[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Pat Baker’s only film was a western where he played a rider in 1956’s “Carry On Cowboy”. He is/was most likely a British equestrian and hired only for this film.
BAKER, Pat (Patrick Baker) [British] –
film actor.
Carry on Cowboy – 1965 (rider)
40 kilometers from Madrid, Golden City was established, the first town for filming of westerns of which there is hardly anything left and from which an archaeological excavation has recovered material
— 'Mi soledad tiene alas' (My loneliness has wings), Mario Casas' directorial debut is as professional as it is inane
el DIARIO.com
By Javier Zurro
August 25, 2023
300 cubic meters of wood. 60 tons of cement. Half a million bricks and more than 30 kilos of dynamite. 75,000 hours of the work of 100 men were necessary to build, at the beginning of the 60s, a western town in Hoyo de Manzanares, a town 35 kilometers from Madrid that became the nerve center of western cinema in the following years. A bar, ranches, cabins and several cemeteries turned Golden City into the first town of the style built in Spain. Although many always refer to Almeria as a key site for the spaghetti western, before it was this Madrid town that opened the doors of its saloon.
Through its arena walked from national stars such as Marisol or Tony Leblanc to Sophia Loren. Its peak was touched a couple of years after its creation, in 1964, when Clint Eastwood stepped on the sand of Hoyo de Manzanares with his cowboy boots and shot in Golden City one of the most important films in the history of cinema, For a Fistful of Dollars, the imposing work of Sergio Leone that made this scenario be seen on screens around the world. Less than 60 years have passed, and of that corner, history of cinema, there are only a few stones that delimit what it was. The pride of the village, the most desired decoration, is now a lot. Its abandonment since the 70s was progressive until in 2010 came its total disappearance.
But where did all that go? Despite its destruction and
abandonment much of what existed and what was lived is still present ...
underground. That is why this year, for the first time, archaeological work has
been organized to show what the sand of Hoyo de Manzanares hides. A work that
comes hand in hand and thanks also to the commitment of the Hoyo Cine
association directed by Julián Iglesias and that tries to ensure that
everything does not fall into oblivion. There have been several initiatives
that it has had for this, including an augmented reality app in which you can
see what that unique decoration was like. Now he has had the help of Jesús
Martín Alonso, archaeologist and director of a project that aims to unearth the
cinematographic memory, which is also historical, of the place.
[The town of Golden City at its best in the filming of 'The Shadow of Zorro' Hoyo Cine Association.]
Julián Iglesias is the one who set out, many years ago, to recover that memory. He arrived in Hoyo de Manzanares in the year 86, and always heard the same comment: "I'm going to walk through the scenery." One day, walking with his wife, he saw that there were some ruins of what had been a movie set. He, who had always liked research, was "bitten by the bug" and began to look for what had happened in those lands. He began to ask, search, and create a database of the shootings that had taken place in his new home.
In 2010 he had a list of about 30 films that were shot there, and they already seemed "a barbarity". Now, thanks to the Internet and the time spent, you already know that more than 150 were shot in Golden City. In spite of this, the best known town is still that of Almeria, especially because that one "has endured over time". There were also others in Catalonia and Aragon, but those have suffered the same fate as Golden City: oblivion.
[A scene from Sergio Leone's film 'For a Fistful of Dollars', shot in Golden City.]
With his association they make guided tours. Two or three a year. People have to make an explanation so that they understand what that town meant, because if not, when they reach that empty esplanade they see nothing. An area that "well treated would have been very well even if it were a few remains". One of the main problems is that the town settled within the Regional Park of the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares, a protected area, and any activity requires specific permits. It was in 2010 when the few remaining remains were removed.
"The only thing we managed to keep are two original troughs of the films that have been maintained with the promise, by the consistory, to restore them and fill them with water. In this summer season the field animals have a place to drink and are filled with a tanker truck and at least we have managed to maintain it, "says Julián Iglesias. One of the reasons they give for denying them any activity is that "they don't want it to become a theme park."
