Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Mario De Rosa

[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.]

Mario De Rosa was an Italian actor and production manager known for his work in Italian genre cinema during the 1960s through the 1980s.

Born on February 4, 1920, in Rome, Italy, he began his career in film during the postwar era and contributed to various low-budget productions, often taking on both on-screen roles and key behind-the-scenes positions. He appeared as an actor in films spanning Spaghetti Westerns, erotic dramas, thrillers, and horror pictures, while also serving as production manager, writer, and producer on several projects. His acting credits include roles in “The Archangel” (1969), “Blood Relations” (1970), and “Paid in Blood” (1971), while he also worked as a writer and production manager on “Suggestionata” (1978). De Rosa's involvement in these films reflected the prolific output of Italian commercial cinema during that period, where he often handled multiple responsibilities on set. De Rosa continued working sporadically into the 1990s and died on May 6, 2006, in Rome.

Mario De Rosa appeared in ten films between 1968 and 1990; he also worked in production on seven films from 1971 to 1978 and was a writer on two films in 1971 and 1978.

Mario appeared in only one Spaghetti Western: “Anche per Django le carogne hanno un Prezzo” (Django’s Cut Rate Corpses) as (Ramon’s brother in 1971. He was a producer and production manager on another “Quelle sporche anime dannate” (Paid in Blood) in 1971 as a producer with Gino Turini.

De ROSA, Mario [2/4/1920, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 5/6/2006, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – production manager, writer, film actor.

Django’s Cut Rate Corpses – 1971 (3^rd Cortez brother) [writer]

Quelle sporche anime dannate – 1971 [producer, production manager]

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Giovanni Bufalini

Giovanni Bufalini is an Italian producer, director, assistant director, writer and film actor. He works for Insolita Film. He attended VIII° Corso RAI SCRIPT in Rome and graduated in 2004.

Giovanni has had an interest in film since the age of ten. He moved from his hometown to Milan in the early 1990s where he worked as a professional illustrator. He also took up singing and began his career as an actor appearing in local theater plays.

He then began experimenting making video films and released his first film “Marasma Milano” in 2001. He graduated from Civic School of Cinema, Television and New Media in Milan and then moved to Rome where he attended the above mentioned VIII° Corso RAI SCRIPT course.

His love of westerns comes from his father where they attended the cinema for Bud & Terence. The Dollar Trilogy was seen on TV every time Leone's films were played. Add to it that Orvieto, Tuscia in particular, is the Italian Louisiana as I always say. In my youth it was therefore easy to superimpose some vintage American atmospheres with what we lived on the sunny country roads. I grew up riding horses, because we had them available in the family. Then, in adulthood, I also began to get passionate about western shooting with real vintage weapons.

Since 2001 Bufalini has directed forty-four films, written for forty-five and acted in fourteen.

Giovanni’s directed two Spaghetti westerns: “Last Light Mile” in 2014 and “Never Dies” in 2020. He also directed the Birr Alfina beer western commercial ‘Birralfina Triello’ in 2024 a takeoff on “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” showdown.

BUFALINI, Giovanni [12/11/1973, Orvieto, Italy -     ] – producer; director, assistant director, writer, film actor, married to ? (2017-    ).

Last Light Mile - 2014

Never Dies – 2020

Spaghetti Western Screenwriters ~ J. Joachim Bartsch

Julius Joachim Bartsch was born on September 13, 1903, in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. Bartsch is a German screenwriter, director, and editor known for his contributions to mid-20th-century German genre cinema, particularly through screenplays for crime thrillers, adventure films, and Western adaptations in the 1950s and 1960s.

Bartsch began his career in the late 1930s and 1940s by directing short films before shifting his focus primarily to screenwriting for feature productions in post-war West Germany. He became a key figure in popular series based on English author Edgar Wallace, contributing scripts to films such as “Face of the Frog” (1959), “The Terrible People” (1960), and “The Sinister Monk” (1965), which helped establish the successful Rialto Film adaptations of Wallace's mystery novels. Bartsch also played a significant role in the Karl May Western cycle, co-writing screenplays for major entries including “The Desperado Trail” (1965) and “The Last Tomahawk” (1965), which featured international stars and contributed to the genre's popularity in Europe during that era.

His work extended to other genres, including war dramas like “U47 – Kapitänleutnant Prien” (1958) and various crime and adventure pictures, reflecting the diverse output of German commercial cinema in the Wirtschaftswunder period. Bartsch died on November 23, 1965, in Munich, leaving behind a legacy of prolific contributions to escapist entertainment films that achieved widespread audience appeal.

