-be love interest.
“So I came back to town for a visit. And everyone says to me, ‘Jimmy, you look good.’ Well, what does that mean? I look good. What am I, Anthony Quinn? What am I, dead?'” the native New Yorker joked to the New York Times in 2004, talking about returning to Los Angeles—his former longtime home—after having decamped for Park City, Utah, a few years prior when he wasn’t working as much.
The star of Brian’s Song, The Gambler, Misery, Honeymoon in Vegas and For the Boys left Las Vegas after four seasons, saying he wanted to have more time to make movies. He’s been working ever since, co-starring with his son Scott Caan in the 2009 drama Mercy, which Scott also wrote; guest-starring on Hawaii 5-0; playing a mob kingpin in the Starz series Magic City and lending his voice to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, among myriad other projects.
Caan has been married four times and has five kids. He and fourth wife Linda Stokes divorced in 2009 after 14 years of marriage.