This May they have achieved something different. An archaeological excavation to unearth the cinematographic memory that hid the land of Hoyo del Manzanares. The result has dusted off frames used by the directors, prop bullet casings, bricks from the old buildings and coins from the shoots. At the head of the project was Jesús Alonso Martín, an archaeologist who says that this project was born within the framework of his doctoral thesis, dedicated to "contemporary archaeology". Two terms that seem like an oxymoron, because when you think of a term like 'archaeology', centuries-old excavations and little-known civilizations always come to mind.
[Jesús Martín at the archaeological excavation of Golden City in May.]
When he was told about Golden City, it seemed logical that the first western settlement in Spain would become "the first filming site to be excavated in Spain with archaeological methodology." A way also to publicize this enclave, since "many people do not know this place or know that very important westerns for the history of cinema were filmed there".
A film set is not considered "archaeological heritage", but it has still had to ask for permits from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, and has applied the same methodology as if an Egyptian tomb were excavated. "The people who passed by when we were doing the intervention asked us what we were doing, and I said, well, digging. There were people who said that this was not an excavation because 'that was very current and very contemporary,'" he recalls of his action.
[Bullet casing used in a movie shoot, unearthed in Golden City. Jesús Martín.]
Being located in a regional park, one of the conditions for them to be allowed to carry out the excavation was "to leave everything as we found it". The team worked with a biologist to protect the most sensitive plants so that there was no problem with the fauna and flora of the place. "The grass has to grow, but I covered the holes that had been made, so you can see absolutely nothing except some walls that were already visible and that I left a little more uncovered so that they could be seen in the future in the guided tours, so that people who were could see a little bit," confesses the archaeologist.
Everyone would like it not to be an ephemeral excavation, but "it's difficult." "On a material level, I mean real estate, there is nothing left. They literally loaded it, very hard. You could try with the rescued material to make a museum, that would be fine. A museum of the shootings, of the daily life of the actors and extras, but unfortunately they did not leave much, "says Jesus Alonso sadly. The unearthed material is not considered archaeological heritage "because it is not old enough", but having been granted permission and made with archaeological methodology has been delivered "to the Regional Archaeological Museum as if it were a Roman tableware".
[One of the few bricks that remain after recovering what was buried in Hoyo del Manzanares Jesús Martín.]
A self-financed activity, without public aid, and from
which "at the material level many things have come out". A pioneering
activity that shows that the cinematographic memory of a country is also
historical memory. "We are very closed-minded, and it seems that because
it is not archaeological, they do not consider it heritage. In the cemetery of
Sad Hill – mythical setting in Burgos where the end of The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly – was filmed – they tried to get the protection of heritage by film space
and I think they have not succeeded. Let's see if we get it with Golden City.
Hopefully, but it is difficult to understand that archaeology can also reach
our days and that it can study anything."
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Elaine Baker is an enigma. She appeared in blackface in her only Euro-western as Marpessa King, the mother of Whity in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1971 film “Whity”. Most likely she is/was a British actress. There are many theories as to who is/was Baker. One says it was Special effects genius Rick Baker’s ex-wife, but she was, although born in England, she was born in 1952 making her only 19 when the film was released. Hardly the actress in the film.
The best analogy says it was American born Elaine Baker born in Bay City, Michigan in 1926 who was a black woman who attended Central High School and went to Europe after WWII and was an opera and concert singer. She’d be the correct age and Marpessa does sing while she works in the kitchen. She’s in black face which is either part of the Fassbinder joke or she wanted to disguise who she really was.
Therefore, I’m only guessing this is the Elaine Baker who appeared in “Whity”.
BAKER, Elaine – film actress.
