First Day of Fall 2026

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Hermann Eckhardt

[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.]

 Hermann Eckhardt is/was a German supporting and character actor who appeared in twelve films and television series from 1956 to 1978.

I can find no biographical information on him.

Hermann Eckhardt appeared in one Euro-western as “Old Ronny” in 1973’s “Apachen” (Apaches).

ECKHARDT, Hermann [German] – film, TV actor.

Apaches – 1973 (old Ronny)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Peter Launders

Mario Pinzauti was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his contributions to low-budget exploitation cinema during the 1970s.

Born on May 1, 1930, in Rome, Lazio, Italy, Pinzauti directed a series of micro-budget genre films that encompassed spaghetti westerns, crime thrillers, and erotic features, often characterized by their over-the-top style and modest production values. His notable works include “Wanted Ringo” (1970), “Let's Go and Kill Sartana” (1971), “Passion Plantation” (1976), “Mandinga” (1976), and “Clouzot & C. contro Borsalino & C.” (1977), with some credits appearing under the pseudonym Peter Launders. These productions have remained largely obscure, appreciated mainly within niche circles devoted to European exploitation films. [1]

Pinzauti died in 2010 in Italy at the age of 80.

Mario Pinzauti as Peter Launders directed two Spaghetti westerns: “Giunse Ringo e… fu tempo di massacre” (Ringo, It's Massacre Time) in 1966 and “Vamos a matar Sartana!” with George Martin in 1971.

LAUNDERS, Peter (aka Harry Small) (Mario Pinzauti) [5/1/1930, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 2010, Italy] – director, writer.

Ringo, It's Massacre Time - 1966

Let's Go and Kill Sartana – 1971 (co)

L’uomo dalla Colt Bianca – 1971 [film was never made]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Nico Ducci

Nico Ducci is/was an Italian co-screenwriter who worked on two of the better known Spaghetti westerns, “Keona” in 1975 with Franco Nero and “California” in 1977 with Giuliano Gemma. Yet nothing is known about the man.

I can find no biographical information on him.  

Nico Ducci was a co-screenwriter on five Spaghetti westerns: “Mátalo!” with Eduardo Manzanos and Mino Roli in 1970, “Carambola” with Ferdinando Baldi and Mino Roli in 1973, the sequel “Carambola filotto…tutti in buca” (The Crazy Adventures of Len and Coby) with Ferdinando Baldi and Mino Roli in 1974, “Keoma” with Mino Rolim Luigi Montefiore and Enzo G Castellari in 1975 and “California” with Franco Bucceri, Roberto Leoni and Mino Roli in 1977.

DUCCI, Nico [Italian] – writer.

Mátalo! – 1970 (co)

Carambola – 1973 (co)

The Crazy Adventures of Len and Coby – 1974 (co)

Keoma – 1975 (co)

California – 1977 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Pino Pinori

Giuseppe ‘Pino’ Pinori was born in Tagliacozzo, Abruzzo, Italy on September 15, 1928. He was an Italian cinematographer.

He was known for his work in Italian cinema starting in the 1960s. Pinori collaborated with Paolo and Vittorio Taviani on “Sotto il segno dello scorpione” (1969).

His cinematography featured natural lighting and attention to landscape and atmosphere in various films. He also worked with directors such as Nanni Moretti “Ecce bombo” (1978), Pier Paolo Pasolini, Marco Tullio Giordana, and Lucio Fulci, showing versatility across genres during his career.

Pinori contributed to the visual style of several Italian films over several decades before dying in Rome on April 3, 2021 at the age of 92.

Pino Pinori was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “Bada alla tua pelle Spirito Santo” (Return of the Holy Ghost) in 1972.

PINORI, Pino (aka Joseph Pinori) (Giuseppe Pinori) [9/15/1928, Tagliacozzo, Abruzzo, Italy – 4/3/2021, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – producer, cinematographer.

Return of the Holy Ghost - 1972

 

Almería Western Film Festival 2026 pays tribute to Eli Wallach at MiniHollywood Oasys for the 60th anniversary of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'

 

Oasys/Mini Hollywood Theme Park

September 15, 2026

The Almería Western Film Festival 2026 (AWFF) will celebrate from October 8 to 12 in Tabernas (Almería) the 60th anniversary of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Sergio Leone's masterpiece shot largely in the Tabernas Desert, which has since become a universal stage for the 'spaghetti western'.

