Remembering Ettore Manni

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 85^th birthday.