Dick Cusack (August 29, 1925 – June 2, 2003) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and filmmaker.
Cusack was born
Richard John Cusack in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to
Irish-American CatholicIrish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Catholic and Irish .The term is of note due to Irish immigration to many countries of the English speaking world, particularly as a result of the Great Irish Famine in the late 1840s, following which the population declined by over half...
parents, Richard (1883-1972) and Sarah E. (1892-1973) Cusack. Cusack's paternal grandparents, Richard J. & Katherine Cusack emigrated to Essex, Massachussetts and had Richard Cusack with his brother Timothy Edward Cusack(1878-), a WWI veteran.
Dick Cusack (August 29, 1925 – June 2, 2003) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and filmmaker.
Early life
Cusack was born
Richard John Cusack in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to
Irish-American CatholicIrish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Catholic and Irish .The term is of note due to Irish immigration to many countries of the English speaking world, particularly as a result of the Great Irish Famine in the late 1840s, following which the population declined by over half...
parents, Richard (1883-1972) and Sarah E. (1892-1973) Cusack. Cusack's paternal grandparents, Richard J. & Katherine Cusack emigrated to Essex, Massachussetts and had Richard Cusack with his brother Timothy Edward Cusack(1878-), a WWI veteran. Cusack was an only child, and went to a local college, and then to a university. After a career in advertising, he began acting and appeared in movies and films, in which he had minor roles.
Cusack attended
College of the Holy CrossThe College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
in
Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Having a population of 172,648 in the 2000 census, Worcester is ranked the second or third largest city in New England. It is the county seat of Worcester County....
, after the war and played on the school's 1947 championship
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
team. Also, he served with the
U.S. ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
in the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Cusack was a
documentaryDocumentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can...
filmmaker, owned a film production company and a friend of peace activist
Philip BerriganPhilip Francis Berrigan was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest...
.
Career
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 OutEight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on 8 Men Out, published in 1963 by Eliot Asinof. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
. His 1971 abortion documentary
The Committee won an Emmy award. Until 1970 Cusack worked as a
Cliothumb|Clio—detail from [[The Art of Painting|The Allegory of Painting]] by [[Johannes Vermeer]]In Greek mythology, Clio or Kleio is the muse of history. Like all the muses, she is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. She had one son, Hyacinth, with the King of Pieria, Pierus. Some sources say she...
award-winning advertising executive. He was also the father of actors
Ann-Early life:Cusack was born in Brooklyn, New York, the sister of actors Joan, Bill, John and Susie. Her mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her father, Dick Cusack, is an actor, producer, and writer...
,
JoanJoan Mary Cusack is an American actress and comedienne.-Personal life:Joan Cusack was born in New York City to an Irish American Catholic family. She was raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist...
,
BillWilliam "Bill" Cusack is an American actor.Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack , as well as his siblings Ann, Joan, John, and Susie have also been actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker, owned a film production company...
,
JohnJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He won the 1990 Most Promising Actor CFCA Award for Say Anything..., the 1998 Favorite Supporting Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Con Air, and the 2000 Commitment to Chicago Award.-Early life:Cusack was born in Evanston,...
and
SusieSusie Cusack is an American actress.Cusack is the daughter of Dick Cusack and sister of Ann, Joan, Bill, and John....
.
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 Theater Workshop where his famous acting children trained. Two weeks prior to his passing, he completed the final draft of a play to memorialize his former college roommate entitled,
Backoff Barkman, which was produced posthumously in the Midwest.