J. Joachim Bartsch as mentioned above co-wrote the screenplays for two German Karl May Winnetou films: “Der letzte Mohikaner” (The Last Tomahawk) in 1964 with Roberto Bianchi Montero, JoséAntonio de la Loma and Giovanni Simonelli and “Winnetou III” (The Desperado Trail) in 1965 with Harald G. Peterson.

BARTSCH, J. Joachim (aka H.J. Bartsch) (Julius Joachim Bartsch) [9/13/1903, Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France – 11/23/1965, Munich, Bavaria, Germany] – director, writer, film editor.

The Last Tomahawk – 1964 (co)

The Desperado Trail – 1965 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Federico Caddeo

Federico Caddeo was born in Rome on March 27^th and is a director who works in the field of documentary and social cinema. He is interested — among other things — in themes related to the cinematic past, genre, countercultures, and films considered "cult".

Among his most important works we remember here “Around the World in 16 Years” (2016), a docufilm on Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, screened at the Lucca Film Festival.

In 2019 he shot the documentary “All the Colors of Giallo”, telling the story of the Italian thriller. “In the Name of Hate” (2025), written, produced and directed by him, is a tribute to the film “Shaved Heads” (1993, directed by Claudio Fragasso, scripted by Rossella Drudi), and is dedicated to Rossella Drudi herself. "Painted Screams" (2025) is a tribute to the film “The House with Laughing Windows” (1976) by Pupi Avati, which is considered a cult of Italian horror cinema. Among the testimonies in the documentary there is an unpublished interview with Lino Capolicchio, the lead actor of the original film, who worked with Avati.

Caddeo was a photographer on two short western related documentaries for Wild East “Vengeance Rides a Horse” in 2009 and “His Name Is Sabata” in 2013 with Francesco Biancu Biancone.

CADDEO, Federico [3/27/19??, Rome, Lazio, Italy –     ] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer, film editor, actor, founded ‘Freak-O-Rama’ [2006].

Vengeance Rides a Horse - 2009

His Name Is Sabata – 2013 (co)

“Dirty Hands”

 

Manos sucias – Spanish title

[Dirty Hands – English translated title]

 

A 2013 Spanish film production

Producers: José Aparicio, José Luis Aparicio, Javier Ramírez

Director: Eva G. Szigriszt (Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt), Javier Ramírez

Story: Eva G. Szigriszt (Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt), Javier Ramírez

Screenplay: Eva G. Szigriszt (Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt), Javier Ramírez

Cinematography Fernando J. Martínez [color]

Music: Luis Manuel García

Running time: 13 minutes

 

Cast:

Chano Rodríguez (Luciano Rodríguez), Javier Ramírez, Daniel Montes

 

When a man loses everything, he has only one thing left… revenge.

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Enzo Fiermonte

 

Vincenzo ‘Enzo’ Fiermonte was born in Bari, Puglia, Italy on July 17, 1908. He was a professional boxer from 1925 to 1934, achieving a record of 45 wins and 13 losses.

Following his boxing days, Fiermonte launched a prolific acting career starting in the early 1940s, debuting in Italian cinema with roles in films like “Merchant of Slaves” (1942) and “The Adventures of Fra Diavolo” (1942). He became a familiar face in peplum and sword-and-sandal epics, appearing in at least 45 such genre titles, as well as spaghetti westerns, with standout performances in William Wyler's “Ben-Hur” (1959) as a galley officer, Luchino Visconti's “Rocco and His Brothers” (1960), and Enzo Barboni's “Trinity Is Still My Name” (1971). His filmography also included literary adaptations like Renato Castellani's “Romeo and Juliet” (1954), where he portrayed Tybalt, showcasing his versatility in both antagonistic and supporting roles across more than 130 credits until the early 1980s. Fiermonte's later years were spent in Italy, where he passed away at age 84, leaving a legacy as a multifaceted figure in 20th-century Italian entertainment

Fiermonte was married twice: Tosca Manetti from 1929-1933 and then Madeleine Talmage Force Astor (1933-1938), the widow of John Jacob Astor IV. Notably, he was only four years older than his stepson, John Jacob Astor VI [1912-1992]. In 1937, he attempted to enter the Vanderbilt Cup auto race with his Maserati but was denied participation due to his lack of racing experience.

In total, Fiermonte took part in over 100 films, sometimes using pseudonyms, including William Stockridge and Glenn Foster. As a director Fiermonte used the pseudonym William Bird

Fiermonte's later years were spent in Italy, where he passed away at age 84 on March 22, 1993 in Mentana, Lazio, Italy, leaving a legacy as a multifaceted figure in 20th-century Italian entertainment.

