Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Reg Dent

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Reginald ‘Reg” George Dent was born in Brentford, Middlesex, England on August 12, 1929. In 1945, Reg’s father-in-law, Johnny Rocks, started a company out of a small farm in Northolt. With a passion for horses and an eye for the emerging film industry, he built the foundation for what would become a legendary family business. Reg and his wife Shirley took over the company and expanded its reach across the film industry, working on countless productions. They then handed it down to their son Steve, who has transformed it into the thriving hub of creativity and skill it is today.

Reg appeared in five films between 1964 – 1979 and performed stunts in one episode of the 1989 television series ‘Bust’.

His son Steve Dent was the stunt coordinator and horse master on the Euro-western “Cold Mountain” in 2003. Steve founded “Steve Dent Stunts” based in Rickmansworth, England.

Dent appeared in only one Euro-westerns as a rider in “Carry on Cowboy” in 1965.

DENT, Reg (Reginald George Dent) [8/12/1929, Brentford, Middlesex, England, U.K. - 1/23/2002, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, U.K.] – stuntman, film, TV actor, married to Shirley Emily Rocks [1932- (1953-2002) father of producer, assistant director, stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor Steve Dent.

Carry on Cowboy – 1965 (rider)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenplays, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Sergio Bergonzelli

Sergio Bergonzelli was born in Alba, Piedmont, Italy on August 25, 1924. He was an Italian director, screenwriter, producer and actor.

A graduate in philosophy, Sergio Bergonzelli made his debut as an actor in 1952, initially using the pseudonym Siro Carme.

1957 marked the final end of his acting activities, but it opened the door to Bergonzelli's directing career; in fact, in 1960 he made his first film as both director and screenwriter (a role he would play in many other productions) with the film “The Adventurers of the Tropicsref”. In 1964 Bergonzelli directed his first Spaghetti western as Serge Bergon “Jim il priom” (The Last Gun), described by critics as the first Italian-style western, predating even Sergio Leone's masterpiece “A Fistful of Dollars”. In 1965 he was again director and screenwriter (participation in the screenplay by Bitto Albertini) with “Uno straniero a Sacramento” (A Stranger in Sacramento), described by critics as having no particular merit. Also in the same year, the director-actor produced another film, again signing the screenplay, and again with Bitto Albertini, M.M.M.83, completely changing genres. A peculiarity of Sergio Bergonzelli is precisely the great variation of genres, both as an actor and as a director. In 1966 he returned to the western genre with the making of “El Cisco”, starring William Berger, again Bergonzelli personally handled the screenplay. In the period between 1965 and 1975 the film world will see a great spread of the western genre, Bergonzelli does not escape the trend and signs one more western film: “Una colt in pugno al diavolo” (A Colt in the Hand of the Devil).

In all Bergonzelli directed five Spaghetti westerns: “Jim il primo” (The Last Gun) in 1964, “Uno straniero a Sacramento” (A Stranger in Sacramento) in 1965, “El Cisco” (Cisco) in 1966, “Una colt in pugno al diavolo” (A Colt in the Hand of the Devil) in 1967, “Un dólar para Sartana” (Raise Your Hands Dead Man, You’re Under Arrest) in 1971 with León Klimovsky.

Sergio died in Rome on September 24, 2002, at the age of 78.

BERGONZELLI, Sergio (aka Serge Bergon, Siro Carme) [8/25/1924 – 9/24/2002, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor.

The Last Gun – 1964 [as Serge Bergon]

A Stranger in Sacramento – 1965 [as Serge Bergon]

Cisco – 1966 [as Serge Bergon]

A Colt in the Hand of the Devil – 1967

My Name is Sartana and I’ve Come to Kill You – 1970 [film was never made.]

Blood Bath – 1971 [film was never made]

Raise Your Hands Dead Man, You’re Under Arrest – 1971 (co)

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Yvan Audouard

Yvan Odilon Augustin Louis Audouard was born in Saigon, Indochina on February 27, 1914. Audouard was a French writer, journalist, and screenwriter known for his sharp satirical contributions to the weekly Le Canard enchaîné over more than five decades, his humorous books often celebrating Provence, and his dialogues and screenplays for French films in the 1950s and 1960s. His father was a military officer from Avignon and his mother was a bookseller from Marseille, he spent much of his childhood in Arles and Nîmes, fostering a lifelong attachment to the Provence region and its culture.

