James Caan

Actor James Caan was born in the Bronx to parents Sophie (Falkenstein) and Arthur Caan, who were both Jewish immigrants from Germany. Father Arthur was a meat dealer and butcher in the United States. They had three children. James was married 4 times: 1st, to Dee Jay Mathis (1961 - 1966), 1 daughter, Tara; 2nd, to Sheila Marie Ryan, divorced in less than a year, one son, actor Scott Caan; 3rd, Ingrid Hajek, (1990 - 1994) 1 son; 4th, Linda Stokes (1995 - 2017), 2 sons. In total, James had five children by 4 wives. Famous for numerous roles on television in the 1960s from the "Naked City" to "Dr. Kildare", James called himself "the only New York Jewish cowboy". In the 1970s, he starred as Brian Piccolo in the TV movie "Brian's Song". Then came the role as Sonny Corleone in Francis Coppola's "The Godfather", which established him as a leading movie star. This role was so closely identified with the actor James, that he has been seen as (and honored as) an Italian American. He was of German/Jewish heritage. Two of his co-stars during these years were Donal Donnelly and Shirley Knight. James continued acting through the 2010s in film and on television, starring in the tv series "Las Vegas" playing the character "Big Ed" Deline. Later, he said: "I just fell in love with acting." His long career attested to that fact. His obituary in The New York Post shares many more details about his life: James Edmund Caan: Obituary