Ben Daniel Piazza American actor, director, writer and playwright Date of Birth: 30.07.1933 Country: USA

1. Biography of Ben Daniel Piazza
2. Early Career
3. Broadway Success
4. Film and Television Career
5. Writing Career
6. Later Years and Death

Biography of Ben Daniel Piazza

Ben Daniel Piazza was an American actor, director, writer, and playwright. Born on July 30, 1933, in Little Rock, Arkansas, he was the eighth of nine children in his family. His father, Charles Piazza, was a shoe repairman, and his mother, Elfreida Piazza, was a homemaker. Piazza attended Little Rock High School and graduated in 1951. He then left Arkansas to continue his education at Princeton University in New Jersey, where he studied from 1951 to 1955.

Early Career

Piazza made his debut on the theatrical stage in 1952, playing a senator in the play "Othello" at Theatre Intime in Princeton. After graduating from university, he became a member of the renowned Actors Studio and made his professional debut in 1956 in the off-Broadway production of "Too Late the Phalarope." In the early years of his career, Piazza was often compared to a young Marlon Brando, both in appearance and talent. He gained recognition for his role in the play "Kinaki" in 1959, alongside Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa, and won the Theatre World Award.

Broadway Success

Piazza replaced George Grizzard in the original cast of Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" on Broadway, which became a major success. He also appeared in other notable plays, including Edward Albee's "The American Dream" (1962) and "The Death of Bessie Smith"/"The Zoo Story" (1968), Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" (1962), and Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night." Piazza's talent on stage was widely recognized, and he became a respected figure in the theater world.

Film and Television Career

While achieving success on stage, Piazza also had a flourishing career in film and television. He made his film debut in the Canadian drama "A Dangerous Age" and was later chosen as one of the stars in the western film "The Hanging Tree" alongside Gary Cooper. Some of his notable roles include films such as "Tell Me that You Love Me, Junie Moon" (1970), "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" (1977), and "Nightwing" (1979). Piazza also appeared in "Mask" (1985), "Rocky V" (1990), and his final film role was as Daryl Zanuck in Irwin Winkler's thriller "Guilty by Suspicion" (1991).

On television, Piazza appeared in series such as "The Fugitive," "Gunsmoke," "Lou Grant," "The Twilight Zone," "St. Elsewhere," and "The Winds of War." His television career concluded with the military drama "Never Forget" in 1991.

Writing Career

In 1964, Piazza published his novel "The Exact and Very Strange Truth," which was dedicated to Edward Albee. The book tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named Alexander Gallanti, whose coming of age narrative echoes themes found in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," addressing questions of race, culture, and finding one's place in the world. Piazza wrote in the introduction that any resemblance to real events was of no significance.

Later Years and Death

Ben Piazza passed away on September 7, 1991, from cancer at his home in Sherman Oaks, California. He left behind a legacy of remarkable performances in theater, film, and television, and his contributions to the arts continue to be appreciated and celebrated.