Ben Gazzara

Acting

Ben Gazzara

Born — Died

1930-08-28 — 2012-02-03

Place of birth

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

87 titles

Biagio Anthony Gazzarra (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012), known as Ben Gazzara, was an American film, stage, and television actor and director. His best known films include Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Inchon (1981), Road House (1989), The Big Lebowski (1998), Happiness (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Summer of Sam (1999), Dogville (2003) and Paris, je t'aime (2006). He was a recurring collaborator with John Cassavetes, working with him on Husbands (1970), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Opening Night (1977). As the star of the television series Run for Your Life (1965-1968), Gazzarra was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy…

Known for

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Mike Douglas Show poster
5.8

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

Golden Globe Awards poster
7.0

An annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Golden Globe Awards

1944

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Film credits

2020s · 1 titles

2010s · 3 titles

2000s · 11 titles

Paris Je T'aime poster
6.8

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Paris Je T'aime

2006

Dogville poster
7.7

A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.

Dogville

2003

Hysterical Blindness poster
6.1

Two friends lament their unhappy single lives while searching for Mr. Right in 1980s New Jersey.

Hysterical Blindness

2002

Dogville Confessions poster
7.0

A documentary on the creation of Lars von Trier's fascinating drama Dogville starring amongst others Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Ben Gazzara, Lauren Bacall and James Caan. Showcasing behind-the-scenes footage and providing a much deeper look inside the world of filmmaking including some moments of insight that are hard to believe.

Dogville Confessions

2004

Poor Liza poster
9.0

A beautiful peasant girl is romanced and abandoned by a young nobleman.

Poor Liza

2000

Brian's Song poster
6.4

The story of professional football players Gale Sayes and Brian Piccolo, and how their friendship on and off the field was affected when Piccolo contracted a fatal disease

Brian's Song

2001

Quiet Flows The Don poster
4.3

With World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Russian Civil War as backdrop, it's an old-fashioned, blood-and-guts narrative, filled with earthly humor and a wealth of colorful characters. The story concerns the fluctuating fortunes of Grigory Melekhov, a young Cossack who is both a hero and a victim of the uprising.

Quiet Flows The Don

2006

Blue Moon poster
7.5

Hoping to revitalize their marriage, an elderly couple from New York (Gazzara, Moreno) go on vacation to the Catskills.

Blue Moon

2000

Holy Money poster
5.0

Anthony's family runs a small Italian restaurant in London. When his childhood friend, Dario, dies in a suspicious accident, Anthony inherits a vineyard in Sant'Angelo, the village his parents came from in Italy. Surprised by the large sum of money offered to him by a curious Italian "Master of Wine" for the land he just inherited, and considering the mysterious circumstances surrounding Dario's death, Anthony decides to drive down to Sant'Angelo. Anthony soon feels he's in the middle of something he doesn't understand and wants to leave, but... He gets tangled up in "Love's" web and suddenly finds himself the target of a crazy manhunt.

Holy Money

2009

No artwork available
7.0

Documentary portrays the saga of how Italian Americans went from being outsiders who were stereotyped as gangsters in American movies to insiders in Hollywood who took control of their own stories. Interviews, film clips and home movies from Italian American filmmakers highlight personal experiences and comment on Hollywood's politics and cultural impact.

Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies

2008

A Constant Forge poster
6.8

One of the great mavericks of cinema, John Cassavetes has earned a reputation as the godfather of American independent movies. The actor-turned-filmmaker invented a realist style of unadorned narrative films heavily influenced by documentaries. This in-depth analysis of Cassavetes' life and work features interviews with key collaborators and ensemble regulars, and explores the making of classics like "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Opening Night" and "A Woman Under the Influence."

A Constant Forge

2000

1990s · 14 titles

The Big Lebowski poster
7.8

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

The Big Lebowski

1998

The Thomas Crown Affair poster
6.8

Bored billionaire executive Thomas Crown decides to plan a robbery and assigns a professional agent with the right information to the job. However, Crown is soon betrayed yet cannot blow his cover as he’s fallen in love.

The Thomas Crown Affair

1999

Shadow Conspiracy poster
4.9

Bobby Bishop is a special assistant to the President of the United States. Accidentally, he meets his friend professor Pochenko on the street. Pochenko has time to tell Bishop about some conspiracy in the White House but then immediately gets killed by an assassin. Now bad guys are after Bobby as the only man who knows about a plot. Bishop must now not only survive, but to stop the conspirators from achieving their goal. And he doesn't know whom to trust.

Shadow Conspiracy

1997

Buffalo '66 poster
7.1

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.

Buffalo '66

1998

The Spanish Prisoner poster
6.8

An inventor of a secret process suddenly finds himself alone as both his friends and the corporation he works for turn against him.

The Spanish Prisoner

1997

Summer of Sam poster
6.5

Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.

