John Cazale

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John Cazale (born August 12, 1935 in Revere , Massachusetts , † March 13, 1978 in New York City ) was an American actor . In the course of his short film career, he developed a reputation as a leading character actor. Cazale became known to a wide audience through the portrayal of Fredo Corleone in the award-winning films The Godfather and The Godfather - Part II .

life and work

The son of John and Cecilia Cazale, he studied acting at Oberlin College and Boston University . He began his career as a stage actor and became a celebrated Broadway star through his appearance in The Indian Wants the Bronx (1967) . During this production he met Al Pacino , who persuaded him to audition for Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather (1972). Pacino and Cazale remained close friends throughout their lives.

Director Coppola actually gave Cazale the role of Fredo - the feeble and unreliable son of godfather Don Corleone. Al Pacino took on the role of Fredo's brother Michael Corleone . The godfather became a worldwide success and made Cazale and Pacino known as film actors. Cazale took up the role of Fredo in 1974 in The Godfather - Part II .

Cazale took on another role in Coppola's The Dialogue , which won the 1974 Cannes Film Festival the prize for best film. In 1976, Cazale got engaged to his colleague Meryl Streep , and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Hundstage . In addition to his film career, Cazale continued to play theater.

At the age of forty years, the actor was diagnosed with lung cancer , but he took on the role in The Deer Hunter (The Deer Hunter) on. His health forced the director Michael Cimino to shoot the scenes with him first. When the production company Universal found out about Cazale's illness, they initially wanted to replace him. But after protests by the crew, they rejected the plan. Meryl Streep, who also appeared in The Deer Hunter , subsequently cared for him until his death.

Cazale became a legend of American cinema - probably due to the relatively short period in which he worked in films. His portrayals were almost unanimously praised by the critics, and a long career as one of Hollywood's leading character actors seemed mapped out. In the 1970s he appeared in a total of five films, all of which became classics and received a nomination for an Oscar for best film ; The Godfather , The Godfather - Part II and Those Going Through Hell won the award and other Oscars.

A documentary film about John Cazale entitled I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale , which was released in 2009, was made. The film includes interviews with Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Francis Ford Coppola and Sidney Lumet. In The Godfather - Part III (1990) were used by him archival footage.

Filmography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Photos of tombstone John Cazale. In: www.findagrave.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019 .
  2. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/05/31/john-cazale-a-godfather-of-acting.html
  3. John Cazale Biography