Peter Kastner
Encyclopedia
Peter Kastner was a Canadian-born actor who achieved prominence as a disaffected youth in movies of the 1960s.
Kastner's first leading role was in the 1964 Canadian film Nobody Waved Goodbye
, which was a semi-improvised, documentary-style
look at middle-class teenagers. He played an alienated young man, the son of a prosperous automobile dealer, who drifts into petty thievery.
His breakthrough role was in the title role of the 1967 Francis Ford Coppola
comedy You're a Big Boy Now
, also starring Rip Torn
, Geraldine Page
and Elizabeth Hartman
. Kastner played an earnest young man who travels to New York City
and meets eccentrics. He played a similar role as a young, earnest advertising man swept up in the era in B.S. I Love You
.
Kastner also starred in the 1968-1969 ABC
sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town
, where he played Timothy Blair, a man who dressed in drag as a favour to his photographer brother. It was following Ugliest Girl that Kastner's fortunes declined. Unable to gain leading roles, he took supporting roles in movies and television series. He did star though in the 1977 CBC Television
sitcom Custard Pie
as Leo Strauss, the manager of a musical group of that name, but the series was not popular or critically well received. His last film role was in Unfinished Business (1984), a sequel to Nobody Waved Goodbye
.
Kastner died from a heart attack
in Toronto on 18 September 2008, two weeks before his 65th birthday. He was survived by his second wife, Jenny.
Kastner's first leading role was in the 1964 Canadian film Nobody Waved Goodbye
Nobody Waved Goodbye
Nobody Waved Good-bye is a 1964 black-and-white National Film Board of Canada production directed by Don Owen, starring Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs and Claude Rae. It was followed twenty years later by a sequel, Unfinished Business, with the same director and two lead actors.-Awards:Despite the...
, which was a semi-improvised, documentary-style
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
look at middle-class teenagers. He played an alienated young man, the son of a prosperous automobile dealer, who drifts into petty thievery.
His breakthrough role was in the title role of the 1967 Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
comedy You're a Big Boy Now
You're a Big Boy Now
You're a Big Boy Now is a 1966 film with Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Julie Harris and Karen Black, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola based on a 1963 novel, also titled You're a Big Boy Now, by David Benedictus....
, also starring Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
, Geraldine Page
Geraldine Page
Geraldine Sue Page was an American actress. Although she starred in at least two dozen feature films, she is primarily known for her celebrated work in the American theater...
and Elizabeth Hartman
Elizabeth Hartman
Mary Elizabeth Hartman was an American actress, best known for her performance in the 1965 film A Patch of Blue, playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress and was nominated for the Academy...
. Kastner played an earnest young man who travels to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and meets eccentrics. He played a similar role as a young, earnest advertising man swept up in the era in B.S. I Love You
B.S. I Love You
B.S. I Love You is an American comedy-drama film from 1971. It was directed and written by Steven Hilliard Stern, and starred Peter Kastner. The supporting cast included Gary Burghoff, Louise Sorel, Joanna Cameron and Joanna Barnes...
.
Kastner also starred in the 1968-1969 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town
The Ugliest Girl in Town
The Ugliest Girl in Town was a short-lived American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It ran from September 26, 1968 to January 30, 1969....
, where he played Timothy Blair, a man who dressed in drag as a favour to his photographer brother. It was following Ugliest Girl that Kastner's fortunes declined. Unable to gain leading roles, he took supporting roles in movies and television series. He did star though in the 1977 CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
sitcom Custard Pie
Custard Pie (TV series)
Custard Pie is a Canadian situation comedy television series which aired on CBC Television in 1977.-The Rimshots pilot:This series began as The Rimshots, a pilot directed and produced by Perry Rosemond and directed by George Bloomfield. It starred Second City Television cast members Andrea Martin,...
as Leo Strauss, the manager of a musical group of that name, but the series was not popular or critically well received. His last film role was in Unfinished Business (1984), a sequel to Nobody Waved Goodbye
Nobody Waved Goodbye
Nobody Waved Good-bye is a 1964 black-and-white National Film Board of Canada production directed by Don Owen, starring Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs and Claude Rae. It was followed twenty years later by a sequel, Unfinished Business, with the same director and two lead actors.-Awards:Despite the...
.
Kastner died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Toronto on 18 September 2008, two weeks before his 65th birthday. He was survived by his second wife, Jenny.