Tuesday, June 30, 2015

RIP Ladislav Chudík


Czechoslovakian actor and longtime member of the Slovak National Theatre (SND) Ladislav Chudík died on June 29th at the age 91 years.  He was born May 27, 1924 in the municipality Hronec, Czechoslovakia. Chudik worked for The Slovak government under President Milan Čiča from 12 December 1989 to 28 February 1990 as Minister of Culture. In 1999 he received an award for lifetime achievement. Ladislav appeared in the 1977 Czech TV western ‘Escape from Gold Country’ as Dowseta.

Who Are Those Guys? - Armando Bottin




Armando Antonio Bottin was born in Anzio, Lazio, Italy on September 18, 1942. The third of four children, when he was twenty-one he become the Italian middle-weight boxing regional and vice champion and vice champion. Later he competed in bodybuilding tournaments.

Later Bottin began his career as a stuntman and actor with his countryman Giovanni Cianfriglia and his brother Luciano Bottin, following the example legendendary, Mister Universe, Steve Reeves and appearing in feature films under the direction of Demofilo Fidani, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Damiano Damiani, Bruno Corbucci, Vittorio De Sica, Enzo G. Castellari, Fernando Di Leo.

Bottin appeared in several films using such pseudonyms such as Johnny Kissmuller, Jr. and Steve and Art Gordon, Bottin appeared alongside such great actors as Totò, Ursula Andress, Franco and Ciccio, Orson Welles, Rod Steiger, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

In the late 1970s he married and moved to Romford, London, England where he managed a gym and swimming pool and practiced for the triathlon at a competitive level.


BOTTIN, Armando (aka Art Gordon, Steve Gordon, Johnny Kismuller, Jr.) (Armando Antonio Bottin) [9/18/1942, Anzio, Lazio, Italy – 4/5/1989, Romford, London, England, U.K.] – stuntman, boxer, Italian amateur heavyweight boxing champion [1963], brother of actor, stuntman Luciano Bottin [1970-    ], married to Pauline B. Bottin, father of Steven Bottin, Paola Bottin.
A Stranger in Paso Bravo - 1967
Sabata - 1969
Adios, Sabata – 1970 (bandit)
Return of Sabata - 1971
The Genius – 1975
We are No Angels - 1975

Birthdays Then and Now



Agostino Borgato (actor) 1871 – 3/14/1939
Mario Carotenuto (actor) 1916 - 4/14/1995
Peter Alexander (actor, singer) 1926 – 2/12/2011
Al Mullock (actor) 1926 – 5/19/1968
Mario Lanfranchi (director) 1927 -
Vincent St. Cyr (actor) would have been 85 today, he died in 1997.








Lea Massari (actress) 1933 –
Tony Musante (actor) 1936 – 11/26/2013
Jackson Kane (actor) 1937 – 10/9/2009

Monday, June 29, 2015

RIP Dietrich Haugk



German television director Dietrich Haugk died in Berlin, Germany on Sunday June 28th. He was 90 years-old. He made his stage debut at a theater in Bielefeld in 1946 and has been a noted theater director since 1949. Haugk served as the German dubbing voice of Vittorio Gassman, Dirk Bogarde, Montgomery Clift and Jean-Louis Trintignant. He was involved in television as a director for more than 40 years. His lone Euro-western involvement was as a director of the 1966 TV musical film “Destry reitet wieder” a takeoff on the 1939 American western “Destry Rides Again.”

Edge - Amazon reportedly taps Shane Black for Western pilot



The Daily Dot
By Joey Keeton
May 16, 2015

Fans of Shane Black have probably noticed a Western vibe to his work—the dark wit, troubled masculine heroes, and penchant for violence make Black's work a close cousin to the genre. Now, Amazon is reportedly giving him the opportunity to cut the vibe and go full-on Western.

According to Deadline, Amazon signed Black to develop a pilot based on Terry Harknett's ultraviolent Western novel series, Edge, penned under one of his many pseudonyms, George G. Gilman.

Upon their release, the Edge novels were advertised as "the most violent Westerns in print." As one Amazon reviewer put it:

"Edge kills and maims people left right and center and yet one is always left feeling like he is the smart almost good guy :-)"


Yup, that sounds about right for a Shane Black project. I mean, listen to this interview and tell me this isn't a match made in heaven:

With 61 books to pull material from, and the fact that Black happens to be quite the writer himself, the show could certainly have some legs if the pilot is a success and the series is ultimately picked up by Amazon. (The company hasn't officially confirmed the collaboration yet.)

There's actually another three-book series written under Harknett's "Gilman" pseudonym—Edge Meets Adam Steele—which means there's even room for a Robert Downey Jr. cameo.