John Cassavetes
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).
14 directing credits · 88 acting credits
Directing · 14
Johnny Staccato
1959
The Lloyd Bridges Show
1962
Gloria
1980
A Woman Under the Influence
1974
Opening Night
1977
Faces
1968
Love Streams
1984
Shadows
1960
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976
Minnie and Moskowitz
1971
Too Late Blues
1961
Big Trouble
1986
A Child Is Waiting
1963
Husbands
1970
Acting · 88
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Columbo
1971
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Golden Globe Awards
1944
The Virginian
1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Dr. Kildare
1961
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Combat!
1962
Climax!
1954
Burke's Law
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Rawhide
1959
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964
Studio One
1948
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
Omnibus
1952
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
The United States Steel Hour
1953
Rosemary's Baby
1968
Johnny Staccato
1959
The Dirty Dozen
1967
The Legend of Jesse James
1965
The Dick Clark Show
1958
Profiles in Courage
1964
Channing
1963
Appointment with Adventure
1955
General Electric Theater
1953
Flesh & Blood
1979
The Fury
1978
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Capone
1975
Two-Minute Warning
1976
Brass Target
1978
Opening Night
1977
Mikey and Nicky
1976
Heroes
1977
The Killers
1964
Saddle the Wind
1958
Love Streams
1984
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
2014
Tempest
1982
Shadows
1960
Minnie and Moskowitz
1971
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
2008
Incubus
1982
Edge of the City
1957
Machine Gun McCain
1969
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
2015
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
1969
Flesh & Blood
1979
Operation Dirty Dozen
2006
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1981
Fourteen Hours
1951
Affair in Havana
1957
A Constant Forge
2000
Husbands
1970
Peter Falk versus Columbo
2019
Alexander The Great
1968
Taxi
1953
Crime in the Streets
1956
Virgin Island
1959
Arena - John Cassavetes
1989
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
Marvin & Tige
1985
Anything for John
1993
Devil's Angels
1967
Movies Are My Life
1988
The Night Holds Terror
1955
Bandits in Rome
1968
Nightside
1973
Fräulein Berlin
1984
No Right to Kill
1956
The Webster Boy
1962
I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes — The Man and His Work
1984
The Haircut
1982
Out of the Shadows: The Films of John Cassavetes
1993
Gena Rowlands: A Life on Film
2019
Nederland C
1985
"Cinéastes de notre temps": John Cassavetes
1969
The Making of 'Husbands'
1971
150 Miles of Rotting, Rutted, Lumpy, Dilapidated Pavement
2021
John Cassavetes par Thierry Jousse
2024