Robert De Niro pays tribute to Midnight Run co-star Charles Grodin

Late Charles Grodin; (right) Robert De Niro. Pics/AFP

Two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro on Wednesday paid tribute to the late actor and his 'Midnight Run' co-star Charles Grodin who died at the age of 86.

"See ya in the next life," The Duke and Jack Walsh say to each other near the end of the 1988 film, which is one the moviedom's great buddy-action flicks. Grodin, who portrayed bail-jumping mob accountant John 'The Duke' Mardukas received a heartfelt tribute by his co-star De Niro.

According to Deadline, "Chuck was as good a person as he was an actor. 'Midnight Run' was a great project to work on, and Chuck made it an even better one. He will be missed. I am very, very sad to hear of his passing," De Niro said in a statement.

Directed by Martin Brest from an underrated screenplay by George Gallo, the movie follows 'The Irishman' star essaying the role of a cop-turned-bounty hunter 'Walsh' who is offered a tidy -- and later disputed -- sum to retrieve the Duke.

Seems the man often referred to as 'The Accountant' embezzled USD 15 million or so from big-time wise-guy Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina), then skipped out on his six-figure bail. Legitimately distraught bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano) wants his man, and his money, and hires Walsh to find the Duke and get him to L.A. in five days.

'Midnight Run' then morphs into a comic road-trip actioner that involves an increasingly agitated FBI agent (Yaphet Kotto, who died in March), a scuzzy rival bounty hunter (John Ashton), and a couple of bumbling mob enforcers (Richard Foronjy and Robert Miranda) as they all chase Walsh and the Duke cross-country by train, plane and automobile. All the while, the pursued duo strike up an unlikely, and oddly moving, friendship.

Per Deadline, the film is a stone classic, with a 94 per cent Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and likely a 100 per cent classic rating among fans of Grodin, De Niro and the buddy-action genre.

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