John Cassavetes
Directing • Born 1929-12-09 – Died 1989-02-03
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).
Filmography
93 credits
The Dirty Dozen
Movie • 1967
Victor Franko
Rosemary's Baby
Movie • 1968
Guy Woodhouse
Two-Minute Warning
Movie • 1976
Sgt. Chris Button
The Killers
Movie • 1964
Johnny North
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Movie • 1981
Dr. Michael Emerson
The Fury
Movie • 1978
Ben Childress
Opening Night
Movie • 1977
Maurice Aarons
Affair in Havana
Movie • 1957
Nick Douglas
Edge of the City
Movie • 1957
Axel Nordmann
Minnie and Moskowitz
Movie • 1971
Jim
Crime in the Streets
Movie • 1956
Frankie Dane
The Night Holds Terror
Movie • 1955
Robert Batsford
Machine Gun McCain
Movie • 1969
Hank McCain
Tempest
Movie • 1982
Phillip
Capone
Movie • 1975
Frankie Yale
Husbands
Movie • 1970
Gus Demetri
Love Streams
Movie • 1984
Robert Harmon
Brass Target
Movie • 1978
Maj. Joe De Lucca
Devil's Angels
Movie • 1967
Cody
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
Movie • 1993
Self
Saddle the Wind
Movie • 1958
Tony Sinclair
Mikey and Nicky
Movie • 1976
Nicky
Incubus
Movie • 1982
Dr. Sam Cordell
Anything for John
Movie • 1993
Self (archive footage)
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Movie • 2008
Guy Woodhouse (archive footage)
Marvin & Tige
Movie • 1985
Marvin
Virgin Island
Movie • 1959
Evan
The Making of 'Husbands'
Movie • 1971
Self
Alexander The Great
Movie • 1968
Karonos
Bandits in Rome
Movie • 1968
Mario Corda
Heroes
Movie • 1977
VA Doctor (uncredited)
Taxi
Movie • 1953
Man (uncredited)
The Haircut
Movie • 1982
Music Industry Executive
Operation Dirty Dozen
Movie • 2006
Self
Flesh & Blood
Movie • 1979
Gus Caputo
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Movie • 1960
Self
Fräulein Berlin
Movie • 1984
himself
Nederland C
Movie • 1985
Self - Portrait of the actor / cinematographer
Movies Are My Life
Movie • 1988
Self
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
Movie • 1984
Self
Arena - John Cassavetes
Movie • 1989
Self
A Constant Forge
Movie • 2000
Self (archive footage)
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
Movie • 2019
Self (archive footage)
The Webster Boy
Movie • 1962
Vance Miller
No Right to Kill
Movie • 1956
McCloud
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
Movie • 2021
Man Talking
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
Movie • 1969
Steve
Nightside
Movie • 1973
Carmine Kelly
Fourteen Hours
Movie • 1951
Reporter (uncredited)
Shadows
Movie • 1960
Pedestrian (uncredited)
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
Movie • 2024
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes
Movie • 1969
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Movie • 2014
Robert Harmon (archive footage) (uncredited)
8 Husbands
Movie
Duke Bellingham
Columbo
TV • 1971
Alex Benedict
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Eddie Dineen
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
TV • 1964
Kraft Suspense Theatre
TV • 1963
Peter Chandler
Studio One
TV • 1948
Paul Greco
Combat!
TV • 1962
Kalb
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Johnny
Johnny Staccato
TV • 1959
Johnny Staccato
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV • 1955
Sam Cobbett
Rawhide
TV • 1959
Cal Fletcher
The Virginian
TV • 1962
Jonah MacIntosh
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Climax!
TV • 1954
Malcolm McCloud
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV • 1963
Profiles in Courage
TV • 1964
Parsons
The Philco Television Playhouse
TV • 1948
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
The Legend of Jesse James
TV • 1965
Blackie Dolan
Dr. Kildare
TV • 1961
Makin Saund
Channing
TV • 1963
Lloyd Sullivan
The Dick Clark Show
TV • 1958
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Stephen Collins
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Alfred Algernon
Burke's Law
TV • 1963
Carlos de Vega
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV • 1962
Rusty Connors
Climax!
TV • 1954
Abel Winter
The United States Steel Hour
TV • 1953
Johnny
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
TV • 1975
Self
The Dick Cavett Show
TV • 1968
Self - Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Nominee
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Presenter
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV • 1962
Lee Griffin
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
TV • 2015
Self (archive footage)
Omnibus
TV • 1952
Pepe
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV • 1955
Max Markheim
Appointment with Adventure
TV • 1955
Danny Loomis