John Cazale was an actor in Hollywood for a total of six years. In those years, he had parts in many of the films that are considered to be the best of the 70's.
- The Deer Hunter (1978) .... Stan
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975) .... Sal
- The Conversation (1974) .... Stan
- The Godfather: Part II(1974) .... Frederico "Fredo" Corleone
- The Godfather (1972) .... Frederico "Fredo" Corleone
Every single one of these films is considered a classic. Cazale doesn't have a single bad movie to his name.
Cazale was a respected Obie-winning off-Broadway theater actor for most of his life. He was close friends with Al Pacino, and Pacino asked him to try out for The Godfather, a film that Pacino had been cast for.
Cazale got the role of Fredo Corleone, Michael Corleone's (Al Pacino) older, but certainly not wiser brother. He played his part brilliantly, and in between the filming of two Godfather movies, Cazale was cast in another Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation. Next, Cazale had a supporting role in one more movie starring Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon.
His final film was The Deer Hunter, which starred, among others, his fiancée at that time, Meryl Streep.
John Cazale died of bone cancer before the movie was released.
Sources
http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Cazale,+John
http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/biography.asp?ctr=583757