John Cazale (Dez Hall of Fame IV)

In the midst of my Top 50 Movies List, I thought a film-related induction into the Dez Hall of Fame was appropriate. The name John Cazale may not immediately leap out at the average person, but fans of 70's era cinema certainly know who he was. And even casual fans would recognize the face. The sad sap, forlorn face of Fredo Corleone is one of many indelible images from The Godfather series.

Here is a remarkable statistic: EVERY single film that John Cazale appeared in was nominated for Best Picture. Every one of them. Granted, he only appeared in five films before his untimely death from bone cancer (and one posthumously through archival footage), but each of those six films were nominated (and two of them won). If I am not mistaken, that is a unique feat.

Cazale came up through the New York theater scene along with good friend and frequent stage partner Al Pacino. Cazale didn't start small in the movies. His film debut was as the meek Fredo Corleone in The Godfather. Cazale was brilliant at portraying this lamb in a family of lions. He was even better in the sequel Godfather II, where his desire to be respected like younger brother Michael (Pacino) has disasterous consequences.


ABOVE: Michael (Pacino) and Fredo (Cazale) discuss Fredo's betrayal and other family issues in The Godfather II

Cazale also appeared in Coppola's The Conversation alongside Gene Hackman, as well as with Pacino again in Dog Day Afternoon. He died just after he finished filming his scenes for The Deer Hunter alongside fiance Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro. (Cazale finally appeared in archival footage during some scenes for The Godfather III.)

Cazale was never the leading man, but his contributions were always crucial to the fabric of his films. His best characters (Fredo and Sal in Dog Day Afternoon) were men in over their heads and displayed heartbreaking vulnerability at times. As one critic commented, "he was the walking embodiment of the aphorism acting is reacting, providing the perfect counterbalance to his recurring costars, the more emotionally volatile Al Pacino and Robert De Niro." Pacino simply said: "All I wanted to do was to work with John the rest of my life."

There is a documentary about Cazale that came out this year called I Knew It Was You that is supposed to be excellent, although I have not seen it. If you are going to have a relatively short film resume, you can't do much better than John Cazale's.