Whity – 1971 (Marpessa King)
Diario 16 Mediterraneo
By Santiago Aparicio
8/18/2023
If Spain contributed anything, in addition to specialists
and the territory, secondary actors were secondary actors to the European
western. There are Xan das Bolas, José Calvo, Julián Mateos,
Armando Calvo, Leo Anchóriz, Antonio Casas... and so many
others who participated residually. Of course, all the extras who acted were
also national products. But there were some secondary ones who were the real
faces of the European western because they appeared in almost every movie.
Great actors who often had no line, but in others were
secondary luxury and, even in some productions, co-stars. Actors who have died
so many times that Sean Bean remains a mere apprentice. Aldo Sambrell, Indio
González, Frank Braña or Antonio Molino Rojo are faces that
cannot be seen without the music of Ennio Morricone or Bruno Nicolai floating
in the atmosphere. If you think of a western movie bad it is more than likely
that his image will appear in that effluvium of memories. They didn't make all
the films but almost. When given the opportunity to act beyond two or three
lines they demonstrated their acting abilities. Without them there would have
been no European western.
And finally, although they did not usually have a leading role, two great Spanish western actresses. Nieves Navarro (or Susan Scott) was the great Spanish lady of the genre (she would make a film with Fernando Sancho and Peret) until she went to Italy to make risqué films, typical of the 1970s. Monica Randall was the other great lady of the western participating in some of the best-known productions. Later his career is well known for its interpretive quality.
Good actors today almost forgotten, at least the names
that not the faces, who starred in a cinematographic boom that managed to
eclipse the creators of the genre themselves. In Europe, although in the US
there are true fans of spaghetti western, the most remembered cowboy movies
(beyond the four or five classics) are those of their own production. Those
double sessions, those summer cinemas, all those revenges to fulfill, filled
the European theaters with shots, horses and dust. Today they are still one of
the most watched movies when they are shown on television (free). And in all,
there were the magnificent Spanish actors who today receive a well-deserved
tribute.
Ermelinda De Felice was an Italian character actress born in Rome, Italy on February 12, 1915. She appeared in sixty films, usually in minor roles.
During her career she also participated in important films, directed by directors such as Marco Ferreri, Lina Wertmüller and Pietro Germi: with the latter she appeared in “Serafino” (1968), playing Aunt Armida. Her last film was “La ripetente fa l'occhietto al principal” (1980), where she played a janitor named Cesira.
Although most viewers never knew or remembered her name, she had a unique look that was very memorable to Spaghetti western fans as she made six of these films in the mid to late 1960s. She was also credited as Lida De Felice, Mary Fleece and Erme Lind.
She died on August 8, 1981, in Rome at the age of 66.
De FELICE, Ermelinda (aka Linda De Felice, Linda de Felice, Mary
Fleece, Erme Lind) [2/12/1915, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 8/8/1981, Rome, Lazio,
Italy] – film, TV, voice actress.
The Magnificent Brutes of the West – 1964 [as Erme Lind]
A Fistful of Songs – 1966 (Madame Ponpon)
$10,000 for a Massacre – 1967 (Rosita LaPola) [as Mary
Fleece]
Two Pistols and a Coward – 1968 (innkeeper madame)
I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death - 1969 (innkeeper)
Sartana the Gravedigger – 1969 (innkeeper)
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Leslie Bailey has been credited to appearing in only two films “The Corsairs” in 1971 and his only Spaghetti western “Boot Hill” in 1969 where he appeared as Joe/John. Other than that I can find no information on him.
BAILEY, Leslie – film actor.
Boot Hill – 1969 (Joe/John)
Diario 16 Mediterraneo
By Santiago Aparicio
8/18/2023
The European Western had its moment of greatest glory from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. The so-called spaghetti western had in Spain the best place for all those film productions that came to invent a new way of telling what Americans had been doing for years. In fact, the film genre, on this side of the Atlantic, has remained in the collective imagination much more linked to dust and bounty hunters than to the beautiful and enormous productions of people like John Ford. In fact, the genre in the US itself ended up copying the European western. Clint Eastwood mixed both forms, but Sam Peckinpah was closer.
