Actor Ben Gazzara dies at 81

Actor Ben Gazzara, known for his brooding tough-guy presence in dozens of films, television shows and stage productions over his long career, died of pancreatic cancer on Friday at a Manhattan hospital, his lawyer said. He was 81.

Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzarra in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina (née Cusumano) and Antonio Gazzarra, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side; he lived on East 29th Street and participated in the drama program at Madison Square Boys and Girls Club located across the street. He later attended New York City's Stuyvesant High School. Years later, he said that the discovery of his love for acting saved him from a life of crime during his teen years. He went to City College of New York to study electrical engineering. After two years, he relented. He took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and afterward joined the Actors Studio.

He was three-time Tony nominee for his stage work, Gazzara made his big break into films with his role as an accused killer in Otto Preminger's 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder."

He went on to work with numerous high-profile Hollywood directors, including John Cassavetes, with whom he collaborated on several films, including the 1976 gangster drama "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie."