John Cassevetes Fact File

John Cassavetes

Date of Birth:
9 December 1929, New York, New York, USA more

Date of Death:
3 February 1989, Los Angeles, California, USA (cirrhosis of the liver)


Mini Biography:
Actor, director, and screenwriter, born in New York City, USA. He studied at Colgate University, then trained as an actor and worked in stock companies. His film debut was in Taxi (1953), and he established himself as an intense actor in films and on television. He used his earnings from a television detective series to finance his first directorial effort, Shadows (1961), which broke new ground with its improvised scenes and free-moving cinematography. Later films include A Woman Under the Influence (1974), which he wrote and directed. He was married to the actress Gena Rowlands.


Cinema Verite
Best known for his cinema verite style films, often using improvisation for the dialogue.



Filmography

As Director
• Shadows (1959)
• Too Late Blues (1961)
• A Child Is Waiting (1963)
• Faces (1968)
• Husbands (1970)
• Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)
• A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
• The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
• Opening Night (1977)
• Gloria (1980)
• Love Streams (1984)
• Big Trouble (1986)


As Actor
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) Episode: "You Got to Have Luck"
• Edge of the City (1957)
• The Killers (1964)
• The Dirty Dozen (1967)
• Rosemary's Baby (1968)
• Husbands (1970)
• Two-Minute Warning (1976)
• Mikey and Nicky (1976)
• Brass Target (1978)
• The Fury (1978)
• Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
• The Incubus (1981)
• Tempest (1982)
• The Haircut (1982)
• Marvin & Tige (1983)