Ben Gazzara

Biagio Anthony Gazzara
1930 -
American born New York City

Nickname Benny. Height 5' 11½" (1.82 m) . Ben Gazzara's screen career began with two critically acclaimed roles as heavies in the late fifties. He turned to television in the sixties but made a big screen comeback with roles in three John Cassavetes films in the seventies. The 1980s and 1990s saw Gazzara work more frequently than ever before in character parts. If he never became the leading man his early films and stage work promised he has had a career notable for its longevity.He was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City in 1930. The son of a Sicilian immigrant labourer, he grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. After seeing Laurette Taylor in "The Glass Menagerie", Gazzara decided he wanted to become an actor. He studied engineering (unhappily) but quit after receiving an acting scholarship (he worked under well-known coach Erwin Piscator).He then joined the Actors' Studio where a group of students improvised a play from Calder Willingham's novel End as a Man. The tale of a brutal Southern Military academy reached Broadway slightly changed in 1953 but with Gazzara still in the principal role. It was a star making part (he won a Theatre World award) and he then played leads in the original productions of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955) and "A Hatful of Rain" (1955) (he was nominated for a Tony). Bigger names Paul Newman and Don Murray played those last two roles on the big screen but Gazzara made his movie debut in The Strange One (1957) the film version of "End as a Man". The film was a critical but not commercial success. His next role was as the defendant in Anatomy of a Murder (1959) which was a big hit.He followed this with an Italian venture co-starring Anna Magnani, Risate di gioia (1960), two Hollywood films The Young Doctors (1961) and Convicts 4 (1962) and then another Italian film Città prigioniera, La (1962). None of these did much for his career and he turned to television. He appeared in the successful shows "Arrest and Trial" (1963) and "Run for Your Life" (1965). In between, he made A Rage to Live (1965), a film version of John O'Hara's novel.He returned to films in The Bridge at Remagen (1969) and with a cameo appearance in _If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium (1968)_ . His buddy in the cameo was John Cassavetes who directed and co-starred with him in Husbands (1970), a critical success. Gazzara made two more well-received films with his good friend Cassavetes: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Opening Night (1977).Gazzara's other films in the 1970s were undistinguished apart from the sprawling Voyage of the Damned (1976) and a rare leading role in director Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack (1979). Bloodline (1979) and They All Laughed (1981) (also directed by Bogdanovich) were only notable because of Gazzara's offscreen relationship with co-star Audrey Hepburn (ironically, Gazzara had declined to make his screen debut in War and Peace (1956) starring Hepburn. Storie di ordinaria follia (1981) was another lead for Gazzara but it received a mixed critical reception. Other big screen roles in the eighties were scarce apart from Road House (1989), a Patrick Swayze vehicle which Gazzara believed out of all his films has been the most repeated on television. He worked much on the small screen, including the ground-breaking telemovie An Early Frost (1985) (TV), playing the father of an AIDS victim.The 1990s saw Gazzarra working like never before, appearing in 38 films! Most were for free-to-air television or cable but he also worked on the big screen in The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Happiness (1998) and Summer of Sam (1999). His TV work included a guest appearance as an executive assistant attorney in a 2001 episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) - a nice touch since "Arrest and Trial" (1963) was the predecessor of "Law & Order" (1990) and its spinoff shows. Gazzara has often returned to the stage throughout his career - in "The Night Circus" (1958) (where he met second wife Janice Rule), "Strange Interlude" (1963), "Traveller Without Luggage" (1964), Hughie/Duet (1975) (nominated for a Tony), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1976) (again Tony nominated) and "Shimada" (1992).He has also worked as a director on episodes his series "Run for Your Life" (1965) and "The Name of the Game" (1968). He also helmed the telemovies Columbo: A Friend in Deed (1974) (TV) and Columbo: Troubled Waters (1975) (TV) featuring his friend Peter Falk. The unreleased Oltre l'oceano (1990) (which he also wrote) is his final film as a director to date.Now in his seventies, Gazzara is still acting. In 2003 he appeared in the indie Dogville (2003) adding Lars von Trier to the list of interesting and acclaimed directors with whom he has worked. There can't be many actors who can boast that they have acted in films by Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder (1959)), John Cassavetes, Joel Coen (_Big Lebowksi, The (1998)_ ), Spike Lee (Summer of Sam (1999)) and Lars von Trier among others! Spouse Elke Krivat (1982 - present), Janice Rule (1961 - 1979) (divorced) 1 child, Louise Erickson (1951 - 1957) (divorced).

