Happy 85th Birthday José Canalejas

José Álvarez Canalejas was born in Madrid, Spain on February 14, 1925. He is the brother of actress Lina Canalejas [1932- ] and the brother-in-law of actress Lina Yegros [1914-1978]. José was one of the top Spanish character actors during the Spaghetti western era. He appeared in “Fistful of Dollars” (1964) as Alvaro and “For a Few Dollars More” (1965) as Chico. He would go on to play in many of the top western productions of the era and was a part of the team of José Manuel Martin, Frank Brana, Aldo Sambrell, Antonio Molino Rojo and Lorenzo Robledo who always seemed to appear in the same films together. Canalejas sometimes was credited as Joe Camel and appeared as gang members, soldiers, Mexicans and ranch hands. Seldom did he appear as the hero more likely on the side of the villain. He was easily recognizable and always turned in a rewarding performance. Today we celebrate his 85th birthday.