Gena Rowlands, a multiple Emmy winner whose captivating work in A Woman Under the Influence and as the elder and dementia-ridden Allie in The Notebook also moved moviegoers, died Wednesday surrounded by family at her home in Indian Wells, CA. She was 94.
No cause of death was given, but the retired actress had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, ironic in light of her famous film role.
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She retired from Hollywood in 2015 after earning four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and two Oscar nominations. Her Oscar noms included A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria, both borne of collaborations with her late husband, John Cassavetes. The duo made an indelible mark on American independent film, not just for the often revelatory end product, but also for the DIY way they made their movies.
A Woman Under the Influence was prompted by Rowlands, who wanted to delve into the difficulties faced by American women in their lives and relationships. When Cassavetes could not raise the money for the film, they mortgaged their house and borrowed from family and friends to make it happen. They shot with a crew made up in part by AFI students and not on a pricey, purpose-built soundstage set, but in an actual residence in Hollywood.
“We made half our movies in the house,” Rowlands recalled in 1997.
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Rowlands won Primetime Emmys for The Betty Ford Story, Face of a Stranger and Hysterical Blindness, as well as a Daytime Emmy for The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie. She earned five more nominations from the Television Academy, the first in 1985 for her part as the mother of a young man with AIDS in the groundbreaking An Early Frost.
Her son, director and actor Nick Cassavetes, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about The Notebook role.
“I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s,” says the director, whose grandmother, actress Lady Rowlands, also had the disease. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”
Born in Cambria, Wisconsin, Rowland moved to New York after a stint in regional theater and made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch, touring in a national production of the play. In 1956, she starred in the Broadway play Middle of the Night opposite Edward G. Robinson.
Rowlands costarred in the 26-episode syndicated TV series Top Secret, and guest-starred on many TV anthology series. She later was a regular guest on many top TV shows.
In 1959, Rowlands appeared in the Western series Laramie, and later alongside her husband, John Cassavetes in the detective series Johnny Staccato.
Rowlands made her film debut in The High Cost of Living in 1958.
Rowlands and Cassavetes made ten films together, including Faces, A Woman Under The Influence, which garnered a Best Actress nomination, and 1980’s Gloria, which also spawned a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Rowlands was married to him from April 9, 1954, until his death on February 3, 1989.
Survivors include her husband, Robert, and children Nick, Alexandra and Zoe Cassavetes.