Ben Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara on August 28, 1930, in New York City. His parents, Angela (née Mazza) and Antonio Gazzara, were both immigrants from Sicily. His father was a tailor and his mother was a homemaker. He had two older sisters, Josephine and Carmela.
Gazzara’s father died when he was nine years old and his mother died when he was 16. As a result, he was raised by his maternal grandparents, who were both Italian immigrants. He attended New York’s High School of Music and Art, where he studied acting.
After graduation, Gazzara worked as a messenger for the United Nations and as an usher at Radio City Music Hall. He also worked as a model for the John Robert Powers modeling agency.
In 1953, Gazzara made his Broadway debut in the play “The Time of Your Life”. He then appeared in several other Broadway plays, including “A Hatful of Rain” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.
In 1957, Gazzara made his film debut in the film “The Strange One”. He then went on to appear in several other films, including “Anatomy of a Murder”, “Husbands”, “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” and “Capone”.
In the 1980s, Gazzara appeared in several television movies, including “The Gangster Chronicles” and “Hollywood Wives”. He also appeared in the miniseries “The Thorn Birds” and “Lace”.
In the 1990s, Gazzara appeared in the films “The Big Lebowski”, “Buffalo ’66” and “Road to Perdition”. He also appeared in the television series “Law & Order” and “NYPD Blue”.
Gazzara’s last film appearance was in the film “Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise” (1987).
Gazzara was married three times. His first wife was actress Louise Erickson, with whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Kathryn. His second wife was actress Janice Rule, with whom he had one son, Antonio. His third wife was actress Talia Balsam, with whom he had one daughter, Allegra.
Gazzara died on February 3, 2012, at the age of 81.
General Info
Full Name
Ben Gazzara
Date Of Birth
August 28, 1930
Died
February 3, 2012, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Place Of Birth
Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Height
1.79 m
Profession
Actor, Television Director
Education
The New School, City College of New York, Stuyvesant High School, Actors Studio
Nationality
American
Family
Spouse
Elke Stuckmann, Janice Rule, Louise Erickson
Children
Elizabeth Gazzara, Danja Gazzara
Parents
Antonio Gazzarra, Angelina Cusumano
Siblings
Anthony Gazzara
Accomplishments
Awards
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, National Board of Review Award for Best Cast, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play, Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star - Male, David di Donatello for Best Actor, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance...
Movies
Anatomy of a Murder, Road House, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The Big Lebowski, Husbands, Opening Night, Buffalo '66, They All Laughed, Dogville, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Strange One, The Spanish Prisoner, Summer of Sam, Bloodline, Tales of Ordinary Madness, The Bridge at Remagen, Saint Jack...
TV Shows
L'onore e il rispetto, Pope John Paul II, QB VII, Run for Your Life, Arrest and Trial, People Like Us
[on John Cassavetes as a director] He set the climate for an actor to feel free to give whatever, and if it didn't work, it didn't work.
2
[1988] When I became hot, so to speak, in the theater, I got a lot of offers. I won't tell you the pictures I turned down because they would say, 'You are a fool.' And I was a fool.
3
[on battling depression while filming They All Laughed (1981)] I was in a depression during the whole shooting, and I was terrific in that film and I don't remember doing it.
4
(on making movies in Italy) You go where they love you.
[In 2009] Run for Your Life (1965), that came at a period where things were very slow in the movie world for me. So I had to pay the rent, and the offer was good, but it was before the big, big money in television, 1965. And that was hard work, I gotta tell you. You know we made 30 one-hour shows a year? I was in every scene, morning, noon and night. It was really tiresome, I gotta tell you. Hard, hard. Ran for three years, and we made 80, 85 shows.
7
[In 2009, on making Anatomy of a Murder (1959)] There, I had a wonderful time. I got to work with my first movie star, James Stewart, a star that I grew up trying to imitate as a kid. And there I was acting with him in the same scene. I was so really overjoyed to be doing that, and proud. And then he liked me, which made me even prouder. He invited me to dinner, mano-a-mano, more than once, and I really appreciated that. He took an interest in me, and I watched him work. I watched how hard he worked, how he never schmoozed. He was never around between takes; he was in a room working with his assistant on the scene that was going to be shot next. Never wasting a moment's time. A real lesson in discipline . . . But I must say, though, he had a great deal of dialogue in the picture, playing a lawyer, and I think that was probably part of the reason he took to another room to go over his lines.
