From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Adrian Dunbar

[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.]

Adrian Dunbar is a Northern Ireland actor, director, and singer recognized for his extensive work across television, film, and theatre. Born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh on August 1, 1958, he trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and began his career in theatre before transitioning to screen roles.

Dunbar gained prominence with his co-writing and starring role in the 1991 film Hear My Song, which earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Screenplay. His film appearances include supporting parts in The Crying Game (1992) and My Left Foot (1989), while on television, he portrayed Superintendent Ted Hastings in all six seasons of the BBC series Line of Duty (2012–2021), a role that brought him nominations for IFTA and National Television Awards. In theatre, he has directed and performed in productions such as Samuel Beckett's works at the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival and starred in revivals like Kiss Me, Kate at the Barbican Theatre.

Married to actress Anna Nygh since 1986, Dunbar maintains a low-profile personal life focused on his family and ongoing artistic pursuits, with no notable public controversies. His career exemplifies versatility in British and Irish performing arts, blending dramatic intensity with occasional musical elements.

DUNBAR, Adrian [ [8/1/1958, Enniskillen County, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, U.K. -     ] – film, TV actor, married to actress, Anna Nygh [1949-    ] (1986-    ) father of Madeleine Dunbar [1988-    ], stepfather of Ted from a previous relationship.

Sky Bandits – 1985 (mechanic)

The Measure of My Days – 2003 (priest)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Stefano Jacurti

Stefano Jacurti is an actor and writer with directorial experience in indie cinema and theater Born in Rome on January 24, 1961. He along with Emiliano Ferrera are two of the leading advocates of the new wave of Italian western cinema. They have worked together and separately in making western full length and short films. Jacurti has also written several books and theatrical plays

Jacurti has appeared in a half dozen films beginning with “Inferno blanco” (White Hell) in 2007. He’s also directed and written two films. He’s even been a featured comic book character in a recent Tex Willer strip. His most recent portrayal is that of general and President Ulysses S. Grant.

Stefano Jacurti directed two Euro-westerns: “Inferno Bianco” (White Hell) with Emiliano Ferrera and “Se il mondo intorno crepa” (If the World Dies) again with Emiliano Ferrera in 2013.

JACURTI, Stefano [1/24/1961, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – producer, director, writer, actor, married to ?.

White Hell – 2007 (co)

If the World Dies - 2013 (co)

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ José Luis de las Bayonas

Jose Luis de las Bayonas did it all. He was a Spanish producer, director, assistant director, writer, cameraman, editor and actor. born José Luis de las Bayonas 1933 in Madrid Spain, during the Spanish civil war, Bayonas spent his childhood studying music at conservatoriums in Madrid and Barcelona, went to art school in Madrid and at the age of 14 was painting portraits for American GI’s to support his studies, got a job in the art department of a film studio and that was the start of his film career at a time when Spain was the prized location for American westerns and epic co-productions. He did crew work at first, from Runner to 1st Assistant Director and 2nd Unit Director and later as a screenwriter.  He worked on over 20 feature films and wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for five, including “Mission Lisboa”, “Cauldron of Blood” with Boris Karloff, “Madigan’s Million” with Dustin Hoffman, worked with directors Orson Welles, Ken Annekin, Sergio Leone and Richard Rush.

In the early 1970s Hector Crawford invited Bayonas to Australia to write for ‘Homicide’, a new TV series, where he introduced comedy into the show.  Luis spent the next 25 years writing for many iconic Australian television series ‘A Country Practice’, ‘Division 4’, ‘Bellamy’, ‘Matlock Police’, ‘The Flying Doctors’, ‘Special Squad’, ‘GP’, amongst others, two telemovies and the teleplay “A Woman in the House”.  

Bayonas died in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia on July 6, 2023 at the age of 90.

José Luis de las Bayonas co-wrote two screenplays for Spaghetti westerns: “Bang Bang” (The Bang Bang Kid) with Luciano Lelli in 1967 and “Quindici forche per un assassin” (15 Scaffolds for a Killer) with Mario di Nardo in 1968.

de las BAYONAS, José Luis (aka Jose Luis Baxonas, Jose Luis G. Bayonas, José L. Bayonas, José Luis Bayonas, Luis Bayonas, José de la Bayonas) [1933, Madrid, Madrid, Spain – 7/6/2023, Daylesford, Victoria, Australia] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, cameraman, film editor, actor, artist, musician (piano), father of artist Daniel Bayonas with producer, writer Lynn Bayonas (Lynette Margaret Bower) [1943-2010].