Audouard enjoyed a prolific career as a screenwriter and dialoguist in French cinema during the 1950s and 1960s, contributing to approximately 20 feature films, most often through dialogue work, adaptations, and contributions to comedies and musicals. His involvement typically emphasized witty dialogue and adaptation from literary or other sources, aligning with the era's popular light entertainment genres.

Among his key credits are “Le grand bluff” (1957), where he served as writer, and “Oh! Qué mambo” (1959), for which he provided the dialogue. He wrote the screenplay and story for “Cocagne” (1961), adapted from his own 1959 novel of the same name. Other notable works include “Tartarin de Tarascon” (1962) as writer and “D’où viens-tu... Johnny?” (1963), where he handled the adaptation, dialogue, and screenplay. He also contributed uncredited dialogue to “Secret File 1413” (1961).

Audouard extended his screenwriting efforts to television, writing the TV movie ‘Bethléem de Provence’ (1960), a segment of ‘Chroniques de France’ (1971), and supplying the original idea for an episode of ‘Histoires de voyous’ (1978). These contributions reflect his continued engagement with narrative writing beyond feature films into later decades

In his final years, Yvan was afflicted with severe age-related macular degeneration (DMLA), a condition that left him nearly blind. Despite this profound visual impairment, he persisted in his writing, producing aphorism collections such as Pensées provisoirement définitives and Heureux les fêlés… car ils laisseront passer la lumière, in which his characteristic humor remained notably effective.

Audouard spent his last period in the palliative care unit of the Jeanne-Garnier medical centre in Paris's 15th arrondissement, where he retained his combative spirit and wit even as his health declined further and writing became increasingly difficult. He died on March 21, 2004, at the age of 90.

Audouard’s only Euro-western screenplay was for “Fernand cow-boy” (Fernand Cowboy) in 1956 with Jean Redon and Guy Lefranc

AUDOUARD, Yvan (Yvan Odilon Augustin Louis Audouard) [2/27/1914, Saigon, Indochina – 3/21/2004, Paris, Île-de-France, France] – writer, author, actor, married to Françoise Thirion (1955-2004) father of writer Antoine Audouard [1956-    ], author Marianne Audouard (195?-    ).

Fernand Cowboy – 1956 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Helmut Bergmann

Helmut Bergmann was born in Niederkaina, Bautzen, Saxony, Germany on February 15, 1926. He was the younger brother of cinematographer Werner Bergmann. He began his career working as an assistant to his brother shooting documentaries with his director wife Bärbl Bergmann mainly in Egypt. Upon their return to East Germany, he continued his work behind the camera for DEFA When DEFA closed up production in 1991 Bergmann retired.

He was a cinematographer on forty-nine films and was a writer on one film, 1991’s “Olle Hexe”.

Helmut Bergmann was a cinematographer on three Euro-westerns: “Apachen” (Apaches) in 1973 and “Ulzana” in 1974

BERGMANN, Helmut [2/15/1926, Niederkaina, Bautzen, Saxony, Germany – 3/15/1998, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany] – writer, cinematographer, cameraman, brother of cinematographer Werner Bergmann [1921-1990], married to writer, director, assistant director Bärbl Bergmann [1931–2003] (19??-1998).

Apaches – 1973

Ulzana – 1974

Bloody Heart – 1986 [film was never completed]

Blood-soaked and brutal, spaghetti westerns have never gone out of style

A lecture at Galveston's Bryan Museum examined lasting influence of films' gritty violence, eerie music

CHRON

By Chris Gray

January 11, 2026

[A young (or at least younger) Clint Eastwood as the no-named antihero of 1966's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - United Artists/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images]

If Hollywood is in crisis today, it wasn't in much better shape in the mid-1960s. Severely challenged by television's ascension as America's dominant entertainment medium, the old studio system foundered artistically as popular tastes—particularly among younger people—shifted away from lavish MGM-style musicals and historical epics such as the notorious 1963 flop Cleopatra. The shot of creative adrenaline delivered by so-called "New Hollywood" films like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider was still years away.

But that wasn't the case in Italy. The neorealist films of directors Federico Fellini, Vittorio de Sica, and others helped the nation craft a fresh cultural identity amid a difficult recovery from Benito Mussolini's fascist rule. Italians, two in particular, were also falling in love with perhaps the quintessential Hollywood genre: Westerns.

