Fascistic Chicago police turn the hose on peaceably assembled duck protesters.
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Obit of the Day (Historical): John Cazale (1978)
John Cazale’s filmography is short. He would star in only five feature films in career that began and ended in the 1970s. But the films in which he starred were some of the greatest in the history of cinema, all receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1976), and The Deer Hunter (1978)*.
Mr. Cazale, who studied drama at Boston University (with classmate Olympia Dukakis), moved to New York City after college. While working as a messenger for Standard Oil, he discovered that another one of the messengers was also an actor. His name was Al Pacino. In 1968, the two would co-star in the Off-Broadway production of The Indian Wants the Bronx earning a best actor Obie (awards given for Off-Broadway productions) for Mr. Pacino and a best supporting actor Obie for Mr. Cazale.
Mr. Cazale would make his feature film debut in 1972 playing the youngest Corleone brother, Fredo, in The Godfather. The film would win the Best Picture Oscar that year and Mr. Cazale’s performance so impressed director Francis Ford Coppola that he wrote him a larger role in the film’s sequel.
Mr. Cazale appeared in two films in 1974. The Conversation, where he co-starred with Gene Hackman as surveillance experts. Also directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film received a Best Picture nod that year. It lost, however, to The Godfather II, in which Mr. Cazale’s Fredo became one of film’s most tragic characters.
The following year Mr. Cazale and Mr. Pacino were once again co-stars, this time in Sidney Lumet’s drama Dog Day Afternoon. Originally Mr. Lumet wanted the character of Sal to be played by a teenager. Mr. Pacino convinced him to let Mr. Cazale read for the part and Sal instead was re-written as an adult. The role earned Mr. Cazale his only award nomination, a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. And once again, the film was nominated for Best Picture, but it lost to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
In the summer of 1976, Mr. Cazale returned to the stage performing in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of Measure for Measure. During the play he met a 26-year-old Yale grad. He told Mr. Pacino, “I’ve met the greatest actress in the history of the world.” He was prescient since the woman was Meryl Streep , who has won 3 Oscars and earned an additional 15 Academy Award nominations - more than any other actress in film history.
Mr. Cazale eventually proposed to Ms. Streep aand she accepted. Not long after, Mr. Cazale was diagnosed with bone cancer and the prognosis was bleak. As he was weakened by the disease he began filming on The Deer Hunter. Director Michael Cimino filmed all of Mr. Cazale’s scenes first. The studio tried to prevent Mr. Cazale from appearing in the movie because his illness made him uninsurable but Ms. Streep and her co-stars Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken threatened to leave the film. It is believed that Mr. DeNiro paid for a bond to cover any studio losses if Mr. Cazale died before filming was complete.
John Cazale died on March 12, 1978 just weeks after his scenes were finished. Ms. Streep took a break from filming to stay with Mr. Cazale in the hospital. He was 42 years old.
The Deer Hunter was nominated for Best Picture.
Even years after his death, Mr. Cazale’s golden touch continued. He appeared in archival footage in the Godfather III - which earned a 1991 Best Picture nomination.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB.com, Mental Floss, and New York Magazine
Images from top to bottom:
- James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale in The Godfather, copyright Paramount Pictures and courtesy of ign.com
- Gene Hackman and John Cazale in The Conversation, copyright American Zoetrope and courtesy of cscottrollins.blogspot.com
- John Cazale and Al Pacino in The Godfather II (“I know it was you Fredo.”), copyright Paramount Pictures and courtesy of www.gigapunch.com
- John Cazale and Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, copyright Warner Bros. and courtesy of www.geeksofdoom.com
- John Cazale, Christopher Walken, and Robert DeNiro in The Deer Hunter, copyright Universal Studios and courtesy of cscottrollins.blogspot.com
* Other actors have appeared in more Best Picture nominees including Bess Flowers with an astounding 23 and Franklyn Farnum who appeared in 7 Best Picture winners - more than any other actor in history. However what makes Mr. Cazale’s history more impressive is that all of his performances were in Oscar-worthy films. In contrast, Ms. Flowers appeared in 700 films.
