Theater career Upon graduation, Cazale worked as a cab driver, as he started his theatrical career at the
Charles Playhouse in Boston, appearing in
Hotel Paradiso and
Our Town in 1959. Reviewing his performance as George Gibbs in
Our Town, critic Jean Pierre Frankenhuis said: "[Cazale's] portrayal is absolutely stupendous, hilarious, touching, thrilling. We found ourselves wishing that there were more scenes with him, such is the enjoyable performance he gives: a comedian of the first order!". Cazale moved to New York City and supported himself as a photographer while looking for acting work. He made one of his first appearances there in the Equity Library's production of Sidney Howard's
Paths of Glory. He also acted in a 1962
short film titled
The American Way, directed by Marvin Starkman. In 1965, Cazale was part of the National Tour of
Lorraine Hansberry's ''
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window''. He worked as a messenger at
Standard Oil, where he met
Al Pacino, another aspiring actor. Pacino recalled: "When I first saw John, I instantly thought he was so interesting. Everybody was always around him because he had a very congenial way of expressing himself." In 1966, the two were cast in a play by
Israel Horovitz,
The Indian Wants the Bronx, playing at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in
Waterford, Connecticut. They reprised their roles in 1968 at the Off-Broadway
Astor Place Theatre, for which they both won
Obie Awards. That same year, Cazale won another Obie for his role as Dolan in Horovitz's
Line. In 1968, Cazale appeared in his only television role, playing Tom Andrews in the episode "The Peep Freak" on the cop drama
N.Y.P.D.
In 1969, Cazale joined the
Long Wharf Theatre Company, where he appeared for the next three seasons in a number of productions, including
Tartuffe, The Country People, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Iceman Cometh, and ''
You Can't Take It With You. During this run, Cazale was spotted by casting director Fred Roos, who then suggested him to director Francis Ford Coppola for the role of Fredo Corleone in The Godfather'' (1972).
Film career The Godfather films (1972–74) The Godfather was Cazale's feature film debut. The film's star,
Marlon Brando, was one of Cazale's idols. The film broke box office records and made Cazale and several other previously unknown co-stars famous. Coppola, impressed with Cazale's abilities in the small role, wrote the part of Stan for him in his next film,
The Conversation (1974), in which he co-starred with
Gene Hackman. In 1974, he reprised his role as Fredo Corleone, now significantly expanded, in
The Godfather Part II. Bruce Fretts, in
Entertainment Weekly, wrote that "Cazale makes his character’s wounded pride hauntingly palpable".
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) He again starred alongside Pacino in
Sidney Lumet's 1975 film
Dog Day Afternoon. The film's screenwriter
Frank Pierson said "the film had been cast with many of the actors that Al Pacino had worked with in New York, including John Cazale, who was a close friend and collaborator in
The Godfather". For his role as Sal he was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lumet declared:
Return to theater Public theater (1975–76) While achieving success in film, Cazale's commitment to the stage continued. In addition to his work with the Long Wharf Theatre, he appeared in a number of plays by Israel Horovitz. In May 1975, he returned to the Charles Playhouse to support Pacino in
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Ross Wetzston of
The Village Voice, reporting on the production, said Cazale "may be the finest actor in America today". In 1976, ten years after their first collaboration, Cazale and Pacino appeared together for the final time in the Public Theater's production of
The Local Stigmatic.
Measure for Measure (1976) In the summer of that year, Cazale starred at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with
Sam Waterston in
Shakespeare's
Measure for Measure. His leading lady was the recent
Yale School of Drama graduate
Meryl Streep.
Mel Gussow of
The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Cazale, often cast as a quirky, weak outsider, as in
The Godfather, here demonstrates sterner mettle as a quietly imperious Angelo who sweeps down, vulturelike, to deposit virtue."
Agamemnon (1977) Cazale's final stage appearance was on April 29, 1977, in the title role of
Agamemnon at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater. He appeared only in the first preview. After the performance, he became ill and withdrew from the show. It was his only Broadway performance. Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed with
lung cancer.
Final film role: The Deer Hunter (1978) Despite the terminal diagnosis, Cazale continued work with his romantic partner,
Meryl Streep, along with
Robert De Niro,
Christopher Walken, and
John Savage in
The Deer Hunter. According to author Andy Dougan, director
Michael Cimino "rearranged the shooting schedule with Cazale and Streep's consent, so that he could film all his scenes first". He completed his scenes, but died before the film was released. Cazale was considered all but uninsurable due to his illness, jeopardizing his participation in the film, but according to Streep the costs were paid by De Niro, who wanted Cazale to be in it. == Death==