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John Cassavetes

Directing 59 (deceased) years old New York City, New York, USA ★ 1.6
Born: December 9, 1929
Died: February 3, 1989

Biography

John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as an actor on television and in film, Cassavetes also became a pioneer of American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed in part with income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick," while The New Yorker suggested that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century."

As an actor, Cassavetes starred in notable Hollywood films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including Edge of the City (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Rosemary's Baby (1968). He began his directing career with the 1959 independent feature Shadows and followed with independent productions such as Faces (1968), Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977), and Love Streams (1984), in addition to intermittent studio work.

Cassavetes' films employed an actor-centered approach which privileged character examination over traditional Hollywood storytelling or stylized production values. His films became associated with an improvisational, cinéma vérité aesthetic. He collaborated frequently with a rotating group of friends, crew members, and actors, including his wife Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Seymour Cassel.

For his role in The Dirty Dozen, Cassavetes received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. As a filmmaker, he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Faces (1968) and Best Director for A Woman Under the Influence (1974).

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato Director 1959
The Lloyd Bridges Show
The Lloyd Bridges Show Director 1962
Faces
Faces Director 1968
Gloria
Gloria Director 1980
A Woman Under the Influence
A Woman Under the Influence Director 1974

Jimmy's Seen (1)

New Jack City
New Jack City Cal Fletcher 1991

Filmography

Acting Credits (93)

John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse 2024
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement Man Talking 2021
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film Self (archive footage) 2019
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
Iconic Couples of Hollywood Self (archive footage) 2015
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films Robert Harmon (archive footage) (uncredited) 2014
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired Guy Woodhouse (archive footage) 2008
Operation Dirty Dozen
Operation Dirty Dozen Self 2006
A Constant Forge
A Constant Forge Self (archive footage) 2000
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes Self 1993
Anything for John
Anything for John Self (archive footage) 1993
Arena - John Cassavetes
Arena - John Cassavetes Self 1989
Movies Are My Life
Movies Are My Life Self 1988
Marvin & Tige
Marvin & Tige Marvin 1985
Nederland C
Nederland C Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer 1985
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work Self 1984
Love Streams
Love Streams Robert Harmon 1984
Fräulein Berlin
Fräulein Berlin himself 1984
The Haircut
The Haircut Music Industry Executive 1982
Tempest
Tempest Phillip 1982
Incubus
Incubus Dr. Sam Cordell 1982
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Whose Life Is It Anyway? Dr. Michael Emerson 1981
Flesh & Blood
Flesh & Blood Gus Caputo 1979
Brass Target
Brass Target Maj. Joe De Lucca 1978
The Fury
The Fury Ben Childress 1978
Opening Night
Opening Night Maurice Aarons 1977
Heroes
Heroes VA Doctor (uncredited) 1977
Mikey and Nicky
Mikey and Nicky Nicky 1976
Two-Minute Warning
Two-Minute Warning Sgt. Chris Button 1976
Capone
Capone Frankie Yale 1975
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche Self 1975
Nightside
Nightside Carmine Kelly 1973
Minnie and Moskowitz
Minnie and Moskowitz Jim 1971
Columbo
Columbo Alex Benedict 1971
The Making of 'Husbands'
The Making of 'Husbands' Self 1971
Husbands
Husbands Gus Demetri 1970
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium Steve 1969
Machine Gun McCain
Machine Gun McCain Hank McCain 1969
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes 1969
Bandits in Rome
Bandits in Rome Mario Corda 1968
Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby Guy Woodhouse 1968
The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show Self - Guest 1968
Alexander The Great
Alexander The Great Karonos 1968
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen Victor Franko 1967
Devil's Angels
Devil's Angels Cody 1967
The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James Blackie Dolan 1965
Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage Parsons 1964
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 1964
The Killers
The Killers Johnny North 1964
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Kraft Suspense Theatre Peter Chandler 1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 1963
Burke's Law
Burke's Law Eddie Dineen 1963
Burke's Law
Burke's Law Stephen Collins 1963
Burke's Law
Burke's Law Alfred Algernon 1963
Burke's Law
Burke's Law Carlos de Vega 1963
Channing
Channing Lloyd Sullivan 1963
Combat!
Combat! Kalb 1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Self 1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Rusty Connors 1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Lee Griffin 1962
The Virginian
The Virginian Jonah MacIntosh 1962
The Webster Boy
The Webster Boy Vance Miller 1962
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show Self 1961
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare Makin Saund 1961
Shadows
Shadows Pedestrian (uncredited) 1960
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood Self 1960
Johnny Staccato
Johnny Staccato Johnny Staccato 1959
Virgin Island
Virgin Island Evan 1959
Rawhide
Rawhide Cal Fletcher 1959
Saddle the Wind
Saddle the Wind Tony Sinclair 1958
The Dick Clark Show
The Dick Clark Show Self 1958
Affair in Havana
Affair in Havana Nick Douglas 1957
Edge of the City
Edge of the City Axel Nordmann 1957
No Right to Kill
No Right to Kill McCloud 1956
Crime in the Streets
Crime in the Streets Frankie Dane 1956
The 20th Century Fox Hour
The 20th Century Fox Hour Max Markheim 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Sam Cobbett 1955
The Night Holds Terror
The Night Holds Terror Robert Batsford 1955
Appointment with Adventure
Appointment with Adventure Danny Loomis 1955
Climax!
Climax! Malcolm McCloud 1954
Climax!
Climax! Abel Winter 1954
The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour Johnny 1953
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater Johnny 1953
Taxi
Taxi Man (uncredited) 1953
Omnibus
Omnibus Pepe 1952
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 1951
Fourteen Hours
Fourteen Hours Reporter (uncredited) 1951
Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents 1950
Studio One
Studio One Paul Greco 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse 1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show Self 1948
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Presenter 1944
8 Husbands
8 Husbands Duke Bellingham

Directing Credits (14)

Writing Credits (14)

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