York City and supported himself as a photographer while looking for acting work. He made one of his first appearances there in the Equity Library's production of Sidney Howard's Paths of Glory. An Off-Broadway production of Archibald MacLeish's J.B. by the Equity Library Theatre followed on March 17, 1962, at the Master Theatre. He also acted in a 1962 short film entitled The American Way, directed by Marvin Starkman. In 1965, Cazale was part of the National Tour of Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window He worked as a messenger at Standard Oil, where he met Al Pacino, another aspiring actor. Pacino recalled: "When I first saw John, I instantly thought he was so interesting. Everybody was always around him because he had a very congenial way of expressing himself." In 1966, the two were cast in a play by Israel Horovitz, The Indian Wants the Bronx, playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut. They reprised their roles in 1968 at the Off-Broadway Astor Place Theatre, for which they both won Obie Awards. That same year, Cazale won another Obie for his role as Dolan in Horovitz's Line. In 1968, Cazale appeared in his only television role, playing Tom Andrews in the episode "The Peep Freak" on the cop drama N.Y.P.D. In 1969, Cazale joined the Long Wharf Theatre Company, where he appeared for the next three seasons in a number of productions, including Tartuffe, The Country People, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Iceman Cometh, and You Can't Take It With You. Cazale reprised his role in Line in a 1971 production at the Theatre De Lys (now the Lucille Lortel Theatre). Appearing with him were Richard Dreyfuss as Stephen, Barnard Hughes as Arnall, John Randolph as Fleming, and Ann Wedgeworth as Molly. During this run, Cazale was spotted by casting director Fred Roos, who then suggested him to director Francis Ford Coppola for the role of Fredo Corleone in The Godfather (1972). Film career The Godfather films (1972–74) The Godfather was Cazale's feature film debut. The film's star, Marlon Brando, was one of Cazale's idols. The film broke box office records and made Cazale and several other previously unknown co-stars famous. Coppola, impressed with Cazale's abilities in the small role, wrote the part of Stan for him in his next film, The Conversation (1974), in which he co-starred with Gene Hackman. In 1974,