Pomona Rewind

  Charles Grodin was the king of deadpan. If you want proof, just look at his performance in 'Midnight Run' which is still the best comedy Robert de Niro has ever starred in. In particular take a look at the sequence where de Niro's bounty hunter Jack Walsh frantically tries to purchase bus tickets for him and his prisoner, only to realise a rival has had his credit cards cancelled. Grodin doesn't say a word as a flustered de Niro demands that the cards be checked again by a woman staffing the ticket counter. However it is the way his disgraced accountant Jonathan Mardukas' knowingly looks at the woman that is a masterclass in deadpan acting. The same applies to another sequence where Mardukas pretends to be an FBI agent in a bar sifting out dodgy dollar notes, so he and Walsh can buy food and medicine in a nearby store. Grodin was born in Pittsburgh in 1935 into an Orthodox Jewish family. His father sold wholesale supplies while his mother was also employed in the