John Cazale

John Cazale was in a relationship with actress Meryl Streep from 1976 till his death.

On April 29, 1977, he appeared in his last stage show, playing the title role of ‘Agamemnon’ at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. He fell ill soon after and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He underwent different kinds of treatment but within a year the cancer metastasized to his bones.

He passed away on March 13, 1978 with Meryl Streep by his side. Meryl, who never left his side during his illness, was described by Cazale’s long-term friend Al Pacino as someone who was completely in love with him and devoted to him till the very end.

John Holland Cazale was born in Revere, Massachusetts, on August 12, 1935. His father John Cazale was an Italian-American and his mother Cecilia Holland was an Irish-American. He was the middle child with an older sister Catherine and a younger brother Stephen.

Cazale went to Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts to study drama and later enrolled at the Oberlin College in Ohio. He eventually transferred to Boston University to learn from Peter Kass.

After graduating from the Boston University, John Cazale started to appear in stage productions and also drove a cab to earn his living. He worked for the Charles Playhouse and appeared in two of the productions, ‘Hotel Paradiso’ and ‘Our Town,’ in 1959. His performance in ‘Our Town’ was highly praised by critic Jean Pierre Frankenhuis, who hailed Cazale for his “stupendous”, “touching”, “thrilling” and “hilarious” acting.

For better prospects in acting, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a photographer to earn his living while he tried his luck in getting acting opportunities. He appeared in several plays before appearing in a short film titled ‘The American Way’, directed by Marvin Starkman in 1962.

Cazale had to wait a long time before he could venture into Hollywood, but eventually his hard work paid off and he landed the role of ‘Fredo Corleone’ in the Francis Ford Coppola film ‘The Godfather’ in 1972. He was picked for this role after coming to the notice of casting director Fred Roos who had seen him perform on the stage. In the film, Cazale acted alongside his friend Al Pacino.

After impressing Coppola with his short yet brilliant performance in ‘The Godfather’, he earned a role in another one of his movies, ‘The Conversation,’ in 1974. He played the role of ‘Stan´ in the film and acted alongside big actors like Gene Hackman. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film.

In 1974, John Cazale appeared in the second part of the ‘The Godfather’ franchise, reprising his character of ‘Fredo Corleone’. His character was assigned a more important role in this movie and the climax of the film touched many hearts and established him as a fine character actor.

Despite being a brilliant actor, John Cazale did not win any major awards in his short-lived career. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ in 1976 but did not win it.