The old saying goes, “Behind every good man is a good woman.” Well, the same can apply to John Cassavetes and his wife, Gena Rowlands. The two would marry while they were in their mid-20s and spend the next 35 years not only building a marriage and family, but also one of the most notable filmmaking collaborations ever.
Cassavetes would become more prominent in the 1960s as he appeared in The Killers, alongside Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and Ronald Reagan, on what would become his final film role. He earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor when he reteamed with Marvin on the WWII war movie The Dirty Dozen. And then he appeared as the struggling actor who offers his young fertile wife, played by Mia Farrow, to Satan worshippers so he can have a better career and Satan can impregnate her in Rosemary’s Baby.
Despite this clout, the movies Cassavetes wanted to make didn’t exactly have studio executives getting out their checkbooks. He mostly had to film them using his own money in his house or use the residence of the other actors involved, such as Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and Seymour Cassel. Also with him was his wife, Rowlands, who would appear in 10 of Cassavetes’ movies.
One of the most notable is A Woman Under The Influence as a woman who exhibits unusual behavior around her blue-collar husband, played by Falk, and his family. She would get a Oscar nomination for this role. Another famous was as the title character in 1980’s Gloria as the girlfriend of a mobster who goes on the run with a young boy who the mob wants because of possible information he may have. She would also earn an Oscar nomination for this role too. Rowland was 50 when that movie was released. At the time, she would be considered way too old for a role.
Now, you have actresses well into their 60s showing us that age is just a number as they are proving to be effective leading women in crime thrillers. Look at Viola Davis in the 2018 crime thriller Widows or Carrie-Ann Moss in The Matrix Resurrections. Rowlands was kicking ass and taking names when Charlize Theron was still in pre-school.
Other film roles included appearing in Woody Allen’s Another Woman and Something to Talk About. The latter of which had her playing the wife of Robert Duvall’s character and mother of characters played by Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick. While her role as Georgia King initially comes off as the typical supportive country wife/mother, she finally tells her pig-headed husband enough is enough. The scene between her and Duvall is worth the watch as two movie vets show off what they can do.
But the role that more modern audiences know her for is as the elderly Allie Calhoun, who is battling Alzheimer’s, in the hit movie The Notebook, directed by her son, Nick, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. In an unfortunate case of life imitating art, Rowlands was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s herself. She passed away from complications of he disease on Aug. 14 at her home. In June, Nick said Rowlands had been diagnosed with the disease for the past five years. She was 94.
Rowlands had officially retired from acting in 2014 after 60 years. She had over 100 acting credits and had won three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes. She was received an honorary Oscar in 2015.
What is your favorite role of hers? Please comment.
Zane Says 