Victor in December (2007) , Paris, je t'aime (2006) , Pope John Paul II (2005) , Schubert (2005) , The Shore (2005) , Bonjour Michel (2005) , Quiet Flows the Don (2004) , Dogville (2003) , Ospite segreto, L' (2003) , Hysterical Blindness (2002) , Brian's Song (2001) , Home Sweet Hoboken (2001) , "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"(2001) , Nella terra di nessuno (2001) , The List (2000) , Jack of Hearts (2000) , Undertaker's Paradise (2000) , Very Mean Men (2000) , Believe (2000/I) , Blue Moon (2000) , Piovuto dal cielo (2000) , The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) , Summer of Sam (1999) , "Tre stelle" (1999) , Paradise Cove (1999) , Bacio nel buio, Un (1999) , "Tesoro di Damasco, Il" (1998) , Angelo nero (1998) , Illuminata (1998) , Happiness (1998) , The Big Lebowski (1998) , Buffalo '66 (1998) , Too Tired to Die (1998) , Shark in a Bottle (1998) , Valentine's Day (1998) , Poor Liza (1998) , The Spanish Prisoner (1997) , Stag (1997) , Shadow Conspiracy (1997) , Farmer & Chase (1997) , Vicious Circles (1997/I) , The Notorious 7 (1997) , The Zone (1996) , Ladykiller (1996) , Strangers" (1996) , Donna in fuga, Una (1996) , Convict Cowboy (1995) , Banditi (1995) , Fatal Vows: The Alexandra O'Hara Story (1994) , Parallel Lives (1994) , Gens d'en face, Les (1994) , Sherwood's Travels (1994) , Nefertiti, figlia del sole (1994) , Hirondelles ne meurent pas à Jerusalem, Les (1994) , Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage (1993) , Blindsided (1993) , Lies Before Kisses (1991) , Per sempre (1991) , People Like Us (1990) , Oltre l'oceano (1990) , Road House (1989) , Quicker Than the Eye (1989) , Don Bosco (1988) , Downpayment on Murder (1987) , Police Story: The Freeway Killings (1987) , Giorno prima, Il (1987) , Figlio mio infinitamente caro (1987) , Champagne amer (1986) , A Letter to Three Wives (1985) , An Early Frost (1985) , Donna delle meraviglie, La (1985) , Camorrista, Il (1985) , Scandalo perbene, Uno (1984) , Ragazza di Trieste, La (1983) , A Question of Honor (1982) , Storie di ordinaria follia (1981) , They All Laughed (1981) , Inchon (1981) , Bloodline (1979) , Saint Jack (1979) , Opening Night (1977) , The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977) , The Death of Richie (1977) , Voyage of the Damned (1976) , High Velocity (1976) , The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) , Capone (1975) , "QB VII" (1974) , Maneater (1973) , The Neptune Factor (1973) , You'll Never See Me Again (1973) , Afyon oppio (1972) , Pursuit (1972) , The Family Rico (1972) , Fireball Forward (1972) , When Michael Calls (1972) , Husbands (1970) , The Bridge at Remagen (1969) , If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) , "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1967) , A Rage to Live (1965) , "Run for Your Life" (1965) , "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (1965) , Carol for Another Christmas (1964) , "Arrest and Trial" (1963) , Convicts 4 (1962) , Città prigioniera, La (1962) , The Young Doctors (1961) , Cry Vengeance! (1961) , Risate di gioia (1960) , "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1959) , Anatomy of a Murder (1959) , "Kraft Television Theatre" (1958) , "Playhouse 90" (1958) , The Strange One (1957) , "Justice" (1954) , "The United States Steel Hour" (1954) , "Danger" (1954) , "Medallion Theatre" (1954) , "Treasury Men in Action" (1953)