8
[on filming Looking for Palladin (2008) in Antigua, Guatemala] The city of Antigua is so beautiful and charming, filled with history, and I had a wonderful time down there. I played a character I liked to play, and lived a life I liked. One of the pleasures of being an actor is that it takes you places you wouldn't ordinarily go, and you don't enter as a tourist, you really enter the life of the place and get to know it.
9
[2009, on filming Buffalo '66 (1998)] I think Vincent Gallo did a wonderful job, and it was a personal story for him. It was about him, actually; him and his mother and father. And the work was enjoyable. I enjoyed Anjelica Huston, and I had never been to Buffalo before, so I was able to see a part of America that I probably never would have gotten to if I weren't an actor.
10
{in 2009, on The Big Lebowski (1998)] "The Big Lebowski" was the oddest thing. They called me, and there was really no part. I mean, it's a little part, but they go and say "Look, Sam Elliot is doing this, and this guy's doing that, and that guy's doing this". I said, "Well, let me read it". And I read it, and I couldn't stop laughing. I said, "I gotta be a part of it. This is too funny". So I had a lot of fun doing it. It took me a couple of days. I flew there and I was back in New York in three days.
11
[In 2009, on filming Dogville (2003)] I was told before I went there, "Hey, Lars von Trier, he's tough with actors". Not at all. I really got along with him famously, and had a great time, a great time. Nicole Kidman was there at her best; she was terrific. The whole cast was terrific. And it was an interesting experiment, because he shot it in digital, and was able to load the camera with an hour's worth of film, so you weren't reloading every 10 minutes. And he was running . . . well, we shot it all indoors in a studio, you know, and the whole set was in one, without walls around anything, so he was able to run back and forth, up and down, shooting. You gotta be on your guard with his camera. It was very, very interesting to work on it. Much like theater, because you were not interrupted. You can go on and on and on, and of course it was on a stage; it took place in one space. In that regard, it was very much like theater.
12
[In 2009, on Road House (1989)] I had fun making that picture. Patrick Swayze was very nice, a very sweet boy. He was a boy then, actually. Well, a young man. And just tasting the fruits of newly-found stardom. And I remember he was very nervous about it, very apprehensive. He cared a lot, and he was very tense about doing a good job. And so we'd talk and walk, and walk and talk. I liked him, and we liked each other.
13
[on Audrey Hepburn] She was unhappy in her marriage and hurting; I was unhappy in my marriage and hurting and we came together and we gave solace to each other and we fell in love but it was impossible. She had a life in Europe and Switzerland and where you will. I'm in L.A. with another life. Life got in the way of romance. We were having a drink in Munich, where we were shooting a picture called Bloodline (1979) and she told me, "Do you know, Ben, I never thought I was a good actress". She was so self-effacing and that's why, on the screen, she was so genuine because what you saw on the screen you saw in life--that smile and the way she lit up a room. She just had it.
14
I turned down so many movies because I was idealistic. I was so pure. I didn't really take advantage of the opportunities. If I had the same chances today I would take them all because you never know where it will lead.
Facts
#
Fact
1
Smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day until he switched to cigars.
2
Release of his autobiography, "In the Moment: My Life as an Actor". [2000]
3
Appearing on Broadway in a revival of Clifford Odets' "Awake and Sing". [April 2006]
4
He and his Road House costar Patrick Swayze both died from pancreatic cancer. Swayze in 2009, and Gazzara in 2012.
5
He caught the acting bug when he was 11 years old and watched one of his friends act in a play at the Madison Square Boys Club.
6
He was born on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City to Antonio Gazzara and Angela Cusumano Gazzara, both Italian immigrants. They often spoke Italian at home. He grew up in a building at 29th Street and 1st Avenue, where he slept on the fire escape in summer and occasionally heard screams from the patients at the Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital in New York City.
7
He met radio actress, Louise Erickson, who would be his first wife. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1957. In 1961, he married actress Janice Rule and had a daughter, Elizabeth Gazzara. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1982. He met Elke Stuckmann in 1979 and married her in 1982.
8
He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Gazzara, from his second marriage to Janice Rule; his third wife, Elke Stuckmann (married since 1982); his adopted daughter, Danja Gazzara, from Elke's previous marriage; and brother, Anthony Gazzara.
9
In the 1980s, he had a village in Umbria, Italy, where he spent time in Italian films.
10
He studied drama at the Dramatic Workshop in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. He studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York City in 1951.
11
Died on the anniversary of the death of his close friend John Cassavetes, on February 3, 2012.
12
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. He lost more than 40 pounds during treatment.
13
Shared a "purist's" approach to acting and choosing roles with Road House (1989) co-star Sam Elliott.
