James Edmund Caan kɑːn KAHN March 26 1940 July 6 2022 was an American actor who was nominated for several awards including four Golden Globes an Emmy and an Oscar Caan was awarded a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978 After early roles in Howard Hawkss El Dorado 1966 Robert Altmans Countdown 1967 and Francis Ford Coppolas The Rain People 1969 he came to prominence for playing his signature role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather 1972 for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor He reprised the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather Part II 1974 with a cameo appearance at the end Caan had significant roles in films such as Brians Song 1971 Cinderella Liberty 1973 The Gambler 1974 Rollerball 1975 A Bridge Too Far 1977 and Alan J Pakulas Comes a Horseman 1978 He had sporadically worked in film since the 1980s with his notable performances including roles in Thief 1981 Gardens of Stone 1987 Misery 1990 Dick Tracy 1990 Bottle Rocket 1996 The Yards 2000 Dogville 2003 and Elf 2003 Description above from the Wikipedia article James Caan licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia