Juneteenth 2026

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Erich Dolz

[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.]

Erich Dolz was a German child actor who was born in Germany on December 7, 1955. He appeared in only one film that we know of and that was also his only Euro-western film, as Erik Johson in 1972’s “Tschetan” (Chetan, Indian Boy).

Dolz died in Germany on September 28, 2023 at the age of 68.

DOLZ, Erich [12/7/1955, Germany - 9/28/2023, Germany] – film actor.

Chetan, Indian Boy – 1972 (Erik Johnson)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Sergio Garrone

Sergio Garrone was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his work in exploitation cinema, particularly spaghetti westerns and controversial genre films during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Rome on April 15, 1925, he began his career as a screenwriter and assistant director before transitioning to directing low-budget genre pictures, often under pseudonyms such as Willy S. Regan.

Garrone became associated with several popular Italian exploitation cycles, starting with spaghetti westerns including ''Django the Bastard'' (1969) and ''No Room to Die'' (1969). In the 1970s, he directed gothic horror films starring Klaus Kinski, such as ''The Hand That Feeds the Dead'' (1974) and ''Lover of the Monster'' (1974), before directing the infamous nazisploitation pictures ''SS Experiment Love Camp'' (1976) and ''SS Lager 5: L'inferno delle donne'' (1977). These later works, produced with largely the same cast and crew, remain among his most notorious contributions to the exploitation genre.

He continued directing various low-budget films, including women-in-prison pictures, into the early 1980s before retiring from the industry around 1984. The brother of actor Riccardo Garrone, he passed away at the age of 98 in Tortola, Virgin Islands on July 12, 2023. His career exemplifies the prolific output of journeyman filmmakers in Italian popular cinema during its peak exploitation era.

Sergio Garrone directed six Spaghetti westerns: “Se vuoi vivere…spara!” (If You Want to Live... Shoot!) in 1967, “Tre croci per nopn morire” (No Graves on Boot Hill) in 1968, “Django il bastardo” (The Strangers Gundown) and “Una lunga fila di croci” (No Room to Die) both in 1969, “Uccidi Django… uccidi per primo!!! (Kill Django… Kill First) and “Quel maledetto giorno della resa dei conti” (Vendetta at Dawn) both in 1971.

GARRONE, Sergio (aka Kenneth Freeman, S. Garrone, William S. Regan, Willy R. Regan, Willy S. Regan, Willy Regan) [4/15/1925, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 7/12/2023, Tortola, Virgin Islands] – producer, production manager, director, writer, brother of producer, production manager, director, writer, actor Riccardo Garrone [1926-2016], married to Mari Garrone (19??-2023) father of Giorgio Garrone, Claudia Garrone.

If You Want to Live... Shoot! - 1967 [as Willy S. Regan]

No Graves on Boot Hill - 1968 [as Willy S. Regan]

No Room to Die – 1969 [as Willy S. Regan]

The Stranger’s Gundown – 1969 [as Willy S. Regan]

Dirty Dollars – 1970 [film was never made]

Kill Django... Kill First - 1971 [as William S. Regan]

Vendetta at Dawn – 1971 [as Willy S. Regan]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Claudio Cirri

Claudio Cirri is an Italian producer, director, writer, SFX specialist and actor. He was born in Firenze, Tuscany, Italy on January 16, 1979. Claudio’s cinema is a tribute to the Great American Frontier. Over the years, he has dedicated his career to the Western genre, completing five short films that explore its timeless themes. His journey began with 'The Loot' (California Film Award 2014) and reached a milestone at the 2021 Almería Western Film Festival, where 'Abigail' was awarded the Jury Prize. With his latest project 'DUES', Claudio reinforces his commitment to the genre, bringing his Italian heritage and Hollywood dreams to the screen through powerful visuals and atmospheric storytelling.

Claudio Cirri has written screenplays for three Euro-westerns: “The Loot” in 2012, “Abigail” in 2021 and “Gallows Ridge” in 2024.

CIRRI, Claudio [1/16/1979, Firenze, Tuscany, Italy -     ] – producer, director, writer, SFX, actor,

The Loot – 2012

Abigail - 2021

Gallows Ridge – 2024

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Rolf Kastel

Rolf Kästel was a German cinematographer known for his work as director of photography on prominent German television crime series and feature films from the 1960s through the 1980s. He contributed to several enduring productions in the German-speaking audiovisual industry, establishing himself as a reliable and prolific figure in cinematography during the post-war era and beyond.