FIERMONTE, Enzo (aka William Bird, Enzo Fiermann, Glen Fortel, Glenn Foster, William Stockridge) (Vincenzo Fiermonte) [7/17/1908, Bari, Puglia, Italy – 3/22/1993, Mentana, Lazio, Italy] – boxer, director, writer, film actor, married to married to Tosca Manetti [1907-deceased] (1929-1933) father of Giovanni ‘John’ Fiermonte [1930-    ], married to Madeleine Astor [1893-1940] (1933-1938), stepfather of John Jacob Astor VI [1912-1992].

Buffalo Bill in Rome – 1949 (Buffalo Bill)

The Greatest Robbery in the West – 1966 (Sheriff Martin Cooney) [as Glen Fortel]

The Ugly Ones – 1966 (Gage Novak) [as Glenn Foster]

Beyond the Law – 1967 (Sheriff John Ferguson)

A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die – 1967 (Doctor Chase)

A Long Ride from Hell – 1968 (Baldy Morris)

Two Pistols and a Coward – 1968 (man ate trading post)

Boot Hill – 1969 (Sharp)

The Forgotten Pistolero - 1969 (padre)

In the Name of the Father – 1969 (Sheriff Jones)

The Unholy Four – 1969 (Dodge City sheriff)

Trinity is STILL My Name – 1971 (Perla’s/Pearl’s father)

Vengeance Trail – 1971 (George Bridger)

Man of the East – 1972 (Frank Austin/Olsen)

They Call Him Veritas – 1972 (Confederate Captain)

Those Dirty Dogs – 1973 (Doctor Adams)

California – 1977 (father of Union soldier)

A Man Called Blade – 1977 (government agent)

Profession: Acrobat – a Afternoon with Riccardo Pizzuti – 2008 (Frank Austin) [archive

     footage]

Special Birthdays

Fernando García Morcillo (composer) would have been 110 today but died in 2002.

Urs Althaus (actor) is 70 today.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Franco De Rosa

[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.]

Franco De Rosa was born on July 16, 1944, in Viareggio, Italy. He is an Italian actor best known for his supporting roles in Italian and British films and television series during the 1960s through the 1980s.

De Rosa began his career in 1964, debuting in the British television anthology series ‘Armchair Theatre’ before making his film debut in the thriller “Return from the Ashes” (1965), directed by J. Lee Thompson, where he played a minor role alongside Ingrid Thulin and Maximilian Schell. Over the next two decades, he appeared in a variety of genres, including spaghetti Westerns such as “Yankee” (1966) and “Ringo and His Golden Pistol” (1966), as well as horror and giallo films like “The Young, the Evil and the Savage” (1968), directed by Antonio Margheriti. His work extended to British productions, including the comedy “Holiday on the Buses” (1973) and the drama “Richard's Things” (1980), often portraying characters with Italian heritage or in international settings

Though not a leading man, De Rosa contributed to over 20 film and television projects, frequently collaborating with notable European directors and showcasing versatility across action, mystery, and light entertainment formats before largely retiring from acting in the 1980s. His career reflects the cross-cultural exchanges in post-war European cinema, bridging Italian genre filmmaking with Anglo-American influences

De Rosa's final feature films were in the early 1980s, focusing on dramatic supporting roles in British cinema.

Altogether Franco appeared in thirty-four films and television appearances between 1964 and 1982.

De Rosa appeared in four Spaghetti westerns: “Johnny Oro” (Ringo and His Golden Pisto) as Juanito Perez, “Uno straniero a Paso Bravo” (A Stranger in Paso Bravo) as José, “L'Americano” (Yankee) as Angel Face all in 1966 and “Sartana nella valle degli avvoltoi” (Ballad of Death Valley) as Peter Douglas in 1970.

De ROSA, Franco (aka Franco DeRosa Francesco Derosa Franco Derosa) [7/16/1944, Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy -     ] – film, TV actor.

Ringo and His Golden Pistol - 1966 (Juanito Perez) [as Franco Derosa]

A Stranger in Paso Bravo - 1966 (José) [as Franco Derosa]

Yankee – 1966 (Angel Face)

Ballad of Death Valley – 1970 (Peter Douglas)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Julio Buchs

Julio Buchs García was born on March 10, 1926, in Madrid, Spain. He was the son of José Buchs Echeandía, a pioneering Spanish film director known for his work in the early decades of Spanish cinema.

Buchs was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, and assistant director known for his contributions to genre cinema, particularly westerns and thrillers, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director during the 1950s and later transitioned to directing and writing his own projects. His directorial works include notable titles such as “A Bullet for Sandoval” (1969), “Murder by Music” (1969), “Alta tension” (1972), and “El apartamento de la tentación” (1971), reflecting a style marked by technical care and engagement with popular genres of the era.