Summer of Sam

1999

Happiness poster
7.4

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

Happiness

1998

Convict Cowboy poster
6.5

New inmate Clay Treyton, doing time for fisticuffs, is sent to a Montana ranch where prisoners spend time working with horses. Encouraged by the warden, the men ride in prison rodeos, and murderer Ry Weston, an ex-pro horseman, is the team's top performer. Clay and Ry become friends, exchanging lessons about horses and life. But when prison black marketeers start leaning on Ry, the men have more than rodeos to worry about.

Convict Cowboy

1995

Too Tired to Die poster
5.1

Kenji is a Japanese twenty-something who is followed by Death in various disguises. When he finally faces her, Death tells him that he has only 12 hours to live and he needs to make the most of it.

Too Tired to Die

1998

People Like Us poster
5.8

When a wealthy scriptwriter and socialite's daughter is murdered, he feels let down by the courts, and so decides to use his powerful position to enable his own form of justice.

People Like Us

1990

Lies Before Kisses poster
NR

A wealthy publisher is accused of murdering a prostitute he had once spent the night with. The accusations appear false until his own son testifies against him. Desperate to discredit her stepson, the publisher's wife tries to clear her husband's name, but is drawn deep into a tangled web.

Lies Before Kisses

1991

Ladykiller poster
4.0

A string of murders begin occurring on a campus by an embittered husband betrayed by his wife, who now punishes those he sees as being guilty of sins of the flesh.

Ladykiller

1996

Parallel Lives poster
5.7

A college reunion turns into a tangled web of passion, romance and intrigue as old friends and enemies catch up with each other's lives. Includes a long list of stars.

Parallel Lives

1994

Blindsided poster
4.2

An ex-cop is temporarily blinded when he steals cash from a money laundering operations. While recuperating in Mexico, the thief falls in love with a beautiful woman who has underworld connections. When the girl disappears, he returns to the United States to find her, risking death from the gangster

Blindsided

1993

1980s · 13 titles

Road House poster
6.8

The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable – busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.

Road House

1989

The Professor poster
7.1

Young Franco is imprisoned for murder and rises to become the feared and powerful 'Professor', taking control of Naples' underworld from behind bars.

The Professor

1986

The Girl from Trieste poster
4.9

A middle-aged artist (Ben Gazarra) sketching on the beach witnesses a young woman (Ornella Muti) being rescued from drowning. He loans her a blanket. Later she returns the blanket and they have sex several times, but she always leaves right afterward, leaving the man to wonder who she is and where she goes. Things become more complicated as he begins to fall in love with her, and after his regular girlfriend (Mimsy Farmer), with whom he has a curiously open relationship, returns. He eventually begins to realize his mysterious new lover may be very much insane.

The Girl from Trieste

1982

They All Laughed poster
6.0

New York's Odyssey Detective Agency is hired by two different clients to follow two women suspected of infidelity. Ladies' man John Russo trails Angela Niotes, the elegant wife of a wealthy Italian industrialist, while Charles Rutledge and Arthur Brodsky follow Dolores Martin, the beautiful young wife of a jealous husband. Their respective cases are complicated when John falls for Angela, and Charles falls for Dolores.

They All Laughed

1981

A Letter to Three Wives poster
3.8

A letter is addressed to three wives from their 'best friend', announcing that she's running away with one of their husbands – but she doesn't specify which one.

A Letter to Three Wives

1985

Tales of Ordinary Madness poster
6.0

Poet/lecturer Charles Serking awakens from his alcoholic haze long enough to take a bus back to L.A. and plunge into an orgy of drink and sexual depravity.

Tales of Ordinary Madness

1981

Don Bosco poster
6.5

This film depicts the life of Saint John Bosco, who dedicated his life to rescuing abandoned and exploited street children in Turin.

Don Bosco

1988

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life poster
6.5

Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

1987

An Early Frost poster
5.8

Successful lawyer Michael Pierson is gay, but he has always hidden this part of his life from his mother, Katherine, father, Nick, and grandmother Beatrice. But when Michael discovers he has AIDS and is dying of complications from the disease, he must open up to his parents and the rest of his family. Though fearful of their reactions, he introduces them to his longtime lover, Peter, and looks to them for support.

An Early Frost

1985

Night of 100 Stars II poster
6.8

This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.

Night of 100 Stars II

1985

Inchon poster
3.9

Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads a Korean War campaign, and the war tests a married couple's relationship.

Inchon

1981

Control poster
5.6

An experiment of psychological effects under stressful conditions in a shelter. When fifteen strangers are put into a nuclear shelter to see how long they can survive without interaction with the outside, things work out fine.

Control

1987

A Question of Honor poster
8.5

Television account of an honest New York narcotics cop who becomes unwillingly involved in a plan to uncover corruption in his department.

A Question of Honor

1982

1970s · 11 titles

Voyage of the Damned poster
6.0

A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.

Voyage of the Damned

1976

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie poster
7.0

Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

1976

Bloodline poster
4.9

A pampered heiress inherits her father's pharmaceutical empire when he dies in a suspicious accident, and soon finds herself surrounded by ruthless board members and grasping family members who will seemingly stop at nothing to profit.

Bloodline

1979

Opening Night poster
7.6

Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.

Opening Night

1977

Saint Jack poster
6.7

Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.

