Remembering Giuseppe Colizzi

Giuseppe Colizzi was born in Rome, Italy in 1925. Colizzi began in the film industry as an assistant director with director Luigi Zampa in 1948. This lead to him becoming a production manager. Giuseppe then began writing film scripts. He then left the industry and wrote two novels. In the mid-60s he returns to films where he’s best remembered for directing four films, three of them westerns, featuring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. Terence Hill has often remarked that Colizzi was the first director to believe Hill and Spencer could be a successful team. Peter Martell was initially offered the role given to Terence Hill but he injured his foot. In 1975 Colizzi turned to directing on a private TV station in Rome. He was working on a TV film “Switch” when he died in his sleep on August 23, 1978 in Rome at the age of 53. Today we remember Giuseppe Colizzi on what would have been his 85th birthday.