RIP Fulvio Lucisano

 

Fulvio Lucisano, one of the most important film producers with seventy years of career behind him died in Rome on August 18^th, he was 98. Lucisano helped write the history of Italian cinema with his production company Italian International Film and Lucisano Media Group and was president of Anica from 1998 to 2001. Born in Rome on August 1, 1928, Lucisano took his first steps in the industry in the late 1940s at Istituto Luce, focusing on documentary production. Although he earned a law degree from Sapienza University, he had already been captivated by cinema before completing his studies. In 1949, he participated in the making of “Anno Santo” (Holy Year), a documentary about the 1950 Jubilee. This marked the beginning of a long period dedicated to documentaries, with around three hundred works produced independently and for Documento Film. He transitioned to feature films in 1955 with “I quattro del getto tonante”, and in 1958 he founded Italian International Film (IIF), which would become one of the longest-running and most significant entities in Italian cinema. He served as its honorary president, while his daughters Federica and Paola hold the roles of CEO and president, respectively. With an impressive career spanning over 600 films, both produced and distributed, Lucisano worked across every genre, amassing five David di Donatello awards (including the prize for “Il grande cocomero” and a Special Lifetime Achievement David in 2009), four Nastro d'Argento awards, and two Oscar nominations. Lucisano was involved in producing ten Spaghetti westerns: “Savage Gringo” (1966) “Thompson 1880” (1966), “2 Crosses at Danger Pass” (1967) “God Made Them… I Kill Them” (1968), “E continuavano a chiamarlo figlio di... / The Avenger Zorro” (1969), “Apocalypse Joe” (1970), “Dead Men Don't Make Shadows!” (1970) “Dead Men Ride” (1971), “They Still Call Me Amen) in 1973. “Amen III” (1974, announced).

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Maudie Dunham

[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.]

Mauder ‘Maudie’ Rose Dunham was born in Doddinghurst, Essex, England on October 29, 1897. She was a British actress known for her appearances in silent films during the late 1910s and 1920s. She was featured in several British productions, including “The Beetle” (1919), “Mr. Pim Passes By” (1921), “The Magistrate” (1921), and “Sinister Street” (1922), often taking supporting roles in dramas and comedies of the era. Dunham also appeared uncredited as a victim in Alfred Hitchcock's early thriller “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog” (1927), marking one of her final screen credits before her last known role in “What Money Can Buy” (1928). Portraits of Dunham by Bassano Ltd from 1918 and 1919, held by the National Portrait Gallery, document her presence in the theatre and emerging film scene of post-World War I Britain, where she was associated with Essex. She was married to fellow actor Haddon Mason from 1924 until his death in 1966. Dunham died in Kensington, London on October 3, 1982, a few weeks shy of turning 85.

Maudie Dunham appeared in one silent Euro-western, “The Night Riders” as Diana Marbolt in 1920.

DUNHAM, Maudie (Mauder Rose Dunham) [10/29/1897, Doddinghurst, Essex, England, U.K. – 10/3/1982, Kensington, London, England, U.K.] – theater, film actress, married Haddon Mason (Nicholas Haddon Mason) [1899–1966] (1924-1966), mother of Sally Anne Mason [1930-    ].

The Night Riders – 1920 (Diana Marbolt)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset

Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset was a French silent film director and screenwriter known for his pioneering contributions to early cinema, particularly in establishing the crime and adventure serial formats during the 1900s and 1910s. Born on March 30, 1862, in Fumay, Ardennes, he initially pursued careers as a painter, sculptor, and theater costume and scenery designer before entering the film industry around 1906. He began at Gaumont, assisting on early productions, and later joined Éclair, where he directed numerous films across genres, including detective series, literary adaptations, and social dramas. Jasset is especially remembered for innovative serials such as the ''Nick Carter'' series (1908), the ''Zigomar'' trilogy (1911–1913), and ''Protéa'' (1913), which featured dynamic narratives, location shooting, and early action-oriented storytelling with strong female leads. His energetic style and focus on clear, story-driven filmmaking helped advance narrative cinema at Éclair and influenced subsequent directors in the crime serial genre. Jasset's career was cut short by his death on June 22, 1913, in Paris from surgical complications, shortly after completing ''Protéa''. He was 51. Despite the loss of most of his over one hundred films, his work remains significant for its role in shaping the French silent film industry and the international serial tradition.

