John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes as Johnny Staccato, (1959)
Born	John Nicholas Cassavetes (1929-12-09)December 9, 1929 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	February 3, 1989(1989-02-03) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cirrhosis of the liver
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles, California
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	Blair Academy
Alma mater	American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Film editor
Years active	1951–88
Spouse(s)	Gena Rowlands (m. 1954–89) (his death)
Children	Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes, Zoe Cassavetes
Parent(s)	Katherine Cassavetes, Nicholas John Cassavetes

John Nicholas Cassavetes (/ˌkæsəˈvɛtiːz/; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was a Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Cassavetes was a pioneer of American independent film, writing and directing over a dozen movies, which he partially self-financed, and pioneered the use of improvisation and a realistic cinéma vérité style. He also acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). He studied acting with Don Richardson, using an acting technique based on muscle memory. His income from acting made it possible for him to direct his own films independently.

His children Nick Cassavetes, Zoe Cassavetes, and Xan Cassavetes are also filmmakers.

Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of Greek American Katherine Cassavetes (née Demetre), who was to be featured in some of his films, and Greek immigrant Nicholas John Cassavetes; in Greek, his name is Ιωάννης Νικόλαος Κασσαβέτης. His early years were spent with his family in Greece; when he returned at age seven, he spoke no English. He was reared on Long Island, New York. He attended Port Washington High School from 1945 to 1947 and participated in Port Weekly (the school paper), Red Domino (interclass play), football, and the Port Light (yearbook). Next to his photo on page 55 of his 1947 yearbook is written: "'Cassy' is always ready with a wisecrack, but he does have a serious side. A 'sensational' personality. Drives his 'heap' all over." Cassavetes attended Blair Academy in New Jersey and spent a semester at Champlain College before being expelled due to his failing grades. He spent a few weeks hitchhiking down to Florida and transferred to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts after running into friends who had just enrolled, stating the school was packed with girls, encouraging Cassavetes to enroll. He graduated in 1950 and met his future wife Gena Rowlands at her audition into the Academy in 1953 and they were married four months later in 1954. He continued acting in the theater, took small parts in films and began working on television in anthology series, such as Alcoa Theatre.