Full name, Michael Vincente Gazzo; born April 5, 1923, in Hillside, NJ; diedof complications following a stroke, February 14, 1995, in Los Angeles, CA. Actor, director, and playwright. Nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role as a Mafia lieutenant in 1974's The Godfather, Part II, Gazzo oftenplayed mobsters, criminals, and other villainous characters. He made his film debut in 1954 in On the Waterfront, and was later cast in such films as Fingers, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, and Love and Bullets, as well as in episodes of television series including Kojak, Baretta, Serpico, Starsky and Hutch, and Columbo. In his early career during the late 1940s and early 1950s, Gazzo appeared on stage in various productions, including Arsenic and Old Lace, Night Music, and Camino Real. He directed the 1946 play Androcles and The Lion, and 1947's Within the Gates. In 1955 Gazzo wrote the play A Hatful of Rain, which featured Ben Gazzara, Shelley Winters, and Anthony Franciosa in theNew York stage production. Two years later the play was made into a film version, co-written by Gazzo and Alfred Hayes, and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. The following year Gazzo wrote the screenplay for Elvis Presley's 1957film, King Creole. At the time of his death Gazzo was writing a film sequel to A Hatful of Rain entitled Hatful of Rainbows.
Books:
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: