Richard John CusackMartin, Douglas

''The New York Times'', June 04, 2003 (August 29, 1925 – June 2, 2003) was an American actor, filmmaker, and documentarist.

Personal life

Cusack was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the son of Margaret Cusack (née McFeeley) and Dennis Joseph Cusack. His family was of

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

background. He served with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war Cusack attended College of the Holy Cross in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, where he played basketball with

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

and roomed with Philip F. Berrigan, the peace activist. Cusack and his wife, Ann Paula "Nancy" (Carolan), had five children: Ann Cusack,

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997 ...

, Bill Cusack,

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

and Susie Cusack, all of whom followed him into the acting profession. Circa 1963-1966, the Cusack family moved from New York City to

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, where the five children grew up.

Career

Until 1970 Cusack worked as a Clio Award-winning advertising executive. He then pursued a career as a film actor, beginning with minor roles. Most of his acting roles were playing authority figures, such as a United States Senate Chairman, minister/chaplain, and U.S. Secretary of State; he played a judge in the TV movie ''Overexposed'', and in theatrical releases '' Things Change'' and ''

Eight Men Out ''Eight Men Out'' is a 1988 American sports drama film based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book ''Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series''. It was written and directed by John Sayles. The film is a dramatization of Major League Baseball' ...

''. Cusack was a documentary filmmaker. His 1971 abortion documentary ''The Committee'' won an Emmy Award. He also owned a film production company. He was honored with an award from the Evanston Arts Council for preserving a school and converting it into the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, which houses the

Piven Theatre Workshop The Piven Theatre Workshop is located in Evanston, Illinois and was founded by Joyce and Byrne Piven. For over 30 years, it has existed both as a professional theatre company and a training center for children and adults. Famous alumni to come out ...

where his famous acting children trained. Two weeks prior to his death, he completed the final draft of a play to memorialize his former college roommate entitled, ''Backoff Barkman'', which was produced posthumously in the Midwest.

Death

Dick Cusack died on June 2, 2003 in

, from pancreatic cancer, aged 77.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Dick 1925 births 2003 deaths American male film actors American Roman Catholics American male screenwriters United States Army personnel of World War II College of the Holy Cross alumni American people of Irish descent Cusack family (United States) Deaths from pancreatic cancer Male actors from Evanston, Illinois Male actors from New York City Deaths from cancer in Illinois Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Illinois 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American screenwriters