.Westerns...All'Italiana!

Saturday, July 4, 2026

July 4th 2026, 250th Anniversary of the founding of the U.S.A.

From the WAI! vault

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ James Doohan

[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.]

James Montgomery Doohan was a Canadian actor, voice artist, author, and soldier best known for portraying Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the chief engineer of the starship Enterprise, in the original Star Trek television series and its subsequent films.Born in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 3, 1920, to Irish immigrant parents, Doohan grew up in Sarnia, Ontario, where he developed an early interest in mathematics and science before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Artillery during World War II.

Doohan's military service was marked by valor and sacrifice; he rose to the rank of captain and led a unit during the D-Day invasion at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, where he was wounded by friendly fire, losing the middle finger of his right hand and sustaining injuries to his leg and chest. After the war, he transitioned to acting through studies at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. He began his entertainment career in Canadian radio and television, performing in over 4,000 radio programs and 450 television episodes, including early roles in series like Space Command and voice work in animated projects.

Doohan's breakthrough came in 1966 when he was cast as Scotty in Star Trek, a role he secured after auditioning with seven different accents and settling on a Scottish brogue inspired by his wartime encounters; he reprised the character in 66 episodes of the original series (1966–1969) and seven feature films from 1979 to 1994. Beyond Star Trek, he appeared in numerous other productions, such as ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ and ‘Fantasy Island’ and lent his voice to characters in shows like “The New Scooby-Doo Movies”. In his later years, Doohan became a convention staple, advocating for Alzheimer's awareness after his 2004 diagnosis, and he received honors including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004 and an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 1993. He died of pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer's disease at his home in Redmond, Washington on July 20, 2005, survived by his third wife, Wende, and seven children from three marriages.

James Doohan appeared in one Euro-western, “Uomo bianco và col tuo Dio” (Man in the Wilderness) as Benoit in 1971.

DOOHAN, James (aka Jim Doohan) (James Montgomery Doohan) [3/3/1920, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – 7/20/2005, Redmond, Washington, U.S.A. (pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease)] – film, TV, voice actor, married to Janet Randolph Young [1928-2019] (1949-1964) father of nurse Larkin Doohan [1954- ] father of Michelle Doohan, Kathleen Doohan, married to actress, singer Deirdre Doohan [1957- ], twins Montgomery Doohan [1959- ], actor Christopher Doohan [1959- ], married to Anita Yagel [1945- ] (1967-1972), married to actress Wende Doohan (Wende C. Braunberger) [1956-2005] (1974-2005) father of author Eric Doohan [1976- ], Thomas Doohan [1978- ], Sarah Doohan [2000- ].

Man in the Wilderness – 1971 (Benoit)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Emilio Graziani-Walter

Emilio Graziani-Walter was an Italian director, writer and actor. He directed thirty-one films between 1915-1921, he appeared as an actor in seven films between 1913 and 1921 and wrote the screenplay for two short films in 1916. I can find no biographical information on him and he’s not listed in Italian Film: A Who’s Who.

Graziani directed one Euro-western, “Buffalo Bill” in 1920

GRAZIANI-WALTER, Emilio [Italian] – director, writer, actor.

Buffalo e Bill – 1920

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Melchiade Coletti

Melchiade Coletti was an Italian screenwriter and film director known for his work in 1960s and 1970s Italian genre cinema, particularly in Western and thriller films.

Born on October 25, 1922, in Rome, Coletti contributed screenplays to several Spaghetti westerns, including ''Seven Dollars to Kill'' (1966) and ''Gentleman Killer'' (1967), often under variant credits such as Mel Collins or Melchiade Coletti-Franciolini his birth name. He later directed and co-wrote the thriller ''Fear Runs Deep'' (1976), marking one of his primary efforts in adventure and suspense genres. Coletti spent much of his career in Rome's film industry, collaborating on low-budget productions typical of the era's Italian exploitation cinema.

Coletti died on September 19, 1997, in Rome a month shy of turning 75.

Melchiade Coltetti co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western “7 dollari sul rosso” (Seven Dollars to Kill) with Juan Cobos. He also supplied the Italian dialogue for “Gentleman Jo... uccidi” (Gentleman Killer) in 1967.

COLETTI, Melchiade (aka Mel Collins) (Melchiade Coletti-Franciolini) [10/25/1922, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 9/19/1997, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, writer.