Born on December 16, 1919, in Cologne, Germany, Kästel pursued a career in film and television that spanned multiple decades, collaborating on both cinematic features and episodic television. His portfolio includes notable crime dramas such as “Derrick” and “Der Kommissar”, as well as adventure and action films like “Pirates of the Mississippi”, “Agent 505 - Todesfalle Beirut”, and “Countdown to Doomsday”.

Kästel's technical skill supported a wide range of storytelling in German popular media, particularly in the ZDF and other broadcaster productions that defined the era's television landscape. He died on June 26, 1987 in Munich, Germany at the age of 68.

Rof Kastel was the cinematographer on one Euro-western, “Due Flußpiraten vom Mississippi) (Pirates of the Mississippi) in 1963.

KASTEL, Rolf (aka Rolf Kästel) [12/16/1919, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – 6/26/1987, Munich, Unterhaching, Bavaria, Germany] – cinematographer, cameraman.

Pirates of the Mississippi – 1963

"Trinity is STILL My Name", all the curiosities about the film you didn't know

 From poker with fake hands to Italian locations transformed into the Wild West: the cult with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill continues to conquer the public even after more than 50 years

Donna Moderna

By Redazione

30.05.2026

There are films that seem to cross time without losing their charm. ... They kept calling it Trinity, sequel to the famous comedy western with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, is one of them. Released in 1971 and directed by E.B. Clucher, pseudonym of Enzo Barboni, the film has become a fixture on Italian TV over the years, thanks to a perfect mix of slapstick comedy, chases, fistfights and memorable jokes.

To this day, audiences continue to follow him with affection, generation after generation. Behind the most iconic scenes, however, there are many little-known backstories. From the footage shot between Abruzzo and Molise to the tricks used in the famous poker game, here are the most interesting curiosities about the film broadcast on Saturday 30 May on Rete 4.

Where "They kept calling him Trinity" was filmed

Although the story is set in the American Old West, much of the film was shot in Italy. The vast plains that represent California in the film are in fact located between Abruzzo and Lazio.

Many scenes were shot in Campo Imperatore, on the Gran Sasso plateau, one of the symbolic places of Italian spaghetti westerns. Some sequences were instead shot in the plain of Camposecco, near Camerata Nuova, already used in the first They Call Me Trinity.

The mission of the friars, one of the most important places in the film, no longer exists. It had been rebuilt in the De Laurentiis factories on the Via Pontina, on the outskirts of Rome. Molise also appears in the film: some scenes along the river were shot on the banks of the Volturno, near Venafro.

These landscapes helped to create that dusty and ironic atmosphere that made Enzo Barboni's western unique.

Trinity's poker? The hands were not Terence Hill's

He was the one who created the most complex card games, including the very rapid shuffling and fanned openings. In some interviews, Binarelli said that to differentiate the hands of the various characters, the crew even went so far as to make up his fingers.

Shooting that scene took three days of work. According to the magician, the set was interrupted several times because the actors burst out laughing during filming.

A resounding box office success

When it was released in Italian cinemas in 1971, … They kept calling him Trinity, he was a real phenomenon. The film became the highest-grossing film of the 1971-72 film season and won over millions of viewers.

With over 14 million tickets sold in Italy, the film is still among the most viewed in the history of Italian cinema. A huge result, especially considering that the western at the time was experiencing a phase of change.

The success also contributed to definitively consecrating Bud Spencer and Terence Hill as the symbolic couple of Italian action comedy. After the film, the two actors continued to work together in films that became cult, always maintaining that dynamic made up of brawls, irony and brotherly affection.

How Bud Spencer and Terence Hill changed the Italian western

One of the most famous scenes in the film is undoubtedly that of the poker game between Trinity and Wild Cat Hendriks. The spectacular evolutions with the cards left the audience speechless, but there is a detail that many do not know.

The hands you see during virtuosity were not those of Terence Hill. In fact, the movements were performed by Tony Binarelli, a very famous illusionist and magician in the seventies

Before the arrival of Trinity, spaghetti westerns had much harsher and more dramatic tones. The protagonists were often lone gunslingers, marked by revenge or violence.

Enzo Barboni completely changed register. With Him they called Him Trinity… before and… They kept calling him Trinity then, he turned the western into a popular comedy full of physical humor, bewildered characters and surreal scenes.

Child and Trinity were not classical heroes. They were messy, lazy, improvised and often unable to behave like real bandits. It was precisely this humanity of theirs that conquered the public.

The film also helped define the cinematic image of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill that viewers would find again in the following years: one big and gruff, the other cunning and smiling, but both always on the side of the weakest.

