John Cazale (Dog Day Afternoon Graphic)

John Cazale — Dog Day Afternoon Vintage Tee

John Cazale made only five feature films. Every single one was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

There was Fredo Corleone in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Stan in The Conversation, Sal in Dog Day Afternoon, and finally Stan in The Deer Hunter. Five films between 1972 and 1978—and somehow enough to make Cazale one of the most beloved character actors of his generation.

This tee features Cazale as Sal Naturile in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), the nervous, increasingly overwhelmed accomplice to Al Pacino’s Sonny. Cazale barely needs dialogue. A look across the room tells you exactly how badly Sal knows this whole thing is going.

That was Cazale’s gift. He could be funny, frightening, wounded, pathetic, and deeply human, sometimes within the same scene. There was nothing conventionally movie-star about him, which was precisely why other actors adored working with him. Pacino considered him one of his closest friends and repeatedly spoke of Cazale as one of the finest actors he had ever worked with.

His great love was Meryl Streep, whom he met while appearing together onstage in Measure for Measure. When Cazale was diagnosed with lung cancer, Streep remained by his side throughout his illness. He was already seriously ill while filming The Deer Hunter, and his participation became so important to the people around him that accommodations were made to ensure he could finish his scenes.

Cazale died in 1978 at only 42, shortly after completing the film. He never became a conventional leading man, never had a long Hollywood career, and never got to see the enormous reputation his tiny body of work would eventually acquire.

Maybe that's why people remain so attached to him. There simply wasn't enough John Cazale.