James Caan

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Lifestyle

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Family

American actor; on-screen from 1963 after prior apprenticeship on stage and TV. His first stage role paid $37.50 a week. His films include "Irma La Douce," "Rollerball" and "The Godfather." Born into a Bronx family of German Jews, Caan became an actor to escape going to work in the family meat market. A star athlete in high school, he aimed for a career in pro football but proved too small to make the team at Michigan State. He dabbled in various majors before settling on drama. He began to cop roles off-Broadway and in such TV series as "Route 66" and "Wagon Train." He made his film debut as the hoodlum who menaced Olivia DeHavilland in "Lady in a Cage." An avowed male chauvinist with a legendary temper and partying ways, he was noted for braggadocio macho, he made it as far as drug rehab but did not reach the point of maintaining a relationship. Married at 21 for four years, he had one daughter. He had one son in 1977 with a second marriage and retained custody of the boy, Scott. He made a third marriage to 29-year-old Ingrid Hajek on 9/09/1990, having met two years before. Their son Alexander was born 4/10/1991, Los Angeles, CA. He filed for divorce on 3/28/1994. Another baby, James Arthur, was born on 11/06/1995, with his girl friend of the prior year, Aspen socialite Linda L'Gara. He and Linda married, with a second son, Jacob, on 9/24/1998. Years past, Caan's hobby was riding in the rodeo circuit for nine years, and he holds a black belt in karate. He also did some ocean motorboat racing, but a series of accidents - a car that lost its brakes, and a plate glass window - sidelined him from his more aggressive pursuits. After 1982, Caan was ready to leave show biz for good if he had not run into money problems. He said that money he had entrusted to business associates had somehow disappeared and instead of being set for life, he was "flat-ass broke." He almost lost his house on Stone Canyon Road until he was cast by Coppola in "Gardens of Stone." In 1988, he first saw the script of "Misery." He made the winning film in 1990, followed immediately with "For The Boys." On 7/25/1998, his TV movie "Poodle Springs" cast him as a somewhat tired and seedy detective. Still boisterous and engaging, he admits to bad times, drugs and other adventures. (He completed rehab in 1994 and has stayed clean since.) On April 18, 2005, the actor filed for divorce from his fourth wife, Linda. The couple had been married nearly ten years. Just a few weeks later he reportedly moved back in with his wife. Link to Wikipedia biography