John Cazale

American actor (1935–1978)

PersonDied aged 42humanQ296177

Born: August 12, 1935
3
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-04-27
2.Stated in Internet Broadway DatabaseRetrieved 2017-10-09
3.Stated in Find a GraveRetrieved 2017-10-09
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: March 13, 1978
4
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-04-27
2.Stated in Internet Broadway DatabaseRetrieved 2017-10-09
3.Stated in Find a GraveRetrieved 2017-10-09
4.Stated in IMDbRetrieved 2022-02-07
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Revere
Place of death: New York City
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: film actor
, actor
, character actor
+2 more
Education: Boston University
, Oberlin College
, Boston University College of Fine Arts
+1 more
Languages spoken, written or signed: English
1
Sources
1.Stated in CONOR.SI
View statement on Wikidata ↗

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

John Holland Cazale was an American actor. He appeared in five films over seven years. Cazale started as a theater actor in Boston, ranging from regional, to off-Broadway, to Broadway acting alongside Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, and Sam Waterston. Cazale soon became one of Hollywood's premier character actors, starting with his role as the doomed, weak-minded Fredo Corleone alongside longtime friend Pacino in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He also appeared in Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975), the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 1977, Cazale was diagnosed with lung cancer, but chose to complete his role in The Deer Hunter (1978). Shortly after filming was completed, he died in New York City on March 13, 1978, aged 42. Archive footage of Cazale in the role of Fredo appears in The Godfather Part III (1990).

Overview

Appears in

11 linked to John Cazale in Wikidata

Performed

1 linked to John Cazale in Wikidata

FFredo Corleonefictional character from The Godfather series

All data

108 statements · 23% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Cause of death: lung cancer
1
Sources
1.nypost.com/2016/04/23/the-tragic-romance-that-shaped-meryl-streeps-life/
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Unmarried partner: Meryl Streep(1976–1978) end cause: death of subject
Given name: John
1
Sources
1.Stated in International Standard Name IdentifierRetrieved 2015-07-21
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Manner of death: natural causes
Start of work period: 1962
Sex or gender: male
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2024-07-14
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Native language: English
Writing language: English
Birth name: John Holland Cazale
Place of burial: Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum
1
Sources
1.Stated in Find a Grave
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Nominations: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture(1976) for work: Dog Day Afternoon · statement is subject of: 33rd Golden Globe Awards
1
Sources
1.goldenglobes.com/person/john-cazale
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Field of work: film
1
Sources
1.Stated in Czech National Authority DatabaseRetrieved 2022-11-07
View statement on Wikidata ↗
theatre
1
Sources
1.Stated in Czech National Authority DatabaseRetrieved 2022-11-07
View statement on Wikidata ↗
acting
1
Sources
1.Stated in Czech National Authority DatabaseRetrieved 2022-11-07
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Family name: Cazale
Movement: New Hollywood
End of work period: 1978

On other databases

69 identifiers linking John Cazale across the web's reference databases

Data quality

108

statements

23%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 12, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). John Cazale (Q296177). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/john-cazale-Q296177