Victoria-Hippolyte Jasset was the director of one Euro-western, “Le vautour de la Siria” (The Vulture of the Sierra) in 1909.

JASSET, Victorin-Hippolyte (aka Victorin Jasset) [3/30/1862, Fumay, Ardennes, France – 6/22/1913, Paris, Île-de-France, France (complications from surgery)] – director. Assistant director, writer.

The Vulture of the Sierra – 1909

Spaghetti Western Screenplay ~ Renee De Liot

Renee De Liot was a French screenwriter born in Paris on September 20, 1881. She is best known as Mario Guaita’s screenwriter and wife. She collaborated exclusively with her husband, an actor and director best known as a strongman of the Italian silent cinema, in the style of Maciste. Deliot and Ausonia worked in Italy until 1923 and then moved to Marseille, France, presumably because the Fascist regime did not favor stories like the ones that they produced, in which foreign names were used.

In Marseille, Deliot set up a production and distribution company, Ausonia Film, in order to sell their films and produce new ones. The couple also collaborated with Lauréa Film, under the direction of Paul Barlatier. As with their Italian period, the couple worked very hard in France, producing many films in just a few years. In 1926, Deliot applied to the Marseille city council for permission to store films in her own house, presenting a project for a storehouse. She may have been trying to increase her distribution activity. After 1926 Guaita stopped acting and Deliot stopped writing as well. They managed and ran a movie theater in Marseille for some time. Guaita died in 1956, just one year after he and Deliot were married in Marseille. He had just been left a widower when his first wife Ersilia Amorosi, a café-chantant singer from whom he had been separated since 1911, died. Deliot died in Marseille four years later, on August 27, 1960.

Renee De Liot wrote the screenplay for one Euro-western: “La donna carnefice nel paese dell'oro” in 1925.

De LIOT, Renee (aka Renée de Liot) (Renée Félicie Deliot) [9/20/1881, Paris, Île-de-France, France – 8/27/1960, Marseille, Provenza-Alpi-Costa Azzurra, France] – writer, married to designer Felix Leon Ligot [1871-19??] (1897-19??] director, actor Mario Guaita (Mario Ausonia) [1881-1956] (1955-1956).

La donna carnefice nel paese dell'oro – 1925

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Claudio Morabito

Claudio Morabito is an Italian actor and cinematographer known for his contributions to 1970s Italian genre cinema, particularly exploitation and adventure films. Born on December 14, 1941, in Tortoreto, Italy, he has appeared in acting roles while also working extensively in camera departments as a cinematographer, camera operator, and assistant camera on various productions. His notable credits include performances and technical work in films such as “The Island of the Fishmen” (1979) and “Karzan, il favoloso uomo della jungle” (1972), reflecting his involvement in the era's popular low-budget adventure and horror genres. Morabito's career spans multiple roles in the Italian film industry, from on-screen appearances to behind-the-camera positions in camera and lighting, contributing to the visual style of several cult classics from that period. His work exemplifies the prolific output of Italian B-movies during the 1970s, though detailed biographical information beyond his birth and key credits remains limited in public sources.

Claudio Morabito was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “Amico mio, frega tu... che frego io!” (Anything for a Friend) in 1972.

MORABITO, Claudio [12/14/1941, Tortoreto, Abruzzo, Italy -     ] – assistant director, cinematographer, cameraman, actor.

Anything for a Friend – 1972

From movie star to doctor - Marianne Koch turns 95

Radio HERFORD

8/11/2026

Munich - In the 50s and 60s, Marianne Koch was a screen star. She stood in front of the camera with greats such as Clint Eastwood and Curd Jürgens. But she left Hollywood and the film industry for medicine. As a doctor, presenter and author, she continued her career in her home country. Shortly before her 95th birthday (19.8.), Marianne Koch publishes a new book: "Mutig Sein!" (Courageous Being!) - Memories of Adventurous 95 Years" (publication date: 13.8.).

