John Cazale | |
|---|---|
 Cazale in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) | |
| Born | John Holland Cazale August 12, 1935 Revere, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 1978 (aged 42) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Oberlin College Boston University (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1959–1978 |
| Partner | Meryl Streep (1976–1978)[1] |
John Holland Cazale (/kəˈzæl/; August 12, 1935 – March 13, 1978)[2] was an American actor. He appeared in five films over seven years, each of which was nominated as Best Picture at their respective Academy Awards. Cazale started as a theater actor in New York City, ranging from regional, to off-Broadway, to Broadway acting alongside Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Sam Waterston. Cazale soon became one of Hollywood's premier character actors, starting with his role as the doomed, weak-minded Fredo Corleone opposite longtime friend Pacino in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He acted in Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975). In 1977, Cazale was diagnosed with lung cancer, but he chose to complete his role in The Deer Hunter (1978). He died shortly after, in New York City on March 13, 1978.
Theatrical producer Joseph Papp called Cazale "an amazing intellect, an extraordinary person and a fine, dedicated artist".[3] David Thomson writes that "It is the lives and works of people like John Cazale that make filmgoing worthwhile."[4] A documentary tribute to Cazale, I Knew It Was You, was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival featuring interviews with Pacino, Streep, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet and Steve Buscemi.[5]
- ^ Callahan, Maureen (April 23, 2016). "The tragic romance that shaped Meryl Streep's life". New York Post.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
jonjowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "John Cazale, Actor on Stage and Screen". The New York Times. March 14, 1978. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ^ Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (Fifth ed.). p. 166.
- ^ "Sundance doc wants people to know 'it's Cazale'". Associated Press. January 18, 2009. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009 – via The Insider.