The restored full version arrived on blu-ray

Over the years, the film has often been broadcast on television in shortened versions. Some scenes, in fact, had been eliminated in the home video editions and in the TV passages.

In 2016, a new DVD edition was released that recovered the cut sequences. More recently, in February 2026, the film arrived for the first time on restored and unabridged blu-ray, with a full runtime of 126 minutes.

An operation that allowed fans to rediscover the film in its version most faithful to the original theatrical release.

...Trinity is STILL My Name continues to be a cult

The secret of the success of ... They kept calling him Trinity, perhaps it lies precisely in his simplicity. The film does not focus on special effects or great twists, but on characters still capable of making you smile today.

Bud Spencer and Terence Hill have created an unrepeatable couple, which has entered the Italian collective memory. And each TV rerun continues to bring viewers of different ages back to the screen, united by the same desire to laugh.

Spaghetti Western Voices “Ringo the Lone Rider”

As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to be paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.

I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe.

Today we’ll cover “Ringo the Lone Rider”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English

Dan Blake/Capt. Bly/Ringo – Peter Martell (I) Cesare Barbetti, (S) José Guardiola, (G) Viktor Neumann

Daniel G. Samuelson – Piero Lulli (I) Giuseppe Rinaldi, (S) José María Cordero, (G) Erich Räuker

Lucy Corbett - Dyanik Zurakowska (I) Vittoria Febbi, (S) Maite Santamarina, (G) ?

Kid Michael - Paolo Herzl (I) Massimo Turci, (S) Rafael Romero Marchent, (G) ?

Bill Anderson - Armando Calvo (I) Riccardo Mantoni, (S) Armando Calvo, (G) Jan Spitzer

Major Corbett - Jesús Puente (I) Luigi Vannucchi, (S) Jesús Puente, (G) Tilo Schmitz

Viktor Neumann  (1958 -    )

Viktor Neumann was born on August 14, 1958, in Cologne, Germany. He is a German actor and voice actor as well as a speaker of radio plays and audiobooks.

Neumann grew up in Schildgen and completed his training at the Folkwang University in Essen. He was then engaged for seven years at the Schauspielhaus Dortmund. Further engagements followed at the Stadttheater Trier and the Renaissance-Theater Berlin.

In the fantasy series “Merlin – The New Adventures” he was the voice of the character Sir Gwaine. He is frequently heard as the voice of Alan Cumming  in “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas”, “Garfield – The Film”, “Ripley Under Ground” and the series ‘The L Word – When Women Love Women’ and Benoît Magimel (“The Purple Rivers 2 – The Angels of the Apocalypse”, “The Secret of the Geisha”). He’s also the German voice of Jon Cryer in shorts and in ‘Two and a Half Men’, and Andrew Lincoln in the television series ‘The Walking Dead’.

Special Birthdays

Ingeborg Krabbe (actress) would have been 95 today but died in 2017.

Bob Creese (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 1998.

Jon Lord (composer) would have been 85 today but died in 2012.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Giovanni Dolfini

[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.]

Giovanni Dolfini was an Italian stage, film, and television actor and director, active primarily from the silent era through the mid-20th century. Born in Venice, Italy on January 8, 1885, he built a career spanning over five decades, appearing in more than 38 productions, often in supporting or character roles that highlighted his versatility in Italian cinema and early television. His work frequently featured in adaptations of classic literature, contributing to the post-war revival of Italian film and broadcast media.

Dolfini's directorial debut came with the 1920 silent film Dopo, where he also starred, marking an early highlight in his multifaceted involvement in the industry. Notable acting credits include portrayals in television miniseries such as ‘Les Misérables’ (1964) as Mabeuf and ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ (1966) as an elderly gentleman, alongside films like “Sleeping Beauty” (1942) and “Torna!” (1954). His career reflected the evolution of Italian entertainment, from mute cinema to sound films and TV, often collaborating with prominent directors in the neorealist and classical traditions. Dolfini passed away in Rome at the age of 83 on December 9, 1968, leaving a legacy of steady contributions to Italy's cultural output.

Giovanni Dolfini appeared in thirty-eight films and television appearances from 1911 to 1966. He also directed one film “Dopo” in 1920.

Giovanni Dolfini appeared in one Spaghetti western, “Il sogno di Zorro” (The Dream of Zorro) as Don Alonso in 1951

DOLFINI, Giovanni (G. Dolfini) [1/8/1885, Venice, Veneto, Italy – 12/9/1968, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, theater film, TV actor.

The Dream of Zorro – 1951 (Don Alonzo)