Marianne Koch says she is relaxed about getting older. She can do that too - as fit as she is. So it sounds a bit of an understatement when she says she can "still walk and think quite well". Nevertheless, it is a "strange feeling to get so old," says the Munich native. "Although: my grandmother and my mother also lived to be 94 years old."

How would she like to spend her special day? "Cozy. With my family and my little dog," she tells the German Press Agency in an interview. Marianne Koch has lived on Lake Starnberg for more than 50 years.

In the entertaining and almost 150-page new book, the physician looks back on her life and takes stock. She lets readers look into her private photo album and shows pictures from her childhood. "It's not really a comprehensive retrospective. They are funny, but also serious episodes from my very diverse and interesting life. I was very lucky - and that's why the prevailing feeling is gratitude."

Acting started as a part-time job

Marianne Koch's diverse life includes a detour into the glittering world of international film. It was not her plan to earn money with acting when she graduated from high school in Munich in 1949.

Marianne Koch began studying medicine - she started her career in film on the side, with smaller roles during the semester break. After graduating from the Physikum in 1952, she interrupted her studies to concentrate on film. Without any acting lessons, she became an idol of the economic miracle years for millions of moviegoers.

Marianne Koch stood in front of the camera alongside Curd Jürgens, Heinz Rühmann, O.W. Fischer and Gregory Peck. She enchanted the audience with charm.

She made her breakthrough in Helmut Käutner's "Ludwig II" in 1955. She played Princess Sophie, the sister of Sisi (Ruth Leuwerik). For her performance in "The Devil's General" she was awarded the Federal Film Prize.

Around 70 feature films followed until 1970. In the Sergio Leone classic "For a Fistful of Dollars", she even starred alongside Hollywood star Clint Eastwood.

In her new book, she talks about the time that included traveling around the world, immersing herself in different cultures and also an invitation to the former Thai royal couple Bhumibol and Sirikit.

Return to university

[After leaving the acting industry, Marianne Koch made a career as a doctor, presenter and author.]

The glamour of the film world did not bring her fulfillment. In 1973, Koch - now the mother of two sons - returned to the university and completed her studies with a doctorate a few years later.

In 1985, she opened an internal medicine practice in Munich. Looking back, she sees acting as just a long-term episode in her life and has not regretted saying goodbye to film "for a second".

Koch owes her great popularity among German TV audiences in particular to the ARD guessing game "What am I?" with host Robert Lembke. Since the 60s, she had been just as much a part of the show with unerring questions as the pig in which the five-mark pieces for the candidates clattered at that time.

Marianne Koch also hosted the talk show "3 nach 9" produced by Radio Bremen for eight years, for which she was awarded a Grimme Prize in 1976.

[Marianne Koch (right) was part of the TV guessing team of presenter Robert Lemke (standing) together with Guido Baumann, Annette von Arentin and Hans Sachs (from left).]

Passionate physician

But her passion was and is medicine. She has written several guidebooks, for example on the immune system and getting older. For 25 years, Marianne Koch was also part of the team of the "Health Consultation Hour" on Bayerischer Rundfunk. A year ago, she said goodbye to the show and her listeners at her own request.

Until 2011, she was president of the German Pain League for 14 years and is still associated with it as honorary president. In 2019, Koch was awarded the Paracelsus Medal, the highest award of the German Medical Association, for her commitment.

Koch always set a good example when it came to health issues. What are your most important tips for staying fit in old age? Balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, protein and calcium; sufficient sleep; a positive attitude towards age; Interest in the world and desire for new things as well as many social contacts.

Koch counts interest and openness to new things among her strengths: "I think I have always had a strong interest and feeling for other people, which certainly also benefited me in my profession as a doctor," says Koch looking back. "I was always curious, always liked to learn and try new things. Yes, I was brave too." Her mother taught her this characteristic: "Dare to do it!", her mother said. "Even if something goes wrong." And so we come full circle to the title of Koch's latest book: "Mutig Sein!” (Courageous Being!).

[Happy 95^th birthday!]

