Ettore Manni was born on May 6, 1927 in Rome, Italy.
Manni first appeared in films in 1951, and distinguished himself in roles of
all varieties and sizes. During his first decade on the screen, he was often
cast in costume epics, playing Marc Anthony in several films based on the life
of Cleopatra and showing up in a number of Sword and Sandal films. When the
Spaghetti western genre emerged in the mid-60s’ Ettore found steady work making
13 Euro-westerns between “Ringo and His Golden Pistol” (1966) with Mark Damon
to “Silver Saddle” (1978), with Giuliano Gemma. In contemporary productions, he
was frequently seen as a priest or law officer. In all he appeared in over 105
films. Manni was married to actress Krista Nell [1946-1975] until her death in
1975. Some controversy has risen over Manni’s death on July 27, 1979 in Rome.
It was originally believed that Manni accidentally shot himself while cleaning
a gun, but now it is believed he may have committed suicide as he was dealing
with depression. Ettore Manni's final film, “City of Women” (1980), was
released posthumously. Today we remember Ettore Manni on what would have been
his 85th birthday.
Wikipedia tells me that Ettore Manni accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun but the suicide story is much more plausible since he DID lose his wife only four years earlier in 1975 and the death occurred in 1979. I believe the gun was a handgun but I'm not so sure. Maybe someone out there knows. He probably even played Russian roulette at the time of his death but that has been debated and cannot be thoroughly proven. He was 53 years old at the time which IS young but also tragic. He never had children so he didn't leave much of a legacy behind. But he DOES remain a cult classic especially in Spaghetti Westerns. And THAT, unlike Ettore himself, will never die. RIP Ettore Manni.
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