The Westerns they made, however, were a far cry from the films of John Ford and Howard Hawks, which often romanticized America's not-so-distant past (and glossed over its faults) to an almost laughable degree. Rooted in Europeans' post-World War II cynicism, director Sergio Leone's so-called spaghetti westerns were morally ambiguous, even nihilistic. His films—namely A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)—belied their minimal budgets with innovative camera angles, shocking onscreen violence, and other bold creative choices. Starring a young (or at least younger) Clint Eastwood as the enigmatic, no-named antihero didn't hurt, either.

To San Jacinto College Professor of Music Jordan Tucker, these films were "one of the first takes on American culture from a different country, and so I think that Americans specifically found that fascinating," he told Chron last week. Tucker recently gave a lecture on spaghetti westerns, entitled “Once Upon a Time,” at Galveston's Bryan Museum. (Where he also accompanies himself on piano.)

"It resulted in kind of a surreal experience, especially if you consider somebody in the '60s who had maybe seen a lot of American Westerns suddenly seeing this Italian Western, and the result is something totally different than what they're used to," added Tucker. "I think that kind of thing sticks in your brain, and I think that's partially why these films have found their way into the American psyche a little bit: it's a different country telling American stories, which is pretty fascinating."

Leone also had something of an ace up his sleeve: composer Ennio Morricone, whom he had known as a child in Rome. Unusual for a film back then (and now), musicians recorded Morricone's score in advance; Leone would play it back over loudspeakers on set as his cameras rolled. And rather than a full studio orchestra, Morricone's music made the most out of a handful of unconventional instruments: guitar, harmonica, the eerie-sounding, recorder-like ocarina.

The composer also utilized even more unnerving sound effects, including but not limited to a coyote-like howl and otherworldly human vocalizations.

"He would use gunshots at times when there were not gunshots happening [onscreen], which is pretty off the wall and unusual," Tucker said.

[Rooted in Europe's post-World War II cynicism, Leone's spaghetti westerns upended what was once Hollywood's favorite genre with films that quickly became classics in their own right. - LMPC/Getty Images]

Leone died in 1989, relatively young at age 60. He is best remembered today for his spaghetti westerns and perhaps the controversial 1984 organized-crime epic Once Upon a Time in America. Morricone went on to compose the scores for hundreds of films and lived to the ripe age of 91, passing away in 2020. After five nominations and an honorary Oscar in 2007, he finally won a competitive Oscar for The Hateful Eight in 2016. There is perhaps no greater fan of spaghetti westerns than Quentin Tarantino.

And, we should add, Ludwig Göransson. The two-time Oscar-winning composer for Black Panther and Oppenheimer also scored the Disney+ Star Wars bounty-hunter series The Mandalorian, resulting in an uncanny, almost certainly deliberate homage to Morricone's music for the Leone films. Göransson's highly stylized, atmospheric music includes judiciously placed bizarre sound effects, including one over each episode's title card that Tucker thinks "sounds like both a person yelling and a door opening at the same time."

"That is exactly doing the same thing that the coyote howl does in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which is signaling something and connecting a sound to a character and to an aesthetic," he continued. "I think that that works quite well because The Mandalorian, which is excellent, in a lot of ways is a western—just set in space."

Behind the scenes of “Bad Man’s River” (1971)

The Bad

By Aaron

January 10, 2026

Lee Van Cleef, European Style, and a Western Off the Beaten Trail

By the early 1970s, the Spaghetti Western boom was beginning to cool, but Bad Man’s River stands as an intriguing late-era entry—one that mixes familiar genre faces with a slightly off-kilter European sensibility. While it may not enjoy the iconic status of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, its production history tells a fascinating story of a genre in transition.

A Star Between Eras

Lee Van Cleef was firmly established as a Euro-Western icon by the time Bad Man’s River went into production. Fresh off the success of Day of Anger, Death Rides a Horse, and The Big Gundown, Van Cleef had become a major box-office draw in Europe. In Bad Man’s River, he plays Roy King, a professional outlaw whose cool detachment and steely gaze feel like echoes of his earlier roles—but with a slightly more restrained edge.