Buchs’ father’s career influenced his entry into the industry. He directed approximately fifteen films (including shorts) as a director, often handling writing duties as well, before his untimely death from a heart attack on January 20, 1973, in Madrid at the age of 46. His output, though relatively brief, exemplifies the vibrant and diverse landscape of Spanish commercial filmmaking during the Franco era's later years

Julio Buchs directed three Spaghetti westerns: “El Mestizo” (Django Does Not Forgive) in 1966, “El hombre que mató a Billy el Niño” (A Few Bullets More) in 1967 and “Los desesperdados” (A Bullet for Sandoval) in 1969.

BUCHS, Julio (aka J. Buchs, Julio Busch) (Julio Buchs Garcia) [3/10/1926, Madrid, Madrid, Spain – 1/20/1973, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (heart attack)] – director, assistant director, writer, married son of producer, production manager, production designer, director, writer, actor José Buchs (José Buchs Echeandía) [1896-1973].

Django Does Not Forgive – 1966

A Few Bullets More – 1967 [as J. Buchs]

A Bullet for Sandoval – 1969

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Jan Bartošík

Born in Piestany, Slovakia on June 2, 1944, to parents Otto Bartosik and Jolanka Takac, Jan received his master’s degree at the Technical University of Architecture in Bratislava in 1967. After enduring years of Communist oppression and imprisonment for an attempted escape during his college years, Jan, his sister, and nephew departed for Austria on August 20, 1969, one year after Czechoslovakia fell under the “Iron Curtain” and one day before the borders were closed. Immigrating to Seattle, Washington on November 13th, 1969, and later arriving in Los Angeles in the Spring of 1970, Jan began his life in California. Jan died in Manhattan Beach, California on February 9, 2022, from heart failure. He was 77 years old.

Jan Bartošík wrote the screenplay for one Euro-western “Covbojka” in 1967.

BARTOSIK, Jan (Jan A. Bartošík) [6/2/1944, Pieštany, Slovakia, 2/9/2022, Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.A. (heart failure)] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer, composer, married to Carmel C. Brinkman [1961-    ] [1992-    ] father of Blaise Bartošík [1998-    ], Bridget Bartošík [2002-    ].

Covbojka – 1997

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ John Cabrera

John Cabrera Puig was born on January 14, 1925, in Liverpool, England. He was a Spanish-British cinematographer.

Cabrera applied to The Rank Organisation at the age of 16 and got to know the film industry from the ground up. During World War II, Cabrera took part as a photographer in the Allied landing operations in Normandy in 1944 and in 1945 in the invasion of German territory by Allied troops. After the end of the war, Cabrera returned to civilian life, first serving as a material assistant, then as a second and finally as a first camera assistant. In 1952, he returned to his parents' country of Spain, where he initially served as a contact person for the British and American film crews filming here, beginning this year with the costume and romance drama "Boccaccio's Great Love", which was filmed on site, both in English and Spanish. Here, too, Cabrera had to make do with menial jobs, such as as a camera assistant, but also repeatedly served as an intermediary between the foreign film teams and the Spanish authorities or the local extras. In this capacity, Cabrera was also involved in Robert Rossen's colossal ham “Alexander the Great” in 1955 and in David Lean's masterpiece “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1961/62.

Even at the age of more than 40, John Cabrera had not progressed beyond the post of a simple cinematographer and in this subordinate function served second-unit film crews in major international productions produced in Spain in the second half of the 1960s.

In 1970, John Cabrera finally made his debut as chief cinematographer in the British western “Captain Apache”, which was also shot in Spain. Initially, he was allowed to continue photographing internationally produced films (“Call of the Wild”, “The Man Called Noon” and "Paper Tiger"), but then Cabrera was mainly behind the camera for purely Spanish films, which were usually rarely shown abroad. In 1981, he once again took over the second-unit camera role in a Hollywood production made outside the USA, “Conan the Barbarian” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cabrera's last work remained the unfinished, large-scale international production "Genghis Khan" (Genghis Khan), which could not be completed in 1992 due to considerable financing difficulties of the Italian co-producer.

John Cabrera was cinematographer on five Spaghetti westerns: “Capitán Apache” (Captain Apache) in 1970, “The Call of the Wild” in 1972, “The Man Called Noon” in 1973, “Triumphs of a Man Called Horse” in 1982 with John Alcott and “Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold” in 1984.

CABRERA, John (John Cabrera Puig) [1/14/1925, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K. - 4/18/2014, Dénia, Alicante, Spain] – cinematographer, cameraman, photographer, married to Gertrude Leadbetter (1951-19??) married to Irene Cabrera (19??-2014) father of John Cabrera, Edward Cabrera.

Captain Apache – 1970

The Call of the Wild – 1972

The Man Called Noon - 1973

Triumphs of a Man Called Horse – 1983 (co)

Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold – 1984