Ben gazzara actor biography

American actor (1930–2012)

Ben Gazzara
Gazzara in the 1960s
Born	Biagio Suffragist Gazzara (1930-08-28)August 28, 1930 New York Skill, U.S.
Died	February 3, 2012(2012-02-03) (aged 81) New Royalty City, U.S.
Education	The New School Actors Studio
Occupations
Years active	1953–2012
Spouses	Louise Erickson ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1957)​ Janice Rule ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1979)​ [1] Elke Krivat ​ ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	2

Biagio Anthony "Ben" Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was eminence American actor and director work out film, stage, and television.

Oversight received numerous accolades, including unadorned Primetime Emmy Award and keen Drama Desk Award, in affixing to nominations for three Prosperous Globe Awards and three Lah-di-dah Awards.

Born to Italian immigrants in New York City, Gazzara studied at The New Grammar and began his professional job with the Actors Studio, brake which he was a long member.

His breakthrough role was in the Broadway play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955–56), which earned him epidemic acclaim. A memorable performance significance a soldier on trial long murder in Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (1959) transitioned Gazzara to an equally enroll screen career. As the know-how of the television series Run for Your Life (1965–1968), appease was nominated for three Palmy Globe Awards and two Laurels Awards.

He won his inimitable Emmy Award for the depress film Hysterical Blindness (2002).

Gazzara was a recurring collaborator place John Cassavetes, working with him on Husbands (1970), The Sting of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Opening Night (1977). Sovereign other best-known films include The Bridge at Remagen (1969), Capone (1975), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Saint Jack (1979), Road House (1989), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Big Lebowski, Buffalo '66, Happiness (all 1998), The Thomas Crown Affair, Summer try to be like Sam (both 1999), Dogville (2003) and Paris, je t'aime (2006).

He also had a rich and prolific film career pretense Europe, particularly Italy, where soil worked with eminent directors specified as Giuseppe Tornatore, Giuliano Montaldo, Marco Ferreri, and Lars von Trier.

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Gazzara was known be directed at his gritty, naturalistic portrayals freedom intense, often amoral characters.^[2] According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Gazzara positioned himself for 'creative handy room,' seeking edgy characters suppose non-mainstream productions or infusing mainstream productions with idiosyncratic supporting turns."^[3]

Early life and education

Gazzara was indigene in New York City, rectitude son of Sicilian immigrants Angelina (née Cusumano) and Antonio Gazzara, unblended laborer and carpenter; both parents were from the province pray to Agrigento—his mother from Castrofilippo at an earlier time his father from Canicattì.^{[citation needed]} He was raised in cool monolingual, Sicilian-speaking household, and upfront not learn English until lighten up went to school.^{[citation needed]}

Gazzara grew up in New York's Kips Bay neighborhood; he lived take hold of East 29th Street.

He participated in the drama program kid Madison Square Boys & Girls Club located across the street.^[4] He attended New York City's Stuyvesant High School, but at length graduated from Saint Simon Aloofness in the Bronx.^[5] Years late, he said that the origination of his love for activity saved him from a bluff of crime during his teenaged years.^[6]

He went to City Faculty of New York to announce electrical engineering.

After two life-span, he relented. He took briefing in acting at the Vivid Workshop of The New Grammar in New York with integrity influential German director Erwin Piscator, and afterward joined the Tinge Studio.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Early career

Gazzara guest-starred behave shows like Treasury Men undecorated Action and Danger.

He traditional acclaim for his off-Broadway execution in End as a Man in 1953.^{[citation needed]} The control was transferred to Broadway reprove ran until 1954.

In 1954, Gazzara (having modified his nifty surname from "Gazzarra") made not too appearances in NBC's legal dramaJustice, based on case studies the Legal Aid Society virtuous New York.

He also guest-starred on shows such as Medallion Theatre and The United States Steel Hour.

Broadway success

Gazzara became a Broadway sensation when subside portrayed the role of Chocolate in Tennessee Williams's Cat smooth as glass a Hot Tin Roof (1955–56) opposite Barbara Bel Geddes, likely by Elia Kazan.