Behind the scenes, Van Cleef was known for his professionalism and discipline, often keeping to himself between takes. Cast and crew recalled that he treated these European productions seriously, even when the budgets were smaller and the schedules tighter than their Hollywood counterparts.

An International Production

Like many Spaghetti Westerns, Bad Man’s River was an international co-production, blending Italian, Spanish, and French financing. This patchwork approach allowed producers to stretch limited resources while appealing to multiple markets. The film was shot primarily in Spain, making use of familiar Western landscapes that had doubled for the American frontier in countless genre entries.

The multilingual set meant actors often delivered dialogue phonetically, later dubbed for different markets. This was standard practice at the time, but it added an extra layer of complexity for performances—especially in scenes requiring emotional subtlety.

Direction and Tone

Director Eugenio Martín had already made his mark in genre cinema, and with Bad Man’s River, he aimed for a cleaner, more traditional Western feel than the operatic excesses of Sergio Leone. The pacing is steadier, the violence less stylized, and the story leans more toward crime and betrayal than mythic showdown.

Behind the camera, Martín reportedly ran a tight ship, keeping the production moving efficiently. This discipline helped the film come in on schedule, though it also meant fewer opportunities for elaborate set pieces or visual flourishes.

Music, Mood, and Missed Recognition

The film’s score (Waldo de los Rios) plays a crucial role in establishing atmosphere, favoring moody themes over bombastic cues. While not as instantly recognizable as Ennio Morricone’s work, the music complements the film’s slightly somber tone and reinforces its “end of the road” feeling for the genre.

Despite its craftsmanship, Bad Man’s River arrived at a time when audiences were beginning to drift away from traditional Westerns. As a result, it never achieved the cult status of Van Cleef’s earlier films, even though it showcases many of the same strengths.

A Late-Stage Spaghetti Western Curiosity

Today, Bad Man’s River is best appreciated as a transitional piece—a glimpse at how Spaghetti Westerns evolved as the genre’s golden age faded. Behind the scenes, it reflects a professional, efficient production powered by an international crew and anchored by one of the genre’s most recognizable stars.

For Lee Van Cleef fans, it’s another chapter in his remarkable European run. For Western enthusiasts, it’s a reminder that even lesser-known entries can reveal a lot about the changing tastes and realities of 1970s genre filmmaking.

Special Birthdays

Mamie Van Doren (singer, actress) is 95 today.

Terry Jenkins (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2009.

Kit West (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2016.

Jacques Villeret (actor) would have been 75 today but died in 2005.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Emile Denois

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Emile Denois is/was a French actor with only one film credit according to the IMDb. This was his only Euro-western appearance in 1931’s “La bête errante” (The Wandering Beast).

DENOIS, Emile [French] – film actor.

The Wandering Beast – 1931

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Olivier Beguin

Olivier Beguin was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland on May 6, 1975. Beguin attended the London International Film School from 1996 to 1999, studying Art & Technique of Filmmaking. His early short film “Time with Nyenne” (2000), in which he acted as both director and editor, was selected for the Locarno Film Festival. He transitioned to professional editing work in 1999.

His directorial credits primarily consist of short films, including “Time with Nyenne” (2000), ‘”Si vous le voyez, tuez-le de ma part” (2002), “Naufrage” (2006), “Dead Bones” (2008), “Employé du mois” (2011), and “Chimères” (2013), the latter of which stands out as his most acclaimed work for securing awards such as Best Director at the Horrorant Film Festival and Best Editing at Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Beguin frequently handles multiple roles on his projects, including writing, editing, and producing, and has received a total of eight wins and twelve nominations across his career. He participated in Berlinale Talents in 2007, reflecting his engagement with international filmmaking networks.

Olivier Beguin directed two Euro-westerns: “Dead Bones” in 2008 and “Sons of Bitches” in 2017.

BEGUIN, Olivier [5/6/1975, Neuchâtel, Switzerland -     ] – producer, director, editor.

