Spaghetti Western Director ~ Matt Cimber
Matt Cimber (born Thomas Vitale Ottaviano in the Bronx,
New York on January 12, 1936. He is an Italian-American filmmaker, director,
producer, and screenwriter renowned for his contributions to exploitation
cinema, blaxploitation films, and horror genres in the 1970s, as well as for
creating the groundbreaking women's professional wrestling television series
GLOW in the 1980s.
Cimber began his career in the early 1960s directing
off-Broadway plays by playwrights such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tennessee
Williams before transitioning to film. His directorial debut was the low-budget
drama “Single Room Furnished” (1968), which starred his then-wife, actress
Jayne Mansfield, in her final role before her death in 1967; the couple had
married in Mexico in September 1964 and shared a son, Antonio "Tony"
Cimber, born in 1965, prior to their divorce in 1966.
Throughout the 1970s, Cimber gained prominence in the
grindhouse and exploitation film circuit with works like the blaxploitation
action film “The Candy Tangerine Man” (1975), the horror thriller “The Witch
Who Came from the Sea” (1976), and the crime drama “Lady Cocoa” (1975), often
blending elements of sex, violence, and social commentary that earned cult
followings and praise from filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L.
Jackson. In the 1980s, he directed the controversial erotic thriller “Butterfly”
(1982), adapted from James M. Cain's novel and starring Pia Zadora, which
received mixed reviews but highlighted his versatility beyond low-budget fare.
Later in his career, Cimber shifted toward more dramatic
and historical subjects, directing the World War II survival story “Miriam”
(2006), based on a true account of Holocaust resilience, which premiered at
film festivals and featured a strong performance by Ariana Savalas. He also
co-created ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ (GLOW) (1986–1990), a syndicated TV
series that popularized female wrestling and influenced later depictions in
media, including Netflix's 2017 series ‘GLOW’. As of 2025, Cimber remains an
influential figure in independent and genre filmmaking, with his body of work
celebrated for its bold storytelling and cultural impact.
Matt Cimber directed on Spaghetti western, “Pelo Amarillo
y Pecos Kid” (Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold) in 1984
CIMBER, Matt (aka Gary Harper,
Matteo Ottaviano, Rinehart Segway) (Thomas Vitale Ottaviano) [1/12/1936,
Bronx, New York,
U.S.A. - ] - producer, director, writer, actor,
married to Jane Baldera (1954-1963) father of Katie Cimber [1956- ], Venico Cimber, [1959- ],
Jayne Mansfield (Vera Jayne Palmer) [1933-1967]
(1964-1966) father of producer, director, film editor, actor Tony Cimber (Antonio
Raphael Ottaviano) [1965- ],
married to dress designer Christy Hilliard Hanak (1967-1988) father of two
children, married to actress Lynn Fero (1987-19??). married to Aynalem Getahun
Workneh [1968- ] (1998-2002).
Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold –
1984
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Juan
Bosch
Juan Bosch Palau was born on May 31,
Valls, Tarragona Province, Catluna, Spain. Bosch was a Spanish film director
and screenwriter.
"All my life I have watched
cinema and, before, going to the cinema was a ritual that marked you a
lot," said Joan Bosch himself to define his relationship with cinema. His
passion for this medium was also dominated by his avid reading of plays or film
books in his native Valls or Sabadell during the 1930s and 1940s. At the age of
19 he took part as an assistant director in The “Adventures of Captain Guido”,
by Jacinto Goday, and in 1952 he shot “Gaudí”, his first short film.
In 1946 he travelled to Morocco to
work as military at the same time he was directing “Las aventuras del capitán
Guido” in 1946. He returned to Madrid and worked as a screenwriter with Antonio
del Amo. Juan directed thirty-one films between 1957 and 1983. He also wrote
screenplays for twenty-nine films between 1951-1985. He also worked as a
production manager on two films in 1951 and 1955. Bosch used the alias John
Wood in most of his Spaghetti western films as Juan Bosch is John Wood in
Spanish.
Bosch died on 18 November 2015, in
Barcelona, Spain at the age of 90
“I corvi ti scaveranno la fossa” (The
Buzzards and Crows Will Dig Your Grave) with Lou Carrigan and Roberto Gianvitti
in 1971, “Il mio nome è Scopone e faccio sempre cappotto” (Dallas) with Renato
Izzo, “Dio in cielo... Arizona in terra” (God in Heaven, Arizona on Earth) with
Fabio Piccioni, “Tu fosa será la exacta... amigo” (My Horse… My Gun… Your Widow)
and “La caza del oro” (Too Much Gold for One Gringo) with Fabio Piccioni all in
1972 and “La ciudad maldita” (Red Harvest) with Alberto De Stefanis in 1976.
BOSCH, Juan (aka Julian Bosch,
John Wood) (Juan Bosch Palau) [5/31/1925, Valls, Tarragona
Province, Catluna, Spain - 11/17/2015,
Barcelona, Catalunia, Spain] – director, writer, actor.
The Buzzards and
Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971 (co) [as Julian Bosch]
Dallas – 1972 (co)
God in Heaven,
Arizona on Earth – 1972 (co) [as John Wood]
My Horse… My Gun…
Your Widow – 1972 (co) [as John Wood]
Too Much Gold for
One Gringo – 1972 (co)
Red Harvest – 1976
(co)
Spaghetti Western
Cinematographer ~ Deviller
Deviller (often
listed as Devillers) was a cinematographer known for his work on the 1926
French silent film À la manière de Zorro (In the Way of Zorro), directed by
Paul Flon. He worked alongside Freddy Smekens to provide the black and white
cinematography for this early adventure film.
I can find no
further information on him.
Deviller’s only
Euro-western was “À la manière de Zorro” (In the Way of Zorro) with Freddy
Smekens in 1926.
DEVILLER (aka Devillers) –
cinematographer.
In the Way of Zorro
– 1926 (co)
