Biography
Despite being diagnosed with bone cancer, Cazale continued to work, his final appearance being with his then fiancée Meryl Streep in The Deer Hunter. When distributor Universal Studios learned of Cazale's illness, they were reluctant to insure him, but Streep and director Michael Cimino went to bat for him and won out. Cazale did not live to see the release of the film, and thus never learned that every feature in which he starred had received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. No other actor with multiple films to his credit has such a distinction.

Legacy