Spaghetti Westerns & American Myth: The Wild West Through Italian Eyes [Part 2 of 4]

The Collector

By Katrina Funk

October 4, 2025

Tracing the Origins: Who’s Who of Spaghetti Westerns

Though Leone was undoubtedly the most influential and well-known of the Spaghetti Western directors, two other directors, also named Sergio, managed to make their mark on the sub-genre. Like Leone, Sergio Corbucci began his filmmaking career creating Biblical epics. His first Spaghetti Westerns were the 1964 film Grand Canyon Massacre and the cult classic Django. Where Leone had American actor Clint Eastwood as his favored leading man, Corbucci frequently cast Italian actor Franco Nero as his. Director Sergio Sollima is perhaps most well-known for The Big Gundown, which was released in 1966 and starred Spaghetti Western-staple actor Lee Van Cleef.

Though Leone, in particular, is often regarded as the father of the European Western, its origins can be traced to Germany. Popular German author Karl May had published a variety of books in the late 1800s and early 1900s, featuring clashes between cowboys and Native Americans set against the backdrop of a romanticized American West. In the 1960s, many of May’s pulp-fiction novels were turned into films, which became highly popular among German audiences. However, Leone’s Westerns broke from both European and American Western traditions by creating something reminiscent of but totally different from previous films of the genre.

[To be continued]

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Joachim Fuchsberger

 

Joachim ‘Blacky’ Fuchsberger was a prominent German-Australian actor, television presenter, and entertainer, best known for his roles in post-war films and as a host of popular TV game shows. Born on March 11, 1927, in Stuttgart, Germany, Fuchsberger grew up in Heidelberg and was conscripted into the Reich Labour Service during World War II, later serving as a parachutist on the Eastern Front. After the war, he held various jobs, including a miner, mechanic, and newsreel anchor, before entering the entertainment industry. His acting breakthrough came with the “08/15” film trilogy (1954–1955), where he portrayed the rebellious Wehrmacht private Willi Asch, marking his rise as a leading man in German cinema. In the 1960s, he became a star of the Edgar Wallace krimi series, starring in 12 adaptations, often as detectives or inspectors, such as “The Devil's Daffodil” (1961) and “The Strange Countess” (1961), which popularized the British crime stories in Germany.

Transitioning to television in the 1970s, Fuchsberger hosted successful game shows like’ Auf los geht’s los’ (1977–1986, 60 episodes) and ‘Heut’ abend’ (1980–1989, over 300 episodes), earning him the nickname "Blacky" for his charismatic, smooth persona. He also appeared in later TV films, including as ‘Count Capilupi in Flames of Love’ (1995), and made a comedic comeback parodying his Wallace role in ‘Neues vom Wixxer’ (2007). Fuchsberger received numerous accolades, including two Bambi Awards (1969, 1982), the Golden Camera (1981), the Bavarian Order of Merit (1979), and the Grand Federal Cross of Merit (1994). Personally, he was married to Gundula Korte from 1954 until his death in 2014, and they had a son, Thomas (1957–2010); he served as a UNICEF ambassador from 1984 and lived in Australia from 1983 to the 1990s. Fuchsberger passed away on September 11, 2014, in Grünwald near Munich, at the age of 87.

FUCHSBERGER, Joachim (Joachim Karl Fuchsberger) [3/11/1927, Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart, Germany - 9/11/2014, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany (organ failure)] – songwriter, theater, film, TV actor, married to actress, singer Gitta Lind (Rita Maria Gracher) [1925–1974] (1950-1953) Gundula Korte [1930-    ] (1954-2014) father of producer, composer Thomas Fuchsberger [1957-2010], awarded Bavarian Order of Merit [1979], Grand Federal Cross of Merit [1994], Lifetime Achievement Award [2014].

The Last Tomahawk - 1964 (Captain Bill Hayward)

Who Killed Johnny R.? – 1965 (Clyde Smith)

Special Birthdays

David Lodge (actor) would have been 105 today but died in 2003.

Ruth Hohmann [singer] is 95 today.

Marianne Koch (actress) is 95 today.

Christopher Malcolm (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2014.