Vitals

John Cazale as Fredo Corleone, insecure mob family sibling

Lake Tahoe, Fall 1958

Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Born 89 years ago today on August 12, 1935, the late John Cazale racked up perhaps the most impressive screen batting average during his brief but significant film career. After more than a decade acting in theater, Cazale made his feature film debut as the weak-willed Corleone sibling Fredo in The Godfather (1972), a role he reprised to great acclaim two years later in The Godfather Part II (1974).

Cazale made one more film for Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation (1974), before he again teamed with Al Pacino as a pair of hapless bank robbers in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). The Deer Hunter (1978) was Cazale’s next film and his fifth and final big screen credit prior to his death from lung cancer in March 1978 at the age of 42.

As this is the 50th anniversary year of The Godfather Part II, considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time, let’s use Cazale’s birthday as an opportunity to celebrate his remarkable performance as the doomed Fredo Corleone. Continue reading →