R.I.P Ben Gazzara

ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
edited February 2012 in All Encompassing Trip
Angelo Dundee, and now Ben Gazzara. Another dude shuffles off this mortal coil.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/feb ... es-aged-81

Ben Gazzara dies aged 81

Emmy-winning stage, film and television actor was known for intense countenance that won him tough-guy roles

• Ben Gazzara obituary

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 February 2012

Ben-Gazzara-holds-a-lifet-007.jpg
Ben Gazzara holds a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian film festival in 2005. Gazzara died on Friday 3 February of pancreatic cancer in New York City. Photograph: Pablo Sanchez/Reuters

The actor Ben Gazzara, known for his brooding tough-guy presence in dozens of films, television shows and stage productions over his long career, died of pancreatic cancer on Friday at a Manhattan hospital, his lawyer said. He was 81.

The New York-born performer died at Bellevue hospital centre with members of his family at his side, according to his attorney, Jay Julien.

Born Biagio Anthony Gazzara to Italian immigrant parents, he began his career in live theatre, most notably with the role of Brick in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Elia Kazan. The role was played by Paul Newman in the 1958 film version.

A three-time Tony award nominee for his stage work, Gazzara made his film debut as a sociopathic military academy cadet in the 1957 drama The Strange One, followed by his breakout role as an accused killer in Otto Preminger's 1959 hit courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder.

The actor, best known for playing emotionally complex men and villains, went on to work with numerous high-profile Hollywood directors, including John Cassavetes, with whom he collaborated on several films, including the 1976 gangster drama The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.

His credits also included a role as porn-film producer Jackie Treehorn in the Coen Brothers' 1998 cult comedy classic The Big Lebowski and a supporting role in the 1999 remake of the art heist drama The Thomas Crown Affair starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

On television Gazzara starred from 1965 to 1968 on the NBC prime-time drama Run for Your Life. He played wealthy, successful lawyer Paul Bryan, who quits his practice after learning he has a terminal illness and embarks on a globetrotting quest for adventure before he dies.

The role earned him two Emmy nominations as best actor in a lead dramatic role. He picked up a third Emmy nomination for his 1985 role in the made-for-TV movie An Early Frost, and won an Emmy for his supporting work in the 2002 HBO television film Hysterical Blindness.

He earned Tony nominations for his appearances in three Broadway productions of the 1970s, a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and his dual roles in a double bill of the plays Hughie and Duet.

Gazzara was married three times, with his first two ending in divorce. He is survived by his third wife, Elke, and daughter, Elizabeth.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • SatansFutonSatansFuton Posts: 5,399
    RIP Jackie Treehorn :cry:
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Ben Gazzara as Charles Bukowski in the film 'Tales of Ordinary Madness':

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upL99XQ5_jQ
  • OffSheGoes35OffSheGoes35 Posts: 3,514
    edited November 2012
    .
    Post edited by OffSheGoes35 on
  • Dr. DelightDr. Delight Posts: 11,210
    He ruled in Roadhouse. He can now hang out with "the Swayze", in some other place.
    And so you see, I have come to doubt
    All that I once held as true
    I stand alone without beliefs
    The only truth I know is you.
  • DS1119DS1119 Posts: 33,497
    RIP


    6397-16104.gif
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,703
    DS1119 wrote:
    RIP


    6397-16104.gif
    Great photo, thanks DS.

    RIP Ben Gazzara.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Brilliant actor. I loved Saint Jack.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • JC Penny is coming to this town because of Ben Gazzara.

    RIP.

    PBM
    "We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"

    Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
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