SEYMOUR CASSEL

Written by Michael Darvell
 

(22 January 1935 - 7 April 2019)

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The American actor Seymour Cassel, who has died from complications following Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 84, studied at the Actors’ Studio and then appeared in John Cassavetes’ first film, the extraordinary Shadows (1958). He worked many times with Cassavetes, co-starring with him in The Webster Boy and Too Late Blues, as well as on an episode of The Lloyd Bridges Show and the TV movie Nightside. He later appeared in Cassavetes’ The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Minnie and Moskowitz, Opening Night and Love Streams. Faces (1968) was his favourite Cassavetes film, on which he was also second cameraman and for which he was Oscar-nominated. He notched up over 200 film and TV roles including on film Coogan’s Bluff, The Last Tycoon, Valentino, Convoy, California Dreaming, Tin Men, Track 29, Dick Tracy, In the Soup, Honeymoon in Vegas, Indecent Proposal, Hand Gun, It Could Happen to You, Trees Lounge, The Royal Tenenbaums and many many more. His last film, Time Framed, has yet to be released. He married actress Elizabeth Deering, who worked with him on four Cassavetes films. They have two children and Cassel also has a daughter from a previous relationship. Cassel had a colourful life, including drink and drugs problems, for which he was jailed. He was suspended from the Screen Actors Guild for sexual harassment.

MICHAEL DARVELL

 
Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

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