Films
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 2000 |
Return to Me Return to Me is a romantic movie rated PG. Return to Me was directed by Bonnie Hunt and starred David Duchovny as Bob and Minnie Driver as Grace. It was filmed in Chicago in 1999, and released in April 2000.-Storyline:...
|
Mr. Bennington |
| High Fidelity High Fidelity is a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack. The film is loosely based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the setting moved from London to Chicago and the name of the lead character changed...
|
Minister |
| 1999 |
The Jack Bull The Jack Bull is a made for television western, produced for HBO, and directed by John Badham. The film is loosely based on Michael Kohlhaas, a novel by Heinrich von Kleist, with the script by Dick Cusack...
|
Jury Foreman |
Television |
| 1996 |
Chain Reaction Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this technology...
|
Senate Chairman |
| Evil Has a Face |
Lester |
Television |
| 1995 |
While You Were SleepingWhile You Were Sleeping is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher. The script was written by Daniel G. Sullivan and Frederic Lebow.-Plot:...
|
Doctor Rubin |
| 1993 |
The Fugitive The Fugitive is a American film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble, and Tommy Lee Jones as Deputy United States Marshal Samuel Gerard. Jones won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his...
|
Attorney Walter Gutherie |
| 1992 |
Overexposed |
Judge |
Television |
| 1990 |
Crazy PeopleCrazy People is a 1990 movie starring Dudley Moore as a burnt out advertising executive.-Plot:Dudley Moore stars as an advertising executive who has a mental breakdown and goes into a rampage of making truthful advertisements...
|
Mort |
| 1989 |
The Package The Package was a 1989 Orion Pictures film directed by Andrew Davis. Set during the Cold War, this political thriller portrays an assassination conspiracy within both the U.S. and Soviet militaries...
|
Secretary of State |
| 1988 |
Things Change |
Judge |
Eight Men OutEight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on 8 Men Out, published in 1963 by Eliot Asinof. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
|
Judge Friend |
| 1984 |
The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck |
Unknown |
Television |
| 1983 |
Class Class is a 1983 American movie that was directed by Lewis John Carlino, the writer/director of the 1979 film The Great Santini. It features the film debuts of actors Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, Lolita Davidovich, and Alan Ruck....
|
Chaplain Baker |
| 1980 |
My BodyguardMy Bodyguard is a 1980 comedy-drama film released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Tony Bill, and written by Alan Ormsby. It stars Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin , Matt Dillon, Martin Mull, and Ruth Gordon. This movie ranked number 45 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the .-Plot:Clifford Peache is...
|
Principal Roth |
Television
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1997 |
Early Edition Early Edition is a television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it followed the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this knowledge...
|
Elderly Man |
"The Wall: Part 2" (1 episode) |
| 1994 |
Missing Persons Missing Persons is an American television show set in Chicago. The show is about a fictitious missing persons unit. Each episode usually following the investigation into three or more cases.It was produced by the studios of Stephen J...
|
Champion |
"If You Could Pick Your Own Parents..." (1 episode) |
| 1987 |
Sable Sable was a short-lived television program that aired on ABC during the 1987-1988 season, and was based on the comic book, Jon Sable: Freelance, by Mike Grell. Only seven episodes ever aired....
|
Mahoney |
"Watchdogs" (1 episode) |
Awards
| Year |
Award |
Result |
Recipient(s) |
| 2000 |
Commitment to Chicago Award The 13th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given on 26 February 2001, honored the finest achievements in 2000 filmmaking.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Tom Hanks - Cast Away*Best Actress:**Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream*Best Cinematography:...
|
Won |
Shared with:
Nancy Cusack
Ann Cusack-Early life:Cusack was born in Brooklyn, New York, the sister of actors Joan, Bill, John and Susie. Her mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her father, Dick Cusack, is an actor, producer, and writer...
Bill CusackWilliam "Bill" Cusack is an American actor.Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack , as well as his siblings Ann, Joan, John, and Susie have also been actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker, owned a film production company...
Joan CusackJoan Mary Cusack is an American actress and comedienne.-Personal life:Joan Cusack was born in New York City to an Irish American Catholic family. She was raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist...
John CusackJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He won the 1990 Most Promising Actor CFCA Award for Say Anything..., the 1998 Favorite Supporting Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Con Air, and the 2000 Commitment to Chicago Award.-Early life:Cusack was born in Evanston,...
Susie CusackSusie Cusack is an American actress.Cusack is the daughter of Dick Cusack and sister of Ann, Joan, Bill, and John....
|