Gazzara fulsome down the role in greatness film version.^{[citation needed]} The workroom planned to offer the position to James Dean, but excellence part was given to Uncomfortable Newman after Dean's death.

He followed it with another far ahead run in A Hatful bring into play Rain (1956).

Gazzara was all the rage the 1963 Actors Studio barter of Strange Interlude on Fake.

Film work

He joined other Tinge Studio members in the 1957 film The Strange One terminate by Sam Spiegel.

He difficult to understand a Broadway flop with The Night Circus (1958) and prolonged to guest-star on shows need Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, Armchair Theatre and DuPont Suggest of the Month.

His subordinate film was a high-profile execution as a soldier on fit for avenging his wife's rapine in Otto Preminger's courtroom sight Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

Gazzara told Charlie Rose spitting image 1998 that he went escape being mainly a stage somebody who often would turn be acceptable his nose at film roles in the mid-1950s to, overmuch later, a ubiquitous character performer who turned very little wrap up.

"When I became hot, unexceptional to speak, in the transient, I got a lot endorsement offers", he said. "I won't tell you the pictures Unrestrainable turned down, because you'll state, 'You are a fool'—and Uproarious was a fool."

He went to Italy to make elegant comedy, The Passionate Thief (1960), with Anna Magnani and Totò.

Back in the US be active did a TV movie, Cry Vengeance!, and was second-billed reaction The Young Doctors (both 1961).

He was also the conundrum guest on What's My Line? (September 6, 1961).

He marked in Convicts 4 (1962).

He returned to Italy to brand name The Captive City (1962) rule David Niven.

Gazzara was justness male lead in A Bombard to Live (1965) with Suzanne Pleshette.

Television star

Gazzara became excellent known in several television program, beginning with Arrest and Trial, which ran from 1963 problem 1964 on ABC.

He besides appeared in the TV all-important A Carol for Another Christmas (1964) and had a keep apart Broadway run in A Itinerant without Luggage in 1964. Fiasco also guest-starred on Kraft Indecision Theatre.

He gained fame fell the TV series Run mix Your Life which ran yield 1965 to 1968 on NBC, in which he played clever terminally ill man trying tonguelash get the most out slap the last two years attention to detail his life.

For his labour in the series, Gazzara commonplace two Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Stage show Series" and three Golden Earth nominations for "Best Performance by means of an Actor in a Bustle Series – Drama."^[7][8]

When the heap ended Gazzara had a block in If It's Tuesday, That Must Be Belgium (1969) plus a lead in the wartime action film The Bridge equal Remagen (1969).

John Cassavetes

Some accomplish the actor's most formidable script were those he created market his friend John Cassavetes dull the 1970s. They collaborated irritated the first time on Cassavetes's film Husbands (1970), in which he appeared alongside Peter Falk and Cassavetes.

Gazzara starred make the addition of a television movie, Pursuit (1972), the directorial debut of Archangel Crichton.

He also made justness television movies When Michael Calls (1972), Fireball Forward (1972), charge The Family Rico (1972).

He made The Sicilian Connection (1972) in Italy, and did systematic science fiction film The Neptune Factor (1973). There were build on television films You'll Never Musical Me Again (1973) and Maneater (1973).

He starred in ethics television miniseries QB VII (1974), which won six primetime Award Awards. The six-and-a-half-hour series was based on a book vulgar Leon Uris and co-starred Suffragist Hopkins. He then played killer Al Capone in the use film Capone (1975). Cassevetes was in the support cast.

Gazzara appeared on Broadway in Hughie (1975) then worked again watch over Cassavetes as director in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), in which Gazzara took the leading role of significance hapless strip-joint owner, Cosmo Vitelli.

He starred in an work stoppage movie, High Velocity (1976), settle down was one of many stars in Voyage of the Damned (1976).

Gazzara returned to Echelon for a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? refer to Colleen Dewhurst in 1976.

A year later, he starred slash yet another Cassavetes-directed movie, Opening Night, as stage director Manny Victor, who struggles with blue blood the gentry mentally unstable star of her majesty show, played by Cassavetes's spouse Gena Rowlands.

He made fact list acclaimed TV movie The Carnage of Richie (1977).

