On nightly vigil John reads the evening paper, wishes Gena would hurry.

JOHN CASSAVETES, who's made big hits in tough-guy roles, is a mild-mannered 26-year-old, a little on the inhibited side. Of Greek descent, John took up acting to aid his writing career, did such a memorable job in Crime in the Streets on a TV playhouse that he got the gangster role in Columbia's The Night Holds Terror. A native New Yorker, he's married to actress Gena Rowlands, says she's taught him how to get along with people.