James Caan, an actor from the United States who was best known for portraying Sonny Corleone as The Godfather, has passed away at the age of 82.
He was a leading Hollywood actor in the 1970s, and his career spans decades. He was nominated for an Oscar Emmy, four Golden Globes, and an Oscar.
Caan's family thanked his fans for their support on Thursday.
The New Yorker is well-known for his party lifestyle and was married four more times. He leaves behind five children.
Gary Sinise, a fellow actor, wrote on Twitter that Caan was a "wonderful person to know" and called him a "pal". Rob Reiner stated that he "loved working alongside him".
Andy Richter, comedian, said that he was "lucky enough" to have been able to work with Caan after having loved his work for a lifetime and he made him a better person. He proved them wrong when they said you should never meet your heroes.
Caan was born to a Bronx butcher and initially wanted to pursue a career in American Football.
Acting was his first love after he started studying at Hofstra University. There he met Francis Ford Coppola, who became his director in The Godfather.
After several minor television and film appearances, Caan finally scored his big break in 1965 when he starred as El Dorado and Red Line 7000 in Howard Hawks films.
However, it was 1972's mob drama epic The Godfather which made him a household name.
He auditioned initially for the role as Michael Corleone and was reportedly preferred by the studio executives.
Coppola insisted that Al Pacino be chosen.
Caan was Michael's older brother Sonny and was equipped with over 140 explosive blood pellets in order to imitate gunshot wounds during the death scene.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for best supporting actor.
Caan disappeared briefly from the public eye in the 1980s, during what he described as "a pretty frightening period" caused by his drug use and the death of his sister.
He made a comeback though, with roles in movies such as Elf and Misery that were memorable.
He would be tempered by his tough-guy personality in lighter films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, a 2009 animated film.
Caan trained in karate for three decades, and his Hollywood endeavors were not the only ones that he did.
He would be prolific on Twitter in his later years and build a large following.
His final tweet reads: "It's with great sadness that I inform you about the passing of Jimmy on July 6th... End of tweet."
