Spaghetti Western Director ~ Theo Bouwmeester
Theodorus Maurita Frenkel was born on July 14 1871, in Zutphen,
Gelderland, Netherlands. He was a Dutch film director, actor and screenwriter
of the silent era. He worked in England under the name Theo Bouwmeester for the
Natural Color Kinematograph Company, using the surname of his renowned mother
and uncle (both who were accomplished actors), before working in Germany in
1913 and 1914 and then returning to the Netherlands, a neutral country, before
World War I. He directed more than 200 films between 1908 and 1928. He also
appeared in 21 films between 1911 and 1948. His nephew Theo Frenkel Jr. (1893–1955)
was a film actor.
Theo Bouwmeester died in Amsterdam on September 20, 1956.
Bouwmeester’s only Euro-western was “Fate” in 1911.
BOUWMEESTER,Theo (aka Theo Frenkel,
Theo Mann-Bouwmeester) (Theodorus Maurita Frenkel) [4/19/1850,
Zutphen, Gelderland, Netherlands - 4/18/1939, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland,
Netherlands] – director, actor, son of actress Theo Mann-Bouwmeester (Theodora
Bouwmeester) [1850- 1939] composer, conductor Gottfried Mann [1858-1904],
nephew of actor Louis Bouwmeester (Louis Frederik Johannes Bouwmeester)
[1842-1925].
Fate – 1911
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Don Balluck
Donald Eugene Balluck was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June
25, 1929. He was an actor, playwright and television writer for such durable
series as ‘Little House on the Prairie’ and ‘Father Murphy’. Balluck began his
career as an actor in Cleveland and moved to New York in 1956 and to Los
Angeles four years later to pursue writing. His first teleplay, an episode of ‘Dr.
Kildare’ starring Richard Chamberlain, was broadcast in 1964. Balluck went on
to write episodes of ‘Run for Your Life’ and ‘Daniel Boone’, then became
executive story editor for ‘High Chaparral’. With producer and actor Michael
Landon, Balluck worked as executive story consultant and wrote for ‘Little
House on the Prairie’ and its spinoff, starring Merlin Olsen, ‘Father Murphy’.
More recently, Balluck was executive story supervisor for ‘Fantasy Island’ and ‘Hell
Town’ and wrote for ‘Magnum, P.I.’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Adept at
westerns as well as police drama, Balluck was an active member of the Western
Writers of America. He earned its Golden Spur Award for a 1982 episode of ‘Father
Murphy’ titled “Knights of the White Camelia.” Balluck rarely ventured into
motion pictures but did script the 1969 western “Four Rode Out” starring ‘Bonanza’
television veteran Pernell Roberts.
Balluck died from lung cancer and emphysema on April 7,
2000, in Burbank, California. He was 70.
As mentioned above his only screenplay credit for a
Euro-western was for “Cuatro cabalgaron” (Four Rode Out) in 1968 with Paul
Harrison.
BALLUCK, Don (Donald Eugene
Balluck) [6/25/1929, Cleveland,
Ohio, U.S.A. – 4/7/2000, Burbank, California, U.S.A.] – producer, writer,
married to actress Rhea Mae ‘Riki’ Gordon [1934-1973] (1957-1969) father of
Professor Pamela Jo Balluck [1959- ],
Cynthia Balluck [1960- ].
Four Rode Out - 1968
(co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Wolfgang Braumann
Wolfgang Braumann was born on January 7. 1938 in Potsdam,
Germany. Braumann was a German cinematographer known for his extensive
contributions to DEFA children's films in East German cinema.
Braumann established himself as a leading figure in DEFA
productions, where he served as chief cinematographer on nearly 40 films over
approximately 25 years, many of which continue to air regularly on television.
He developed a distinctive visual style featuring hand-held camera techniques
for heightened realism, atmospheric backlighting, elaborate production design,
special effects, and camera placement at children's eye level to treat young
performers as equal creative partners. Braumann frequently collaborated with
directors such as Walter Beck, Hans Kratzert, Egon Schlegel, Jörg Foth, and
Günter Meyer, and his notable credits include “Hut ab, wenn du küßt!” (1971),
“Der Prinz hinter den sieben Meeren” (1982), “Zille und ick” (1983), “Das
Eismeer ruft” (1984), and “Der Froschkönig” (1988).
Although best remembered for his work in children's
cinema, Braumann also contributed to other genres within DEFA, including
comedies and musicals. He was married to costume designer Barbara Braumann,
with whom he had one child, and he resided in Potsdam throughout his life.
Braumann died on April 8, 2017, at the age of 79.
Wolfgang was the cinematographer on one Euro-western “Tecumseh”
in 1972.
BRAUMANN, Wolfgang [1/7/1938, Potsdam,
Brandenburg, Germany – 4/8/2017, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany] –
cinematographer, cameraman, married to costume designer Barbara Braumann (Barbara
Müller) [1940- ] (19??-2017),
father of a son.
Tecumseh – 1972
