Who Are Those Guys? ~ Mark Damon

 

Mark Damon was born Alan Herskovitz in Chicago, Illinois on April 22, 1933. The son of a grocer. His family was Jewish, and their surname had originally been "Herskovitz". Damon moved to Los Angeles at a young age where he attended Fairfax High School. As a senior in high school, he was scouted as an actor by Groucho Marx, but chose to attend dental school at UCLA. He soon switched to the Anderson School of Management, eventually graduating with an MBA and a BA in English. Damon also began taking theater classes and decided that he wanted a career as an actor.

He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's “House of Usher”, before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Spaghetti western star, probably best remembered for his starring role in 1966’s “Johnny Yuma”. He was a member of the 1960s Dolce Vita set of actors and actresses in Rome. After starring in over 50 films in the United States and Europe, he quit acting and reinvented himself as a film producer and pioneer of the foreign sales business in the 1970s and became one of Hollywood's most prolific producers. In 1977, he formed his own production company, Producer Sales Organization; one of his first producing efforts was the movie version of Joseph Wambaugh's “The Choirboys”. Ten years later, Mark Damon founded another production firm, Vision International, and in 2003 he founded Media 8 Entertainment.

Damon was married to Spaghetti western actress and singer Barbara Frey [1941- ] from 1971 to 1973. Today he lives with his wife actress Maggie (née Margaret Mary Markov) [1948-    ] in Beverly Hills, California. They have two children, actor Jonathan Damon [1977- ], actress Alexis Damon [1982- ].

DAMON, Mark (aka M. Damon, Alan Harris) (Alan Herskovitz) [4/22/1933, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. -     ] – producer, writer, film, TV actor, married to actress, singer Barbara Frey [1941-    ] (1971-1973), married to actress Margaret ‘Maggie’ Markov (Margaret Mary Markov) [1948-    ] (1976 –    ) father of actor Jonathan Damon [1977-    ], actress Alexis Damon [1982-    ], founded Producers Sales Organization (PSO). [1977], Mark Damon Productions (MDP) Worldwide, Vision International [1987], Media 8 Entertainment [2003-2012]

Before the Sun Rises – 1963 [film was never made]

Death at Owell Rocks – 1966 (Harry Boyd/Jeffries)

Johnny Yuma – 1966 (Jonathan Tomadaro Jefferson Gonzales/Johnny Oro/Johnny

     Ringo)

Ringo and His Golden Pistol – 1966 (Johnny Oro/Johnny Ringo)

Kill and Pray – 1967 (George Bellow Ferguson)

A Train for Durango – 1967 (Brown/Samuel Lee Barrett/Elias MacPherson)

Dead Men Don’t Count – 1968 (Johnny Dannon Dalton)

Go for Broke – 1968 (Johnny Sweet/West)

Django Never Pardons – 1970 [film was never made]

A Rope for Django – 1970 (Django) [film was never made]

Venne l’ora del massacre e fu… la resa dei conti – 1970 [film was never made]

Pistol Packin' Preacher - 1971 (Slim)

The Great Treasure Hunt – 1972 (Dean Madison)

Taquila – 1972 [Film was never made.]

They Called Him Veritas - 1972 (Verità/Veritas/Verity)

Arrivano i Vostro (TV) – 1983 [himself]

Mark Damon: From Gunslinger to Hollywood Player – 2006 [himself]