"The Godfather II" Actor Michael Gazzo 1995 Westwood Village Cemetery

Michael Vincenzo Gazzo (April 5, 1923 – February 14, 1995) was an American playwright who later in life became a film and television actor.[1]

Frank Corsaro and Michael Gazzo and Marilyn Monroe and Lee Strasberg

Biography

He was born on April 5, 1923. Gazzo was a member of the Actors Studio and would later go on to train such actors as Debra Winger, Henry Silva and Tony Sirico. He authored the gritty Broadway play about drug addiction A Hatful of Rain, which ran for 389 performances in 1955 and 1956. It starred Ben Gazzara and Shelley Winters in the two lead roles, and subsequently was adapted into a film by Oscar-winning director Fred Zinnemann in 1957. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Anthony Franciosa). A 1968 made-for-television version (as a filmed play) starred Peter Falk, Sandy Dennis and Michael Parks.[2] 

Gazzo's other screen writing credits include the Elvis Presley American musical drama King Creole in 1958.[3] He also authored Broadway play 'The Night Circus' starring Ben Gazzara.[4]

As an actor, Gazzo was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Frank Pentangeli in The Godfather Part II. He lost to Robert De Niro, who played Vito Corleone in the same film.

Gazzo died in 1995 due to complications from a stroke.[5] He was interred in the Room of Prayer at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Filmography

On the Waterfront (1954) 
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971) 
The Godfather Part II (1974) 
Crazy Joe (1974) 
Kojak (1975) 
Brinks: The Great Robbery (1976) 
Black Sunday (1977) 
Starsky and Hutch (1977) 
Barnaby Jones (1977) 
Baretta (1977) 
The Feather and Father Gang (1977) (Season 1, Episode 12 "The Mayan Connection") 

Columbo (1978) episode Murder Under Glass 

Fingers (1978) 

King of the Gypsies (1978) 
Taxi (1979) 

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979) 

Gangsters (1979) 
Border Cop (1979) 
Fantasy Island (1979) (Season 3, Episode 14 "The Lookalikes/Winemaker") 
Love and Bullets (1979) 

Alligator (1980) 

Cuba Crossing (1980) 
Sizzle (1980) 
Magnum, P.I. (1981) episode "The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii" 
Body and Soul (1981) 
The Winter of Our Discontent (1983) 
Sudden Impact (1983) 
Cannonball Run II (1984) 
Fear City (1984) 
Cookie (1989) 
Beyond the Ocean (1990) 
Forever (1991) 
Last Action Hero (1993) 
Ring of Musketeers (1994) 
L.A. Law (1994) (episode "McKenzie, Brackman, Barnum and Bailey")



References

1. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0311155/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm/ 
2. "A Hatful of Rain". IMDb. 3 March 1968. 
3. eibon04 (2 July 1958). "King Creole (1958)". IMDb. 
4. "The Night Circus on Broadway - Information, Cast, Crew, Synopsis and Photos". playbillvault.com. 
5. "Michael V. Gazzo, 71, Is Dead; Playwright of 'Hatful of Rain'". The New York Times. 24 February 1995.

Sources

Bacarella, Michael, ItalActors: 101 Years of Italian Actors in U.S. Entertainment, The National Italian American Foundation.