April Fools Day 2026

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Peter Diamond

[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.]

Peter Diamond was an English actor, stunt performer, fight arranger, second unit director, and occasional producer known for his extensive contributions to British and international film and television over nearly five decades. Trained initially as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in the late 1940s, he transitioned into stunts and action coordination, performing in over 100 productions while emphasizing swordplay, fight choreography, and physical performance.

Born Peter Alexander Diamond in Durham, England on August 10, 1929, Diamond's most iconic roles include the Tusken Raider in “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977), where he also doubled for actors in stormtrooper scenes across the original trilogy, and various villainous parts like Garouf Lafoe in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980). In British television, he was a frequent collaborator on ‘Doctor Who’ during the 1960s, serving as fight arranger for serials such as ‘The Daleks’, "’The Web Planet’, and ‘The Highlanders’, while also acting as adversaries like the Greek soldier in ‘The Myth Makers’ (1965) and the guard in ‘The Enemy of the World’ (1968). His stunt work extended to James Bond films like “From Russia with Love” (1963), the “Carry On” comedy series, and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), where he trained Harrison Ford for a screen punch; he later portrayed the antagonist Fasil in “Highlander” (1986) and choreographed its sword fights

Beyond performing, Diamond directed episodes of the adventure series ‘Zorro’ (1990–1993), helmed nine installments, acted in three, and served as stunt coordinator and sword master, drawing on his expertise in historical combat. He also contributed to other classics like ‘The Avengers’, ‘The Saint’, ‘The Prisoner’, and ‘Sherlock Holmes’ adaptations, often blending his acting roots with innovative action sequences that influenced genre filmmaking. Diamond passed away on March 27, 2004, in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England at age 74, leaving a legacy as one of the UK's foremost action specialists

DIAMOND, Peter (Peter Alexander Diamond) [8/10/1929, Durham, England, U.K. – 3/27/2004, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, U.K. (stroke)] – producer, director, assistant director, stunt coordinator, stuntman, film, TV actor, married to Olga H. Camilleri-Aguis (1954-2004) father of actor Warwick A. Diamond [1964-    ], cartoonist, Frazer Diamond [1968-    ], four other sons.

The Cabin in the Clearing (TV) – 1954, 1959 [stunt coordinator, stunts 1959]

Welcome to Blood City – 1977 [stunts]

Zorro the Legend Begins – 1989 (Sir Edmund Kendall)

The New Zorro (TV) – 1990-1993 [stunt coordinator, stunts]

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

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)

‘They Went Thata Way, Senor’ [archived newspaper article]

 

Madrid (UPI) [ed. Unsigned. pity]

The six shooters are blazing in the dusty streets of the Spanish frontier. The mortally wounded cowboys have been toppling from their saddles, and the saloons have been doing a roaring trade since late 1961. That’s when the first Western movie was made in Spain. It was “The Savage Guns” (sic), a Spanish-North American coproduction, starring Richard Basehart and Spanish actress Paquita Rico, previously best known for her roles in Spanish folklore films. 

“The Savage Guns” was no great shakes artistically, but it made money. And so, decades after Tom Mix flicked across the world’s screens, Spain’s moviemakers discovered the Western.

 Soon after “The Savage Guns” was filmed, another producer made “Zorro’s Revenge” [ed. “Zorro the Avenger”]. Then the first Spanish spoof of the Western, “Torrejon City”, was put in the cans.

These three Westerns were released in 1963. In the Spanish releases list of the following year [ed. 1964] there were nine Westerns, including one following the classic Hollywood pattern but based in Venezuela [ed. “The Implacable Three”].

Spoof of Westerns

Another spoof of Westerns, “The Fearless Sheriff” [ed. “Two Against All”], starring Italian comedian Walter Chiari, was on the list, as was a Spanish treatment of the Negro problem in the U.S. plopped down into a rip-roaring Western setting [ed. “Black Angel of Mississippi”].

The 1965 releases list will bulge with Spanish-made Westerns. So far this year some 18 Westerns have been completed, and another six are being shot, including the most ambitious Spanish Western yet.

This is “Joaquin Murrieta” [ed. “Murieta”], the tale of a Mexican gunman called a bandit by some and a fighter for justice by others. The film stars actors of fame and caliber [ed. Jeffrey Hunter & Arthur Kennedy].

Most of the westerns made in Spain have had anything but star-studded casts from the international point of view. The usual starring lineup has consisted of several middling-to-well-known local actors, along with little - known - American names to give a greater feeling of authenticity to the production, while keeping the budget down.

