A muse of the 7th art has passed away. The luminous Gena Rowlands, a figure of independent American cinema, died Wednesday at the age of 94. She had made her mark in some sixty eclectic roles, under the direction of her husband John Cassavetes, but also Woody Allen and Jim Jarmusch. Gena Rowlands, who according to her son Nick Cassavetes had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for five years, died at her home in Indian Wells, California, according to the American specialist site TMZ.
She said of her husband that he had written her “the most beautiful roles an actress could dream of,” from the call girl in “Faces” (1968) to a housewife on the verge of madness in “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974). Filming with the man who refused the dictates of the big Hollywood studios was “very exciting because all the responsibility of the role rested on your shoulders,” the actress said.
The cinema devoured their 35 years of marriage, often filming at home, to save money – with the faithful Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel -, Gena making spaghetti for everyone, between plumes of smoke and whisky vapors.
Their three children have not escaped the virus of the seraglio: Nick, Xan (Alexandra) and Zoe are all actors and directors.
John Cassavetes brought to the pinnacle the talents of his muse, her disturbing beauty and her husky smoker’s voice, not hesitating to use elements of their private lives. Gena, for her part, always identified with her characters before the first clap: “We all have (in ourselves) a little piece of each other. Acting is simply opening a door.”
Only once did she turn down a role from Cassavetes: that of Mabel in “A Woman Under the Influence”, originally intended for the stage, which she found “too emotionally intense to be played every night”. He rewrote it for the screen and Mabel won him a Golden Globe for Best Actress (1975).
The Hitchcockian-blond actress, who often played drunk, deranged or drifting characters, was twice nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her appearances in Cassavetes’ works, the first time for the role of Mabel.
No to Hollywood
Virginia Cathryn Rowlands’ childhood, born June 19, 1930 in Cambria, Wisconsin, to a banker and senator father and a painter mother, predisposed her to a more conventional life.
But at 20, a fan of Bette Davis, she interrupted her studies at the University of Wisconsin to take drama classes in New York. There she began her “real life” on the stage (“The Seven Year Itch” by George Axelrod) and seduced a young and handsome actor, John Cassavetes, whom she married in 1954 four months after meeting him.
Born in New York, of Greek origin, he was captivated by this electric blonde who, like him, “stuffed herself” with French and Italian films. However, theater remained Gena’s passion and, two years later, she was revealed in “Middle of the Night” by Paddy Chayefsky, starring for 18 months alongside Edward G. Robinson.
In 1958, after TV series that financed John who became a filmmaker, Gena was noticed on the big screen (“Love is expensive” by José Ferrer, “Only the untamed” by David Miller, with Kirk Douglas).
However, she refused Hollywood and returned to New York: “I have always followed what my heart told me and have no regrets.” It was during this period that she met the man of her life, John Cassavetes. He “touched on things that women think about but that you don’t expect from a man,” she would say. He also had her play strong characters in seven films, including “Opening Night” (Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, 1978), “Gloria” (1980) and “Love Streams” with Ben Gazzara (Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1984).
When John Cassavetes died of cirrhosis at the age of 59 in 1989, Gena, who had just finished filming Woody Allen’s “Another Woman”, continued to be in high demand for the silver screen and television series. She also worked for Nick Cassavetes, his son. After notably “Unhook the Stars” (1996) with Gérard Depardieu (actor and co-producer), “The Notebook” (2004) earned her the 2005 Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress and gave her more visibility to the North American public.
Gena also took on a role as a mother in her daughter Zoe’s directorial debut, “Broken English” (2007), and was one of three main characters in Brian Horiuchi’s “Parts per Billion” (2013). Her most recent screen appearances were in “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” (2014), a comedy drama about a retiree and her young, handsome teacher, and “Unfortunate Circumstances” (2014), a comedy short in which she played a psychotherapist.
Remarried to businessman Robert Forrest in 2012, she received an honorary Oscar for her entire career in 2015, the year she retired.