Dead Bones - 2008

Sons of Bitches – 2017

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Richard Aubrey

Richard Harold Aubrey was born in Rhosllanerchrugog, Wales. In 1939 he joined the Army Reserve. He was with 1 Command Signals at Weybridge when, in January 1941, he was wounded by shrapnel during an air raid. He sustained a head injury which left him suffering from intermittent bouts of nervous disorder. He would suffer periods of depression as a result of this injury and was in receipt of a War Disability Pension. After the war Aubrey travelled to South Africa and toured as an actor in a play called “Battery Mess” in May 1948. Later that year he appeared as Taffy, a flight engineer, in the film “The Mystery of the Snakeskin Belt”, a children’s film made by Gaumont-British Africa and the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. He arrived back in Southampton in June 1949 as a stowaway on the R.M.M.V.

In the late 1960’s and 1970s Aubrey worked as a film writer. Among his successful ventures were “The One-Eyed Soldiers” (1967) starring Dale Robertson, “A Town Called Bastard (Hell)” (1971) starring Telly Savalas and Robert Shaw and “The Amazons” (1973) directed by Terence Young, who directed several of the James Bond films.

Aubrey was married twice. He had a daughter with later wife Elizabeth Keet who was given up for adoption and to actress Joy Owen. He committed suicide on December 23, 1980 after falling in deep depression after five operations on his arthritic hip and failing health.

As mentioned above Richard Aubrey co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western “Una ciudad llamada bastarda” (A Town Called Hell) in 1971 along with Benjamin Fisz.

AUBREY, Richard (Richard Harold Aubrey) [1918, Rhosllanerchrugog, Wales, U.K. – 12/23/1980, Dwyran, Wales, U.K. (suicide)] – stuntman, writer, actor father of daughter with Elizabeth Keet (1950-1960), married to Joy Owen (1961-1971).

A Town Called Hell – 1971 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Giovanni Bergamini

Giovanni Bergamini is/was one of the most used and reliable of the Italian cinematographers in the country's history yet there’s little information on him and he’s not even listed in the book Italian Film: A Who’s Who by John Stewart (McFarland 1994). The man’s been sorely neglected.

Bergamini was probably born in the late 1920’s or very early 1930s and worked on over 110 films between 1955 and 2001. Besides the twenty-six Spaghetti westerns he was either a cameraman or cinematographer on he worked on such notable films as “Inglorious Bastards” 1978 as director of photography and “Rush” (1983). He also appeared as an actor in “Cannibal Ferox in 1981. I can’t even find a photo of him on-line.

Some of his best-known Spaghetti westerns were “Django”, “Sugar Colt”, “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone”, “Companeros”, “Bad Man’s River”, “They Call Me Providence”, “Keona” and “California”.

Giovanni was a cinematographer on six Spaghetti westerns: “Vado…l’ammazzo e torno” (Any Gun Can Play) and “Odio per odio” (Hate for Hate) with Alejandro Ulloa, both in 1967, “Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino” (Sartana the Gravedigger) in 1970, “Zanna Bianca alla riscossa” (White Fang to the Rescue) in 1974, “Buck ai confini del cielo” (Buck at the Edge of Heaven) in 1991 and “Buck e il braccialetto magico” (Buck and the Magic Bracelet) in 1997.

BERGAMINI, Giovanni (aka Gianni Bergamini, Bergamini Gianni) [Italian] – cinematographer, cameraman, actor.

Two Mafiamen in the Far West – 1964 [cameraman]

Two Sergeants of General Custer – 1965 [cameraman]

Django – 1966 [cameraman]

$4.00 of Revenge – 1966 [cameraman]

Sugar Colt – 1966 [cameraman]

Two Sons of Ringo – 1966 [cameraman]

Any Gun Can Play – 1967 [as Gianni Bergamini]

Hate for Hate – 1967 (co)

I Came, I Saw, I Shot – 1968 [cameraman]

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone – 1968 [cameraman]

The Wild and the Dirty – 1968 [cameraman]

Blood and Guns – 1969 [cameraman]

Quinto: Fighting Proud – 1969 [cameraman]

Companeros – 1970 [cameraman]

Sartana the Gravedigger – 1970

The Unholy Four – 1970 [cameraman]

Bad Man’s River – 1971 [cameraman]

Sting of the West – 1972 [cameraman]

They Call Me Providence – 1972 [cameraman]

White Fang – 1973 [cameraman]

White Fang to the Rescue – 1974

Keoma – 1976 [cameraman]

California – 1977 [cameraman]

Whisky & Fantasy – 1978 [cameraman]

Buck at the Edge of Heaven - 1991

Buck and the Magic Bracelet – 1997