Budgets Fluctuate

The budgets generally oscillate between seven million pesetas ($116,666) and ten million pesetas ($166.666, sic). Spain lends itself admirably to the filming of Westerns. Many parts of the rugged, sunbaked country south of Pyreenees are remarkably similar to the magnificent vistas of the U.S. Southwest made so familiar to the world on the wide screen. In the far south, in Andalusia, the bare, tumbling terrain is even dotted with cactus. Spanish Western makers haven’t contented themselves with disguising existing villages to look like the 19th century towns in the US Southwest. They have built two “authentic” false-fronted Western movie towns, one in Hoyo de Manzanares near Madrid [ed. ‘Golden City’], the other at Esplugas outside Barcelona [ed. Balcazar family].

The board walked dirt streets are lined with saloons, barbers’ shops, hotels, furriers’ establishments, grocery and gunsmiths’ stores, and the inevitable sheriff’s office. All that’s left for Spain to do is make a “High Noon” [ed. “Sons of Vengeance”, aka “Gunfight at High Noon”].

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Bud Flanagan

 

Bud Flanagan was born in Chaim Reuven Weintrop, London, England on October 14. He was a prominent British music hall and vaudeville entertainer, comedian, singer, and songwriter, best known as one half of the comedy duo Flanagan and Allen and as the leader of the revue troupe the Crazy Gang. Born Chaim Reuven Weintrop on October 14, 1896, his parents were Polish Jewish immigrants Woolf and Yetta Weintrop, who ran a fried fish shop, he was the youngest of ten children. He anglicized his name early in life, initially to Robert Winthrop and later to Bud Flanagan after a World War I incident involving a sergeant major and made his stage debut at age 12 in a talent show at the London Music Hall in Shoreditch.

Flanagan's career began in earnest after serving in the Royal Field Artillery during World War I, where he met Chesney Allen in Belgium in 1915; the pair formed their enduring double act in 1926, gaining popularity through variety shows and recordings. In 1932, Flanagan co-founded the Crazy Gang at the London Palladium, a chaotic comedy revue group that headlined at the Victoria Palace Theatre for over three decades, performing until 1962 and becoming synonymous with British entertainment during the interwar and wartime eras. He co-wrote and popularized enduring songs such as "Underneath the Arches" (1932), a signature tune for homeless performers, and wartime hits including "We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" (1939) and "Run, Rabbit, Run" (1939), which boosted morale during World War II.

Beyond the stage, Flanagan appeared in films like “Gasbags” (1940), on radio broadcasts, and in early television, while Allen retired in 1945 but occasionally reunited with him for specials. Awarded the OBE in 1960 for services to entertainment, he continued performing into his later years, notably recording the theme song "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr. Hitler?" for the BBC sitcom ‘Dad's Army’ just before his death. Married to Anne (known as Curly) since 1925, he and his wife endured the loss of their son Buddy to leukaemia in 1956, which later inspired the establishment of the Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund by his estate in 1969 to support cancer research and patient care. Flanagan died of a heart attack on October 20, 1968,, at age 72 in London, leaving a legacy honored by an English Heritage blue plaque at his birthplace in 1996.

Bud Flanagan appeared as himself in the 1939 Euro-western “The Frozen Limits”

FLANAGAN, Bud (aka Robert Winthrop) (Chaim Reuven Weintrop) [10/14/1896, Chaim Reuven Weintrop, England, U.K. – 10/20/1968, London, England, U.K. (heart attack)] – theater, film, radio, TV, voice actor, married to dancer Ann "Curly" Flanagan [19??-1975] (1925-1968) father of actor Buddy Flanagan [1926-1956], half of the comedy team of Flanagan & Allen, member of the Crazy Gang, awarded an OBE [1959].

The Frozen Limits – 1939 (Bud)

Special Birthdays

Peter Collinson (director) would have been 90 today but died in 1980.

Maria Solveig D’Assunta (actress) is 85 today.

Leonidas Klemos (actor) is 60 today. 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Max Dhartigny

[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.]

Max Dhartigny was born Max Louis Léon Hebert in Paris, Île-de-France, France on May 3, 1876. He appeared in thirty-three films between 1911 and 1923. Yet there is no biographical information on him other than he died in France on November 23, 1921, at the age of 45.

Max appeared in three silent film Euro-westerns: “Cent dollars mort ou vif” in 1911 as Sheriff Davidson, “Le révolver matrimonial” (Marriage with a Revolver) in 1912 as a suitor and “Le railway de la mort” (The Railway of Death) in 1912 as Tim Burke.

DHARTIGNY, Max [Dargagne, Dartagne, Max Dartigny) (Max Louis Léon Hebert) [5/3/1876, Paris, Île-de-France,France – 11/23/1921, Paris, Île-de-France, France] – film actor.

Cent dollars mort ou vif – 1911 (Sheriff Davidson)

Marriage With a Revolver – 1912 (suitor)

The Railway of Death – 1912 (Tim Burke)