John Cassavetes (1929–1989), the New York-born American actor and film auteur of Greek origin, is now recognized as the father American independent cinema. He claimed he made his way to cinema by accident. Starting out as an actor in the 1950s specializing in rebellious and independent characters, he very quickly found acting too limiting. By the end of the decade, with the help and financial support of some friends, he made his first independent movie Shadows, which was a huge success on the East Coast and in Europe. The young director drew the attention of Hollywood, but after a series of difficult experiences while making two more movies (Too Late Blues and A Child Is Waiting), Cassavetes returned from Hollywood to New York.