Occupation Actor, filmmaker Years active 1970s–2003 | Name Dick Cusack Role Actor | |
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Full Name Richard John Cusack Born August 29, 1925 New York City, New York, United States Died June 2, 2003, Evanston, Illinois, United States Spouse Ann Paula Cusack (m. 1960–2003) Children John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Ann Cusack, Susie Cusack, Bill Cusack Parents Dennis Joseph Cusack, Margaret Cusack Movies High Fidelity, The Jack Bull, While You Were Sleeping, The Fugitive, Class Similar People John Cusack, Susie Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Cusack, Ann Cusack | ||
Richard John "Dick" Cusack (August 29, 1925 – June 2, 2003) was an American actor and filmmaker.
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Personal life
Cusack was born in New York City, the son of Margaret (née McFeeley) and Dennis Joseph Cusack. His family was of Irish Catholic background. He served with the U.S. Army in the Philippines in World War II. After the war Cusack attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he played basketball with Bob Cousy and roomed with Philip F. Berrigan, the peace activist.
Cusack and his wife, Ann Paula "Nancy" (Carolan), had five children: Ann Cusack, Bill Cusack, Susie Cusack, Joan Cusack, and John Cusack, all of whom followed him into the acting profession.
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.
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 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 Evanston, Illinois, from pancreatic cancer.