Seven Dollars to Kill – 1966 (co) [as Mel Collins]

Gentleman Killer – 1967 [Italian dialogue]

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Federico Larraya

Federico Gutiérrez-Larraya Planas was born in Madrid, Spain on December 11, 1919. He was a Spanish cameraman and cinematographer. He was a cameraman on five films between 1946 and 1966. He was a cinematographer on seventy-four films between 1948 and 1982. He started working in film in 1940 as a collaborator on the NO-DO newsreels. In 1950 he made his debut as director of photography and throughout the 1960s and 1970s he managed to accumulate over 50 titles on his curriculum. He worked with directors of the stature of Julio Salvador, Pedro Luis Ramírez and José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, among others. “Apartado de correos 1001” (1950), “El tigre de Chamberí” (1958), “Per un pugno di dollari” (1964) “El alma serena” (1969) and “Don Erre que Erre” (1970) are just a few of the titles on which he worked as director of photography.

For television he shot such well-known programmes as 'La casa de los Martínez' and 'Historias para no dormir'. He was also director of photography on the famous film by Antonio Mercero entitled 'La cabina' (1972).

Federico died in Spain in 2004 at the age of 84.

Federico Larraya was a cinematographer on three Spaghetti westerns, “Per un pugno di dollari” (A Fistful of Dollars) with Massimo Dallamano in 1964, “Centomila dollari per Ringo” ($100,000 for Ringo) and “Die Hölle von Manitoba” (A Place Called Glory) both in 1965.

LARRAYA, Federico (aka Federico Larraya, Federico G. Larraya, Federico Gutiérrez Larraya) (Federico Gutiérrez-Larraya Planas) [12/11/1919, Madrid, Madrid, Spain – 2004, Spain] – cinematographer, cameraman, son of painter Tomás Gutiérrez-Larraya y Díaz de la Campa [1886-1968], brother of cinematographer Aurelio Larraya [1921-1992], married to ? father of Beatriz Larraya, awarded an Honorary Goya lifetime achievement [1996].

A Fistful of Dollars – 1964 (co)

$100,000 for Ringo – 1965

A Place Called Glory – 1965

Winnetou I – The Elspe Upgrade

Old Shatterhand (Thomas Koziol) and Winnetou (Jean-Marc Birkholz) / Photo: KARL MAY & Co. – Margref]

Karl May & Co.

June 24, 2026

New costumes, completely new stage design, new actors and many innovations in the libretto: "Winnetou I – Chief of the Apaches" will be an upgrade of the Karl May Games Elspe.

At the press conference today, the Elspe Festival presented the first half of the new production of May's classic to the media representatives and it quickly became clear that director Marco Kühne has left little of his father Jochen Bludau's old book untouched. The production begins with an acoustic introduction by Winnetou, followed by a look into Karl May's library and the statement "It will be allowed to dream for two hours."

What follows is the story of how Karl May becomes Old Shatterhand (Thomas Koziol), who opposes the plans of Santer (Friedrch Grud) and his gang and therefore later in the play also frees the prisoners Winnetou (Jean-Marc Birkholz) and Nscho-tschi (Sarah Gösser). This does not bring him luck, because at the end of the first half he is knocked down by Winnetou during the attack of the Apaches and Kiowas.

This is also new: For the first time, two trunks can be seen. The Apaches under the leadership of Chief Intschu-tschuna (Stefan Kieper) and the Kiowas under Chief Tangua (Sebastian Kolb). Both chiefs fight a great duel to clarify whether there should be peace or war.

The cloverleaf with Sam Hawkens (Matthias Schlüter), Dick Stone (Markus Lürick) and Will Parker (newcomer from Burgrieden: Michael Müller) has received significantly more text than in the earlier productions. All three also harmonize very well with each other. The ensemble is completed by Miranda (Tina Mester) and engineer Brancroft (Oliver Fleischer); this role used to be as a sheriff. The character is still drunk all the time.

The new stage design is impressive with a large saloon, the village over several levels, an imposing pueblo and retractable additional backdrops in front of the waterfall. The programme booklet already shows that Karl May's library is not the only one.

Spaghetti Western Locations for “Companeros”.

We continue our hunt for filming locations for “Companeros”. After the gunfight Vasco’s men discover they are Xantistas the followers of Professor Vitaliano Xantos and were coming out of The Penguin’s room in the hotel. Vasco and his men march to the hotel, climb the stairs and enter Yadlof’s room. They discover him in bed making love to a woman. Yadlof ignores them but Vasco pulls a gun and orders him to get out of the bed. Vasco orders his men to remove the Penguin and take him away. To show the girl his displeasure he cuts her long hair short.

This scene was filmed on a soundstage in Madrid, Spain.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/