 |
|
John
Cazale with Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) |
|
Italian-American
John Cazale was an experienced stage actor when he was cast as Fredo
Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather,
a film which brought him and the rest of the cast recognition both
critically and among the public. And for the next few years, Cazale
was seen as one of the most exciting new character actors around,
often cast opposite his good friend
Al Pacino. Cazale specialized in
playing neurotic but usually kind-hearted companions to the lead,
appearing in films such as
The
Conversation
(also directed by
Coppola) and
Dog Day Afternoon. At the time
when he made his final movie, The Deer Hunter,
he was already terminally ill with lung cancer. Cazale only ever
appeared in five films, but his unique achievement is that all of
them were nominated the Academy Award for Best Picture (three of
them won). He was engaged to
Meryl Streep
at the time of his death in March
1978. |
