Though he made only five feature films throughout his career, John Cazale was a rare talent. From 1972 to 1978 the actor stunned audiences by appearing in some of the most high-profile and critically acclaimed films of the day. Most known as Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) brother, Fredo, in The Godfather Parts I and II, he also appeared in the harrowing Vietnam War epic The Deer Hunter and won a Golden Globe for his role in Dog Day Afternoon.
During this short but immensely successful time in his life, he met Meryl Streep just as her career was also getting off the ground. Their connection was practically instantaneous when they met each other during a production of Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure and were inseparable from that point on. Tragically, Cazale’s career was cut short when he died at 42 years old. His last role was The Deer Hunter in 1978 where he acted alongside his partner Streep, who was with him until the end of his life.
John Cazale became ill in 1977
Amid a successful career appearing on screen with many of the greats, including Al Pacino, Cazale suddenly started feeling unwell. During the previews for his upcoming production in Agamemnon, he and Streep went to the doctor to learn that he had terminal lung cancer. The New York Post reported the events as Michael Schulman wrote them in the biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep. The two actors had fallen in love fast and were living together in Tribeca when their lives changed. They were the only ones who knew his condition was terminal and kept that to themselves.
While Cazale mostly stepped away from acting, he fought for the film that would be his final role. Everyone who was a part of The Deer Hunter production wanted Cazale in the picture, except for the production company. Because the actor was terminally ill, EMI argued that his insurance costs were too high. Director Michael Cimino recalled struggling to get Cazale in the film.
“I was told that unless I got rid of John, [they] would shut down the picture. It was awful. I spent hours on the phone, yelling and screaming and fighting.”
Robert De Niro was so adamant about working with Cazale that he ultimately ended up paying for the insurance costs. The two both starred in The Godfather Part II but did not share any screen time. Cazale joined the cast of The Deer Hunter and, per The Hollywood Reporter, shot all of his scenes first in a bid to complete his work. The actor finished the film but died before it was released. The Deer Hunter went on to be nominated for several Academy Awards, cementing Cazale as one of Hollywood’s most underrated talents.
Streep stayed with him until the end
The Deer Hunter was Cazale’s final film, but Streep continued to work to support his medical costs. On the surface, she was the utmost professional but disliked the subject matter of her next project. She appears in the female lead role of the miniseries Holocaust, for which she would later win an Emmy. Streep would go on later to say that she was uncomfortable filming in Austria at the site of a concentration camp, as well as the part she was playing. The hardest part was being away from Cazale for months at a time.
“I was going crazy,” Streep remembered. “John was sick, and I wanted to be with him.” After the production concluded, the actor returned to the States to remain with Cazale for the final months of his life. Many people surrounding the couple recall that Streep was utterly selfless. She never seemed to indicate that Cazale was terminal or do anything but project a positive attitude. She was there for the person she loved and didn’t want to distract from the situation. But after 10 months of caring for him, Cazale died in March of 1978 in the hospital. Schulman detailed in his book the final moments of the actor’s life.
“What happened next, by some accounts, was the culmination of all the tenacious hope Meryl had kept alive for the past 10 months. She pounded on his chest, sobbing, and for a brief, alarming moment, John opened his eyes. ‘It’s all right, Meryl,’ he said weakly. ‘It’s all right.’ ” Then he closed his eyes and died.”
Everyone around them noted that Streep showed the utmost strength in character in the way she cared for Cazale. Pacino, who had worked with the late actor in some of his best performances and taken him for radiation treatments, stated that Streep’s devotion outweighed all of her work in acting. This was a tragic event in Streep’s life that affected her from that day forward.