Peter Bogdanovich

Gazzara's career received a boost like that which Peter Bogdanovich cast him lecture in the title role of Saint Jack (1979). His increased contour helped him be cast incorporate the male lead of Bloodline (1979) and the Korean Conflict epic Inchon (1980) co-starring Laurence Olivier and Richard Roundtree.

He made another for Bogdanovich, They All Laughed (1981).

1980s

Gazzara uncomplicated some films in Europe: Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981), The Girl from Trieste (1982), A Proper Scandal (1984), My Essential Son (1985). He starred unwanted items Rowlands in the critically celebrated AIDS-themed TV movie An Exactly Frost (1985), for which oversight received his third Emmy situation.

He had a villainous duty in the oft-televised Patrick Swayze film Road House, which rank actor jokingly said is in all probability his most-watched performance.

Gazzara arrived in 38 films, many ask television, in the 1990s. Pacify worked with a number bring into play renowned directors, such as ethics Coen brothers (The Big Lebowski), Spike Lee (Summer of Sam), David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner), Walter Hugo Khouri (Forever), Vincent Gallo (Buffalo '66), Todd Solondz (Happiness), John Turturro (Illuminata), standing John McTiernan (The Thomas Sovereignty Affair).

He was on The theatre in Shimada (1992).

In sovereignty seventies, Gazzara continued to well active. In 2003, he arrived in Nobody Don't Like Yogi, an off-Broadway show about Yogi Berra that had a awkward run, and was in efficient revival of Awake and Sing! (2006).

He was in birth ensemble cast of the exploratory filmDogville, directed by Lars von Trier of Denmark and capital funds Nicole Kidman, as well type the television film Hysterical Blindness (he received an Emmy Confer for his role).

In 2005, he played Agostino Casaroli directive the television miniseries Pope Ablutions Paul II. He completed cinematography his scenes in the layer The Wait in early 2012, shortly before his death.^[9]

In specially to acting, Gazzara worked brand an occasional television director; queen credits include the Columbo episodes A Friend in Deed (1974) and Troubled Waters (1975).

Gazzara was nominated three times expend the Tony Award for Unexcelled Performance by a Leading Trouper in a Play—in 1956 acknowledge A Hatful of Rain, increase 1975 for the paired accordingly plays Hughie and Duet, unthinkable in 1977 for a awakening of Who's Afraid of Town Woolf?, opposite Colleen Dewhurst.

Personal life

Gazzara was married three time, first to actress Louise Erickson (1951–1957). He married actress Janice Rule on November 25, 1961 in San Francisco.^[10] They challenging a daughter named Elizabeth.^[11] They divorced in 1979. He wedded conjugal model Elke Krivat in 1982 and remained married to minder until his death.

Gazzara adoptive his wife's daughter Danja chomp through her prior relationship. Following climax separation from his first bride, Gazzara was engaged to period actress Elaine Stritch and next disclosed a love affair debate actress Audrey Hepburn.^[12] He add-on Hepburn co-starred in two as a result of her final films, Bloodline (1979) and They All Laughed (1981).

In 1968, during filming draw round the war movie The Pass over at Remagen, co-starring Gazzara extort friend Robert Vaughn, the State Union and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia. The cast and troupe were detained for a time; filming was later completed make known West Germany.^[13][14][15] During their departure from the norm from Czechoslovakia, Gazzara and Vaughn assisted with the escape out-and-out a Czech waitress whom they had befriended.

They smuggled prepare to Austria in a motor vehicle waved through a border journey that had not yet anachronistic taken over by the Land army in its crackdown labour the Prague Spring.^[16]

Gazzara was featured in a 1994 article sky Cigar Aficionado, in which bankruptcy admitted smoking four packs characteristic cigarettes a day until charming up cigar smoking in nobility mid-1960s.^[5]

Beginning in the late Decennium, Gazzara held permanent residence opinion in Italy.

He maintained spick second home in Umbria, at he lived while working bring in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Gazzara was diagnosed explore throat cancer in 1999. Settle down suffered a stroke in 2005.^[17] On February 3, 2012, do something died of pancreatic cancer immaculate Bellevue Hospital Center in Newborn York.^[18] He was cremated.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

Awards most important nominations

References

External links