September 21, 1975: Dog Day Afternoon premieres. The film was based on a real robbery at the Chase Manhattan Bank at 450 Avenue P in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn on August 22, 1972.
In the film, as in real life, things quickly went wrong. One of the three robbers lost his nerve, leaving Sonny Wortzik (played by Al Pacino, based on John Wojtowicz) and Sal Naturile (John Cazale, and the real robber's name was kept for the character) to pull it off themselves. They arrived after the bank's daily cash pickup, and there was only $1,100 in cash on hand -- about $7,700 in 2022 money. The police showed up sooner than expected, and Sonny and Sal were forced to take hostages, totaling 7.
Sonny and his wife, Angie (Susan Peretz, based on Carmen Wojtowicz) were estranged. Sonny was in a gay relationship with Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon, based on the character then named Ernest Aron), and wanted the money to play for Leon's sex change operation (which would today be called "gender reassignment surgery").
In real life, Sal Naturile was indeed killed by the FBI at the end. He was only 18 (as opposed to Cazale, who turned 40 right before the movie premiered). Ernest Aron did get the surgery, paid for with the $7,500 that Wojtowicz got for selling his story, and became Elizabeth Eden. She died in 1987 of AIDS-related complications. She was 41. Wojtowicz praised Pacino's performance, but said the movie was only about 30 percent accurate, and that he never sold Naturile out. He served 5 years in prison, and died of cancer in 2006. He was 60.
In real life, Carmen heard about the robbery on television, but didn't know John was involved until it was all over. They had both worked for Chase, which is probably why that bank was chosen. They were not formally divorced until 1983. She was a special education teacher, and died in 2013.
Cazale was in just 5 movies in his cancer-shortened life: This one, The Godfather (also with Pacino), The Godfather, Part II (ditto), The Conversation and The Deer Hunter. And all 5 of them were nominated for Best Picture. He died on March 13, 1978, only 42. At the time of his death, he was dating Meryl Streep, who was also in The Deer Hunter, and not yet the big star she would become.
UPDATE: In 2026, Dog Day Afternoon debuted as a non-musical Broadway play, at the August Wilson Theatre. The names are changed: Sonny Wortzik, the Pacino character, becomes Sonny Amato, played by Jon Bernthal; Sal Naturale, the Cazale character, becomes Sal DeSilva, and is played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach; and Angie Wortzik becomes Colleen Amato, played by Jessica Hecht.
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September 21, 1975 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Rick Waits, who would give the Yankees fits over his career in Cleveland, outpitched Larry Gura, who would give the Yankees fits after he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. Rico Carty, who would give the Yankees fits no matter what team he played for, went 4-for-4. Bobby Bonds hit his 3rd home run of the series.
* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Dick Ruthven outpitched Jon Matlack. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3. Ron Hodges hit a home run for the Mets.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Jarry Park in Montreal.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mike Torrez pitched a 2-hit shutout. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Hank Aaron appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Don Gullett (2 hits over 7 innings) and Rawly Eastwick (none over 2) pitched a 2-hit shutout. Pete Rose went 1-for-3. Johnny Bench did not play.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 0-for-3 with a walk. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4.
* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
And these games were played in the NFL:
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Redskins beat the New Orleans Saints, 41-3 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.
* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 42-14 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Houston Oilers beat the New England Patriots, 7-0 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 24-17 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Baltimore Colts beat the Chicago Bears, 35-7 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
* The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers, 30-16 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, 27-17 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams, 18-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-33 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the San Diego Chargers, 37-0 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-21 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
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