John Cassavetes

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

90

Gender

Male

Birthday

1929-12-09

Day of death

1989-02-03 (59 years old)

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

John Cassavetes

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).

Known For

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Columbo

    Columbo

  • The Philco Television Playhouse

    The Philco Television Playhouse

  • The Virginian

    The Virginian

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

  • Climax!

    Climax!

  • Climax!

    Climax!

  • Rawhide

    Rawhide

  • Studio One

    Studio One

  • Dr. Kildare

    Dr. Kildare

  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

  • Combat!

    Combat!

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

    Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

  • Burke's Law

    Burke's Law

  • Burke's Law

    Burke's Law

  • Burke's Law

    Burke's Law

  • Burke's Law

    Burke's Law

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Kraft Suspense Theatre

    Kraft Suspense Theatre

  • The 20th Century Fox Hour

    The 20th Century Fox Hour

  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

    Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

  • The United States Steel Hour

    The United States Steel Hour

  • The Dick Clark Show

    The Dick Clark Show

  • The Dirty Dozen

    The Dirty Dozen

  • Rosemary's Baby

    Rosemary's Baby

  • The Legend of Jesse James

    The Legend of Jesse James

  • The Fury

    The Fury

  • Channing

    Channing

  • Two-Minute Warning

    Two-Minute Warning

  • The Webster Boy

    The Webster Boy

  • Johnny Staccato

    Johnny Staccato

  • Shadows

    Shadows

  • Whose Life Is It Anyway?

    Whose Life Is It Anyway?

  • Saddle the Wind

    Saddle the Wind

  • Profiles in Courage

    Profiles in Courage

  • Heroes

    Heroes

  • Tempest

    Tempest

  • Brass Target

    Brass Target

  • Crime in the Streets

    Crime in the Streets

  • Bandits in Rome

    Bandits in Rome

  • The Night Holds Terror

    The Night Holds Terror

  • Taxi

    Taxi

  • No Right to Kill

    No Right to Kill

  • Capone

    Capone

  • Opening Night

    Opening Night

  • Husbands

    Husbands

  • Movies Are My Life

    Movies Are My Life

  • Edge of the City

    Edge of the City

  • Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

  • The Killers

    The Killers

  • Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

    Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

  • Nederland C

    Nederland C

  • The Haircut

    The Haircut

  • A Constant Forge

    A Constant Forge

  • Marvin & Tige

    Marvin & Tige

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • Minnie and Moskowitz

    Minnie and Moskowitz

  • Devil's Angels

    Devil's Angels

  • I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work

    I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work

  • Affair in Havana

    Affair in Havana

  • Incubus

    Incubus

  • Machine Gun McCain

    Machine Gun McCain

  • Iconic Couples of Hollywood

    Iconic Couples of Hollywood

  • Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

    Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film

  • If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium

    If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium

  • Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

    Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

  • Virgin Island

    Virgin Island

  • Mikey and Nicky

    Mikey and Nicky

  • Flesh & Blood

    Flesh & Blood

  • Alexander The Great

    Alexander The Great

  • Anything for John

    Anything for John

  • Love Streams

    Love Streams

  • Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes

    Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes

  • The Making of 'Husbands'

    The Making of 'Husbands'

  • Fourteen Hours

    Fourteen Hours

  • Arena - John Cassavetes

    Arena - John Cassavetes

  • Operation Dirty Dozen

    Operation Dirty Dozen

  • Nightside

    Nightside

  • Fräulein Berlin

    Fräulein Berlin

  • John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse

    John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse

  • "Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes

    "Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes

  • 150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement

    150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement