Ben Gazzara

During the 1980s, Ben Gazzara had a villa in the Italian region of Umbria, where he spent time making Italian films.

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Ben Gazzara smoked four packs of cigarettes a day until he switched to cigars.

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Ben Gazzara and his Road House co-star Patrick Swayze both died of pancreatic cancer: Swayze in 2009 and Gazzara in 2012.

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Ben Gazzara died on 3 February 2012, the 23rd anniversary of the death of his close friend John Cassavetes.

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Ben Gazzara caught the acting bug at age 11, when he watched one of his friends perform in a play at the Madison Square Boys Club.

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Ben Gazzara was survived by his daughter Elizabeth Gazzara from his second marriage to Janice Rule; his third wife, Elke Gazzara (Elke Stuckmann), whom he married in 1982; Elke's adopted daughter from a previous marriage, Danja Gazzara; and his brother Anthony Gazzara.

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Ben Gazzara spoke fluent Italian, even though his dialogue was usually dubbed in the Italian-language releases of his films.

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Ben Gazzara claimed that among all the films he appeared in, Road House (1989) was the one shown most often on television.

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Ben Gazzara shared a "purist's" approach to acting and role selection with his Road House (1989) co-star Sam Elliott.

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Ben Gazzara agreed to appear in Inchon (1981) in order to work with Laurence Olivier.

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Ben Gazzara was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999 and lost more than 40 kilos during his treatment.

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Ben Gazzara said that despite playing enemies on screen in Road House (1989), he greatly enjoyed working with Patrick Swayze and that the two got along very well; he called Swayze a very good man and a professional who always wanted to do his best in everything.

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Ben Gazzara and his close friend John Cassavetes made five films together: Husbands (1970), Capone (1975), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969), Opening Night (1977) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976).

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Ben Gazzara lived with Elaine Stritch for two years.

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Ben Gazzara met radio actress Louise Erickson, who became his first wife; their marriage ended in divorce in 1957. In 1961 he married actress Janice Rule, with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth Gazzara, and that marriage ended in divorce in 1982. In 1979 he met Elke Gazzara (Elke Stuckmann), and he married her in 1982.

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Ben Gazzara studied drama at the Dramatic Workshop in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and in 1951 worked with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York City.

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In his later years, Ben Gazzara often resembled Robert Loggia so strongly that it was confusing; the two were born in the same year and died three years apart.

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Although Ben Gazzara was a close friend of Peter Falk, he never appeared as a guest actor on Columbo, Falk's signature series, though he did direct two episodes of it.

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Ben Gazzara received numerous awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, and was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and three Tony Awards.

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Ben Gazzara was the father of Elizabeth Gazzara, with Janice Rule.

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Ben Gazzara attended the famous Stuyvesant High School in New York City.

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