Saint Jack

1979

Capone poster
5.9

Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the ranks of Torrio's gang and eventually takes over. On top, he works to consolidate his power by eliminating his enemies, fixing elections to his advantage and getting rich. In his spare time, Capone courts the principled Iris Crawford.

Capone

1975

The Sicilian Connection poster
6.2

A small time hood smuggles drugs from Turkey to Italy in an effort to make it into the big time, but along the way everyone has to have their cut.

The Sicilian Connection

1972

Husbands poster
6.7

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave the country together. But mindless enthusiasm for regained freedom will be short-lived.

Husbands

1970

The Neptune Factor poster
5.1

When an underwater ocean lab is lost in a earthquake, an advanced submarine is sent down to find it and encounters terrible danger.

The Neptune Factor

1973

The Death of Richie poster
7.0

A sensitive but confused teenager feels pressure from all directions and turns to drugs, which causes problems for him in school and at home.

The Death of Richie

1977

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis poster
7.3

A presentation of key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, MLK is followed through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, it is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by a wide range of celebrities, including Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman Charlton Heston, Ruby Dee, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Walter Matthau, Ben Gazzara, Clarence Williams III, Joanne Woodward, and James Earl Jones.

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

1970

1960s · 5 titles

Series credits

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Mike Douglas Show poster
5.8

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

The Mike Douglas Show poster
5.8

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

What's My Line? poster
7.0

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

What's My Line?

1950

Golden Globe Awards poster
7.0

An annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Golden Globe Awards

1944

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

No artwork available
6.4

The Tony Danza Show was a daytime variety talk show that premiered on September 13, 2004 in syndication and was distributed by Buena Vista Television.

The Tony Danza Show

2004

No artwork available
5.9

No synopsis available yet.

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

1963

Dinah! poster
7.0

Dinah's show premiered 9 September 1974 and continued through to 4 September 1981. She started out the 70's with Dinah's Place which usually featured one guest and was more of a home oriented show about cooking, crafts and occasionally music. This format lasted until May of 1974. When the show came back in October of 1974 the format had changed drastically to a variety talk show which was called Dinah. and went on until 1981. This show was also known as "Dinah and Friends" during the summer of 1976.

Dinah!

1974

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

Run for Your Life poster
7.1

Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.

Run for Your Life

1965

Kraft Suspense Theatre poster
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Kraft Suspense Theatre

1963

Arrest and Trial poster
8.2

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.

Arrest and Trial

1963

Ninho da Serpente poster
7.5

No synopsis available yet.

Ninho da Serpente

1982

L'onore e il rispetto poster
7.4

L'onore e il rispetto is an Italian television series. There are three seasons, each with six episodes: first season aired in 2006, second in 2009 and third in 2012. First season was directed by Salvatore Samperi, second by Samperi and Luigi Parisi, third by Parisi and Alessio Inturri. On October 2, 2012 Gabriel Garko announced through an interview with Tgcom 24 [1], which will soon turn a fourth season of the TV series.

L'onore e il rispetto

2006

Strangers poster
4.2

Anthology series of stand alone episodes about Americans in Paris and the sometimes tragic and sometimes uplifting relationships, trysts and loves they find there.

Strangers

1996

Il camorrista - Una serie di Giuseppe Tornatore poster
5.7

No synopsis available yet.

Il camorrista - Una serie di Giuseppe Tornatore

2025

QB VII poster
7.7

A physician sues a novelist for publishing statements implicating the doctor in Nazi war crimes.

QB VII

1974

Pope John Paul II poster
6.5

The life of the remarkable man who passed away after an extraordinary 26 year reign, and whose papal odyssey encompassed more than 120 countries and earned him the reputation of an international fighter for freedom.

Pope John Paul II

2005

Quiet Flows the Don poster
7.5

Against the backdrop of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, a young Cossack warrior navigates love, loyalty, and survival as his world transforms during the civil war that tears his homeland apart.

Quiet Flows the Don

2006

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

Armchair Theatre

1956

Pupetta, Woman of Honor poster
6.0

Pupetta’s plot. Courage and Passion (2012). In the summer of 1955, a few months after being married to Assunta, known as Pupetta, the boss Pasquale Simonetti was killed by the hitman Gaetano Orlando, on the orders of Antonio Esposito. Despite being pregnant in the sixth month, Pupetta Maresca will not hesitate to avenge the killing of Pasquale by killing Orlando in turn, after having approached him on the street. Naples, Second World War. Pupetta is a rebellious and charming girl who does not bow to the criminal logic of the Camorra. Witness to a murder, the girl tries to tell the truth, opposing the overwhelming power of the neighborhood boss Don Luigi Vitiello, whose marriage request she refuses in favor of love for Michele. Together with the latter he will share a personal war against the abuses of Vitiello, which he desires Donna Pupetta and the direction of the General Markets led by Michele himself.

Pupetta, Woman of Honor

2013

The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald poster
10.0

The bizarre story behind the man accused of assassinating John F. Kennedy and what might have happened had he been brought to trial.

The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald

1977

Behind the camera