Ben Gazzara, born Biagio Anthony Gazzarra on August 28, 1930, in New York City, New York, United States, died February 3, 2012, in New York City, New York, United States, was an American actor and director. Gazzara studied at The New School and the Actors Studio before achieving acclaim on Broadway in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955 and A Hatful of Rain in 1956. Gazzara transitioned to film in Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder in 1959 and starred in the television series Run for Your Life from 1965 to 1968, earning three Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Gazzara collaborated with director John Cassavetes on films including Husbands in 1970, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie in 1976, and Opening Night in 1977. His film roles include Saint Jack in 1979, Road House in 1989, and The Big Lebowski in 1998. Gazzara won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2002 television film Hysterical Blindness. Gazzara died at age 81.
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