The program will begin on 8 October at the Teatro de Tabernas with the presentation of Sergio Leone by himself, by Sir Christopher Frayling. The AWFF will award the 2026 Tabernas Film Award to the Italian actress Rada Rassimov in recognition of a career inseparable from the history of the 'spaghetti western' and the Tabernas Desert. Before the ceremony, Rassimov will unveil her chair on the town's Paseo de Cine, where it will be incorporated into the permanent tribute that the municipality dedicates to the great figures of cinema linked to the municipality. After the Opening Gala of the AWFF, the Teatro de Tabernas will screen at 10:00 p.m. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The activities continue on October 9, when the town of MiniHollywood Oasys will receive Roberta Wallach, daughter of the legendary actor, who will travel from New York to participate in the tribute to her father and collect the 'Leone in Memoriam' 2026 Award, awarded posthumously by the festival in recognition of her contribution to the western genre.

The event will have a special meaning for MiniHollywood Oasys. Many of the scenes starring Eli Wallach in this film, Sergio Leone's masterpiece, were shot in this town in the Tabernas Desert. Sixty years later, the presence of his family will allow us to reconnect that historical filming with one of the settings that today preserves part of his legacy.

MiniHollywood Oasys is part of the film sets of the Tabernas Desert closely linked to the history of the western and to films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, whose filming contributed to projecting the landscapes of Almeria internationally.

The tribute is part of the 16th edition of the Almería Western Film Festival, which will once again turn Tabernas into a meeting point for amateurs, professionals and specialists in the genre.

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Carlo Gaddi

 

Carlo Gaddi was born in Vatican City, Rome on January 4, 1936. He was an Italian actor, who established himself as an on-screen persona as a villain in 34 films between 1967 and 1977. 14 of those were Spaghetti westerns including such titles as "Pecos Cleans Up," "Pray to God and Dig Your Grave," "Vengeance is Mine" (all in 1967), "Django the Bastard" (1968), "Fistful of Lead" (1970), and "Kill the Poker Player" (1972). His signature sleepy, half-closed eyes lent him an inherently menacing presence, allowing him to convey evil with minimal effort.

Ironically, Gaddi's off-screen life presented a stark contrast to his villainous roles. His family background is tied to the Vatican City where his relatives' held positions in the Catholic Church and in employ of the pope. Calro himself held the esteemed position of "Sediario Pontificio," responsible for the papal chair of Pope Paul VI. He also served as a pallbearer for Pope John XXIII.

GADDI, Carlo (aka Charles Gabe, Charles Gate) [1/4/1936, Vatican City, Vatican, Italy – 11/4/1977, Rome, Lazio, Italy (heart attack)] – film, TV actor, married to Giovanna Prosperini (1938-1977) father of airline pilot Andrea Gaddi [1961-    ], actress Sabina Gaddi [1964-    ], policeman Tommaso Gaddi [1971-    ], uncle of actor Carlo Gaddi Jr., worked at the Vatican for Popes John XXII and Pope Paul VI, was in charge of the Pope Mobile.

Beyond the Law – 1967 (Adam)

Pecos Cleans Up – 1967 (Frenchie) [as Charles Gabe]

Pray to God and Dig Your Grave – 1967 (Don Enrique’s henchman)

Vengeance is Mine – 1967 (Jack)

Duel in the Eclipse – 1968 (Ted Corby/Ted Corbin)

Full House for the Devil – 1968 (Gary)

The Nephews of Zorro – 1968 (Captain José Alonzo Martinez)

The Stranger’s Gundown – 1969 (Brett)

Fistful of Lead -1970 (Baxter)

Blazing Guns – 1971 (Captain Fiesta)

God in Heaven, Arizona on Earth – 1972 (Towers)

Kill the Poker Player – 1972 (Karl)

My Horse… My Gun… Your Widow – 1972 (Carrasco deputy)

Special Birthdays

William Archer (actor) would have been 170 today but died in 1924.

Henry Silva (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 2022.

Sisse Reingaard (actress) is 80 today.

Ryan Wiik (director, writer) is 45 today.

 

RIP Anjanette Comer

 

American actress Anjanette Comer who had leading roles in “The Loved One”, “The Appaloosa” and “The Baby” died of leukemia on May 28^th. She was 86. Comer was born on August 7, 1939, in Dawson, Texas. She attended Dawson High School, was voted queen of the Corsicana Fair and Rodeo at age 16 and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, where she was spotted by agent Byron Raphael and signed. She starred as a backstabbing heroine with Marlon Brando and John Saxon in Sidney J. Furie’s “The Appaloosa” (1966) and played another Mexican woman in the Spaghetti western “Guns for San Sebastian” with Anthony Quinn (1968). In between, she appeared with Robert Wagner and Jill St. John in Banning (1967). She was married to author, screenwriter and director Robert Klane (“Weekend at Bernie’s”, “Where’s Poppa?”, “Fire Sale”, “Thank God It’s Friday”) from 1976 until their 1983 divorce.