"Joe, this thing goes, there's gonna to be more than enough to go around. Are you kidding? You did good in there. And I'm not going to forget it. And neither are they."
BEN GAZZARA (Klein) was born in Manhattan, the son of Sicilian immigrants. He attended the City College of New York, the New School for Social Research, and became a member of the Actor's Studio in its early years. Gazzara received critical acclaim for his stage debut as Jock de Paris in "End as a Man," and had his film debut in 1957 in the filmed version, "The Strange One." His next film role was in Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder" with James Stewart and Lee Remick in 1959. Gazzara is perhaps best known for his work with maverick film director John Cassavetes in "Husbands," "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," and "Opening Night." For director Peter Bogdanovich, Gazzara appeared in "Saint Jack" and "They All Laughed." Among Gazzara's many other films are "Voyage of the Damned," "Tales of Ordinary Madness," and "Roadhouse." In 1990, he directed his first motion picture, "Beyond the Ocean," filmed entirely on the island of Bali. Gazzara currently lives in Italy, where he has acted in films directed by Marco Ferreri, Pasquale Festa Campanile and Giuseppe Tornatore, among others. Gazzara first appeared on television in the highly regarded live programs "Philco Playhouse," and "Playhouse 90." Among his other television credits are the popular 1950's series "Run for Your Life" and the acclaimed television movie "An Early Frost," for which he received an Emmy nomination. Throughout his career, Gazzara has continued to appear in theater. For director Elia Kazan, he starred in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and his other stage appearances include "A Hatful of Rain," "Strange Interlude," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Love Letters," and "Chinese Coffee." Upcoming are roles in Joel and Ethan Coen's "The Big Lebowski" and Todd Solondz's untitled new film.
Selected Filmography:
"The Strange One" (1957, dir. Jack Garfein)
"Anatomy of a Murder" (1959, dir. Otto Preminger)
"The Young Doctors" (1961, dir. Phil Carlson)
"A Captive City" (1962, dir. Mario Monicelli)
"Convicts Four/Reprieve" (1962, dir. Millard Kaufman)
"A Rage to Live" (1964, dir. Walter Grauman)
"The Passionate Thief" (1968, dir. Mario Monicelli)
"The Bridge at Remagen" (1969, dir. John Guillermin)
"If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" (1969, DIR.MEl Stuart)
"Husbands" (1970, dir. John Cassavetes)
"High Velocity" (1974, dir. Remi Parsons)
"The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976, dir. John Cassavetes)
"Voyage of the Damned" (1976, dir. Stuart Rosenberg)
"Opening Night" (1977, dir. John Cassavetes)
"Bloodline" (1978, dir. Terrence Young)
"Saint Jack" (1979, dir.Peter Bogdonovich)
"Inchon!" (1982, dir.Terrence Young)
"They All Laughed" (1982, dir. Peter Bogdonivich)
"Tales of Ordinary Madness" (1983, dir. Marco Ferreri)
"The Girl from Trieste" (1983, dir. Pasquale Festa Campanile)
"Secret Obsession/La Memoire Tatouee" (1985, dir. Ridah Behi)
"Il Camorrista" (1985, dir. Giuseppe Tornatore)
"The Day Before" (1986, dir. Guilian Montaldo)
"Don Bosco" (1987, dir. Leandro Castellani)
"Quicker Than the Eye" (1989, dir. Nicholas Gessner)
"Roadhouse" (1989, dir. Rowdy Harrington, Joel Silver)
"Insight" (1989, dir. Ralph Kramer)
"Beyond the Ocean" (1990, dir. Ben Gazzara)
"Quiet Flows the Don" (1992, dir. Bundeciak)
"Nefertiti" (1993, dir. Guy Gilles)
"Farmer and Chase" (1996, dir. Michael Seitzman)
"Scene of the Crime" (1996, dir. Terence H. Winkless)
"Stag" (1997, dir.Gavin Wilding)
"The Big Lebowski" (1997, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen)
"Buffalo 66" (1997, dir. Vincent Gallo)
"Illuminata" (1997, dir. John Turturro)
"Untitled" (1997, dir. Todd Solondz)
"Vicious Circles" (1997, dir. Alexander Whitelaw)
"The Shadow Conspiracy" (1997, dir.George P. Cosmatos)
"The Spanish Prisoner" (1998, dir. David Mamet)