John Cassavetes Biography (1929-1989)

Born December 9, 1929, in New York, NY; died of cirrhosis of the liver, February 3, 1989, in Los Angeles, CA; married Gena Rowlands (an actress), March 19, 1958; children: Nicholas, Alexandra, Zoe.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Birth Details: December 9, 1929; New York, New York, United States
Death Details: February 3, 1989; Los Angeles, California, United States

Famous Works

Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
Appeared with a theatrical repertory company in Providence, RI, 1950- 52.
Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE WORK
Assistant stage manager, The Fifth Season, Cort Theatre, New York City, 1953.
producer, "Love Streams," "Knives," and "The Third Day Comes," in Three Plays of Love and Hate, Center Theatre, Hollywood, CA, 1981.
FILM DEBUT--Fourteen Hours, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1951.
Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
Robert Batsford, The Night Holds Terror, Columbia, 1955.
Frankie Dane, Crime in the Streets, Allied Artists, 1956.
Nick, Affair in Havana, Allied Artists, 1957.
Axel North, Edge of the City (also known as A Man Is Ten Feet Tall), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1957.
Tony Sinclair, Saddle the Wind, MGM, 1958.
Evan, Virgin Island (also known as Our Virgin Island), Films-around- the-World, 1960.
Vance Miller, The Webster Boy (also known as Middle of Nowhere), Regal, 1962.
Johnny North, The Killers (also known as Ernest Hemingway's The Killers),Universal, 1964.
Cody, The Devil's Angels, American International, 1967.
Victor Franko, The Dirty Dozen, MGM, 1967.
Guy Woodhouse, Rosemary's Baby, Paramount, 1968.
card player, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, United Artists, 1969.
Gus, Husbands, Columbia, 1970.
Hank McCain, Machine Gun McCain (also known as Gli intoccabili), Columbia, 1970.
Jim, Minnie and Moskowitz, Universal, 1971.
Frankie Yale, Capone, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1975.
Nicky, Mikey and Nicky, Paramount, 1976.
Sergeant Chris Button, Two-Minute Warning, Universal, 1976.
Maurice Aarons, Opening Night, Faces Distribution, 1977.
Major Joe DeLuca, Brass Target, United Artists, 1978.
Childress, The Fury, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1978.
Dr. Michael Emerson, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer/United Artists (MGM/UA), 1981.
Dr. Sam Cordell, The Incubus, Artists Releasing, 1982.
Phillip Dimitrious, Tempest, Columbia, 1982.
Marvin Stewart, Marvin and Tige, Major, 1983.
Robert Harmon, Love Streams, MGM/UA, 1984.

Also appeared in Taxi, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1953; Bandits in Rome (alsoknown as Roma coma Chicago), 1969; Heroes, Universal, 1977; I'm Almost Not Crazy ... John Cassavetes: The Man and His Work (documentary), Cannon Releasing, 1983; and Movies Are My Life: Martin Scorsese (documentary).
FIRST FILM WORK--Director, Shadows, Lion, 1960.
Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM WORK; DIRECTOR
(Also producer) Too Late Blues, Paramount, 1962.
A Child Is Waiting, Paramount, 1963.
(also editor with Maurice McEndree and Al Ruban) Faces, Continental Distributing, 1968.
Husbands, Columbia, 1970.
Minnie and Moskowitz, Universal, 1971.
A Woman under the Influence, Faces International, 1974.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Faces Distribution, 1976.
Opening Night, Faces Distribution, 1977.
(also producer) Gloria, Columbia, 1980.
Love Streams, MGM/UA, 1984.
Big Trouble, Columbia, 1986.
TELEVISION DEBUT--Omnibus, CBS, 1953.
Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION APPEARANCES; SERIES
Title role, Johnny Staccato, NBC, 1959-60.
Credits; PILOTS
Sergeant Lee Harmon, "The Fliers," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, NBC, 1965.
Paul Chandler, "Won't It Ever Be Morning?," Kraft Suspense Theatre, NBC,1965.
General Karonos, Alexander the Great, ABC, 1968.
Carmine Kelly, Nightside, ABC, 1973.
Credits; EPISODIC
"Crime in the Streets," The Elgin Television Hour, ABC, 1955.
Columbo, NBC, 1972.
"The Haircut," Shortstories, Arts and Entertainment, 1988.
Also "Combat Medics," The Elgin Television Hour, ABC; Alcoa Theatre, NBC;Danger, CBS; Philco Television Playhouse, NBC; Goodyear Television Playhouse, NBC; "Winter Dreams," Playhouse 90, CBS; Studio One, CBS; General ElectricTheatre, CBS; Lux Playhouse, CBS; Rawhide, CBS; Dr. Kildare, NBC; The Lloyd Bridges Show, CBS; Channing,ABC; The Breaking Point, ABC; Burke's Law, ABC; Profiles in Courage,NBC; Combat, ABC; The Legend of Jesse James, ABC; Voyage tothe Bottom of the Sea, ABC; The Virginian, NBC; The Long, Hot Summer, ABC; Climax, CBS; "The Death of Socrates,"You Are There, CBS; Appointment with Adventure, CBS; Kraft Mystery Theatre, NBC; Pursuit, CBS; Kraft Television Theatre; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Armstrong Circle Theatre; U.S. Steel Hour.
Credits; MOVIES
Gus Caputo, Flesh and Blood, CBS, 1979.
Credits; SPECIALS
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, NBC, 1960.
Also appeared in The Expendable House, 1963; There Are the Hip and ThereAre the Square, 1963; and Murder Case, 1964.
Writings;STAGE
The East/West Game, produced in Los Angeles, CA, 1980.
"Knives" in Three Plays of Love and Hate, Center Theatre, Hollywood, CA,1981.
A Woman of Mystery, Court Theatre, Los Angeles, 1987.
Writings;FILM
(Improvisation written with cast members) Shadows, Lion, 1960.
(with Richard Carr) Too Late Blues Paramount, 1962.
Faces, Continental Distributing, 1968, published by New American Library,1970.
Husbands, Columbia, 1970, published by Scripts Limited.
Minnie and Moskowitz, Universal, 1971, published by Black Sparrow Press,1973.
A Woman under the Influence, Faces International, 1974.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Faces Distribution, 1976.
Opening Night, Faces Distribution, 1977.
Gloria, Columbia, 1980.
(with Ted Allan; also songwriter) Love Streams, Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer/United Artists, 1984.

Further Reference

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

New York Times, February 4, 1989.
Variety, February 8-14, 1989.

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