Gena Rowland, whose director husband John Cassavetes was one of the greatest actors in independent film, a star of the groundbreaking film and later acclaimed as the man who captivated audiences in her son’s tearjerker “The Notebook,” has died at the age of 94.
Rowlands’ death was confirmed Wednesday by a representative for her son, film director Nick Cassavetes, who revealed earlier this year that his mother had Alzheimer’s disease. TMZ reported that Rowlands died Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, California.
Working outside the studio system, husband-and-wife team John Cassavetes and Rowlands created indelible portraits of working-class strivers and down-and-outs in films like “Women of Influence,” “Gloria” and “Face.”
Rowland made 10 films with Cassavetes over 40 years, including 1971’s “Minnie Anne Moskowitz,” 1977’s “Opening Night” and 1984’s “Love Streams.”
She was nominated for two Oscars: 1974’s “Influenced Women,” in which she played a wife and mother struggling to keep her family together, and 1980’s “Gloria,” about a woman who helps a young boy escape the mafia.
“He had a special sympathy for women and their problems in society, how women are treated and how they deal with what they need and overcome it,” she told the AP in a 2015 interview. “That’s why all his films feature interesting women, and there aren’t many women who are needed.”
In addition to her Oscar nominations, Rowland has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. She received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015 for her achievements and legacy in Hollywood. “You know what’s great about being an actress? You don’t just get to live one life,” she said onstage. “You get to live many lives.”
A new generation was introduced to Rowland in her son’s blockbuster “The Notebook,” in which she played a woman with amnesia and a timeless romance, played by a younger version of herself, Rachel McAdams. (She also appeared in Nick Cassavetes’ “Unhook the Stars” in 1996.)
In her later years, Rowlands made several appearances in film and television, including “The Skeleton Key” and the detective series “Monk.” Her last film appearance was in 2014, when she played a retiree who befriends a gay dance instructor in “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.”
One of her career triumphs was 1974’s “Woman Under the Influence,” in which she was, as the actress put it, “completely vulnerable and giving. She had no sense of self-worth.” In “Gloria” (1980), she played a faded showgirl who is threatened by her ex-boyfriend and a gang boss. She was nominated for Best Actress for both performances.
She and Cassavetes met at the American School of Dramatic Arts, where both were beginning their careers. They married four months later. In 1960, Cassavetes used his earnings from the TV series “Johnny Stacatto” to make his first film, “Shadows.” Partly improvised, shot in New York with natural light and on a budget of $40,000, the film was praised by critics for its stark realism.
Jenna (pronounced Jenna) Rowlands is a seasoned actress with credits on live television, touring in “The Seven Year Itch” and “A Time for Ginger,” and off-Broadway.
Her big break came when Josh Logan cast her opposite Edward G. Robinson in Paddy Chaefsky’s play “Middle of the Night.” Playing a young woman in love with her much older boss, she was hailed as a new star.
MGM offered her a contract to star in two films a year. Her first film was the comedy “The High Cost of Love,” directed by and co-starring Jose Ferrer, which drew comparisons to Carole Lombard, one of the great stars of the 1930s.
But she asked to be released from her contract because she was expecting a baby. She often took long breaks from the screen during her career to take care of family matters.
Besides Nick, she and Cassavetes have two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, who also pursued acting careers.
John Cassavetes died of cirrhosis in 1989, and Rowlands returned to acting to cope with her grief. She occasionally attended Cassavetes screenings at film festivals and social events.
“I want everyone to see his films,” she said at the 1992 San Sebastian festival. “John was a unique person, the most fearless person I know. He had a very specific view of life and the individuality of people.”
Virginia Kathryn Rowlands was born in Cambria, Wisconsin, in 1930 (some sources give a later date), her Welsh ancestors having settled there in the early 19th century. Her father was a banker and state senator. She was an introverted child who loved books and fiction. Her mother encouraged her ambition to become an actress.
Rowland dropped out of the University of Wisconsin in her junior year and pursued her acting career in New York. Like many actresses of her generation, she gained valuable experience in the flourishing television drama industry of the 1950s, appearing in every major series.
After her MGM contract was completed, she was free to choose movie roles. When nothing caught her interest, she appeared in TV series such as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Bonanza,” “Dr. Kildare,” and “The Virginian.” One of the joys of her career was co-starring with her icon Bette Davis in the 1979 TV movie “Strangers.”
Her other films include “The Lonely Brave” with Kirk Douglas, “The Spiral Road” with Rock Hudson, “A Child Waits” with Cassavetes, “Two Minutes Warning” with Charlton Heston, “The Tempest” co-starring Cassavetes and Molly Ringwald, and Paul Schrader’s 1987 blue-collar family drama “The Light of Day.”
Even into her middle age, Rowlands continued to take on challenging roles. In Woody Allen’s rigorous drama “Another Woman,” she was cast as a writer who was kept from her emotions until a horrific incident forced her to deal with them. In the groundbreaking TV movie “An Early Frost,” she played a mother dealing with her son’s AIDS.
Rolland said the role she played in 1992 remains in her memory.
“Sometimes, during the white nights when I can’t sleep and have a lot of time to think about everything, I look at the different possibilities for different characters and what they might be doing right now,” she said.
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New York-based film writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report. The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed biographical information to this report.
