Remembering Franco Ressel

He was born Domenico Orobana on February 8, 1925 in Naples, Italy. He was a former theater actor with the Pagnanip-Ninchi company. He acted along such actors as Salvo Randone, Antonio Gandusio and Dina Galli and spent most of the decade of the 1950s on stage. In the 1960s he made a shift to films and became a great character actor. With that prissy face he was perfect for playing crooked bankers, crazies and town bosses. He appeared under such aliases as Franco Ressel Frank Ressel, Walter Frank Ressel and Ray Russell. Some of his standout westerns were “A Taste of Killing” (1966), “Dead for a Dollar” (1968), “The Mercenary” (1968), “Trinity is Still My Name” (1971) and “California” (1977). His most remembered roles was as the evil Stengel in 1969's “Sabata”. As the Italian film industry declined he was seen less and less but he amased roles in over 125 films and TV appearances before death claimed him on January 14, 1985 at the age of 59. Today we remember Franco Ressel on what would have been his 85th birthday.