Cassavetes – 1

Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of Greek American Katherine Cassavetes (who was to be featured in some of his films) and Greek immigrant Nicholas John Cassavetes. His early years were spent with his family in Greece; when he returned at age seven, he spoke no English.[4] He was reared on Long Island, New York. He attended Port Washington High School from 1945 to 1947 and participated in Port Weekly (the school paper), Red Domino (interclass play), football, and the Port Light (yearbook). Next to his photo on page 55 of his 1947 year book is written: “‘Cassy’ is always ready with a wisecrack, but he does have a serious side. A ‘sensational’ personality. Drives his ‘heap’ all over.” Cassavetes attended Blair Academy in New Jersey and spent a year at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. He transferred to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and graduated in 1950. He continued acting in the theater, took small parts in films and began working on television in anthology series, such as Alcoa Theatre.