John Holland Cazale (August 12, 1935 - March 13, 1978) was an American actor famous for having only appeared in five movies, all of which were Oscar-nominated for Best Picture (and three of which won): The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and The Deer Hunter (1978).
Cazale died in 1978 at the age of 42 from lung cancer. He was partners with Meryl Streep, who was by his side at the time of his death. As a testament to his being short-lived career yet major influence, his career was commemorated in the 2010 documentary I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale, directed by Brett Ratner and including interviews with Streep, Al Pacino (with whom he co-starred in three of his five movies), Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Dreyfuss, and Sidney Lumet.
Filmography
- 1968: NYPD as Tom Andrews
- 1972: The Godfather as Fredo Corleone
- 1974: The Godfather Part II as Fredo Corleone
- 1977: The Godfather Saga as Fredo Corleone
- 1974: The Conversation as Stan
- 1975: Dog Day Afternoon as Sal
- 1978: The Deer Hunter as Stan
Theatre Roles
- 1962: J.B. as Performer
- 1975: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui as Performer
- 1976: The Local Stigmatic as Performer
- 1976: Measure for Measure as Angelo
- 1977: Agamemnon as Agamemnon Aegisthu