The Bang-Bang Kid – 1967 (co)

15 Scaffolds for a Killer – 1968 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Giorgio Montagnani

Giorgio Montagnani was an Italian cinematographer who worked on eight films between 1971 and 1980.

I can find no biographical information on him.

Giorgio Montagnani was a cinematographer on four Spaghetti westerns: “Anche per Django le carogne hanno un prezzo” (Django’s Cut Rate Corpses), “Quelle sporche anime dannate” (Paid in Blood), “Allegri becchini... arriva Trinità” (They Called Him... Trinity: Himself – His Colt – His Revenge) with Pasquale Fanetti all in 1971, “La colt era il suo Dio” (God Is My Colt .45) and “

MONTAGNANI, Giorgio [Italian] – cinematographer.

Django’s Cut Rate Corpses - 1971

Paid in Blood – 1971

They Called Him... Trinity: Himself – His Colt – His Revenge – 1971 (co)

God Is My Colt .45 – 1972

Who Are Those Singers & Musicians? Gerry Wolff

 

Gerry Wolff was a German actor, singer, voice actor, and audiobook narrator known for his prolific career in East German film and television as well as his extensive work dubbing international films into German. Born on June 23, 1920, in Bremen to a Jewish family, he emigrated to England in 1935 to escape Nazi persecution, where he was interned as an "Enemy Alien" during World War II and began performing in camp theatre before working in publishing and participating in Free German exile cultural groups. He returned to Germany in 1947 and established himself in the cultural life of the German Democratic Republic, joining the Berliner Ensemble in 1949 and later the Volksbühne ensemble in 1956, while appearing in supporting roles in DEFA films from the 1950s onward. His breakthrough came with a prominent role in Frank Beyer's “Naked Among Wolves” (1963), which gained international recognition, and he went on to feature in nearly 200 cinema and television productions across genres including spy films, Westerns, musicals, and the long-running crime series ‘Polizeiruf 110’. In addition to acting, Wolff pursued a parallel career as a singer, releasing records and earning a Special Prize at the Sopot International Song Festival for his song "Die Rose war rot," and he later performed Yiddish songs with klezmer groups. As a voice actor, he provided the German dubbing for notable characters including Yoda in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999), Brooks Hatlen in “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), and roles in “Vertigo” (1958) and “Schindler's List” (1993). Wolff remained active into his later years, giving biographical interviews and publishing a memoir before his death on February 16, 2005, in Oranienburg, Brandenburg at the age of 84.

WOLFF, Gerry (Gerald Wolff) [6/23/1920, Bremen, Theuringen, Germany – 2/16/2005, Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Germany (heart ailment)] – film, TV, voice actor, son of actor Martin Wolff [18??-1931], married to Mirjam Asriel [19??-2005] (1950-2005) father of producer, director, writer, actor Thomas Wolff [1951-    ].

Chingachgook, the Great Snake – 1967 [sings: “Der Grosse Strom”, “Dazwischen”]

Das Märchen von Texas Bill – 1974 [sings: ? (co)]

Special Birthdays

Bernabé Barta Barri (actor) would have been 115 today but died in 2003.

Berislav Fabek (cinematographer) is 95 today.

María Silva (actress) would have been 85 today but died in 2023.

Samuel Clemens [director, writer] would have been 45 today but died in 2024.

RIP Lisa Halvorsen

Danish model and actress Lisa Halvorsen died in Islands Brygge Copenhagen, Denmark on August 7^th she was 85. Born Lis Halvorsen in Sydhavnen, Copenhagen, Denmark on July 29, 1941, she became an actress at an early age and came to Mallorca with Carroll Baker and Jean Sorell in the lead roles in the thriller "Una droga llamada Helen (A Quiet Place to Kill). Later she became a model and worked on two dozen films often in uncredited roles. Lisa appeared in six Spaghetti westerns: “The Son of Jesse James) as Jesse’s wife, “The Hands of Gunfighter” as a shop patron, “The Relentless Four” as John’s daughter all in 1965, “The Big Gundown” as Melisa in 1966, “A Pistol for 100 Coffins” as a hotel clerk and “Go for Broke” as Belle Smith both in 1968.

From the WAI vault