These hundreds of productions, rather co-productions between Italians, Spaniards, Germans and/or French, had numerous Spanish and Italian actors both in the leading and secondary roles. Normally it was tried that the star of the film was an actor, if it was in low hours better for that of saving costs, American. This is how Eastwood arrived in Almería with Sergio Leone. That way came Lee van Cleef (who shot more films and even had a character, Sabata, iconic), Guy Madison or Craig Hill. Numerous European actors also took this leading role such as Gianni Garko (the unforgettable Sartana), Giuliano Gemma, Franco Nero, Terence Hill, Gian Maria Volonté... and some Spanish actors almost forgotten today.
Spanish actors who are icons of the western all over the world (although especially in Europe where films are still shown today) but are almost forgotten in Spain. Many of them died seven times a week in different films. Some did not get to have a line in some productions, but all of them are recognizable by their faces for all those people who like to watch cowboy movies. The luck that Spain has had, at least in the twentieth century, to have a great variety of secondary actors is perfectly reflected in the European western. If you watch, from time to time, any of the films in Leone's dollar trilogy, you will think that this or that one is American or Italian, but no, they are Spanish actors. Remember the actor who kills Van Cleef at the beginning of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"? Spanish. Antonio Casas. They will be talked about today, while remembering directors who left great films such as Alfonso Balcázar or Rafael Romero Marchent.
The protagonists
George Martin (Francisco Martínez Celeiro) is another of the great actors of the European western. Dozens of films, the most famous with starring role Clint the lonely and "The Return of Clint the Stranger", where he played all the roles of the genre. Good, bad, friend, enemy, rancher, ragged or bounty hunter. He also made incursions into the genre of superheroes, having a lot of success in Italy with films in the style of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (in fact they shared actors to hit).
Ángel del Pozo is another of the best-known faces of the European western. More than thirty films behind him make him one of the greats of the genre. He had started his career, after kicking the theaters, in well-known films such as Margarita is called my love but he was captured for western films for his ability to play good, good and bad, very bad. With the passage of time, and some directed films, he left the cinema to move to television production and direction in Mediaset.
Believe it or not, or find it surprising, Jesús Puente was one of the pioneers of the European western. He made about a dozen films, although most were attempts to recreate Fordian films. Further away from the aesthetics of frontier and gunmen, although not of revenge Puente made sheriff or landowner on some occasions before he was recognized as the great theater actor he always was.
Eduardo Fajardo almost always played the bad protagonist of the movies. And a bad guy in the European western was almost a merciless, inhumane and ruthless protagonist. He is remembered for his roles in Django or El bandido Malpelo. Seasoned in the cinema before arriving in Almeria (where when shooting two films at the same time he made a mistake of shooting on occasion, as he told hilariously), he is more remembered among the general public for his characters of responsible father, military or head of this or that business. The reality is that he was one of the greats of the genre, embroidering the wicked.
In addition to these great actors there were some who made incursions, more or less stable, in the western as Luis Dávila or Conrado San Martín (impressive his villain in The Long Days of Revenge). He also combined the leading role with the secondary role Roberto Camardiel, a classic in the casts of the genre. Paco Rabal made some leading character. Although the one who best reconciled the roles of protagonist / secondary was Daniel Martín. As soon as he was a traitorous Union captain, as a ruthless villain than one of those who quickly fell into the first big firefight. And how can we forget another of the villains of Spanish cinema (in all kinds of genres he has played that role), José Manuel Martín. In the western he played mainly Mexican although Mariano Ozores allowed him to play bad only in one of the last films (a western in that way) that were made in Almería, Al Este del Oeste.
[To be continued]
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Moti Baharav was born in Palestine on March 1, 1941. He attended both Mikve Israel and Tel Aviv University where he majored in Hebrew literature and dramatic arts. He was the literary editor of the university’s weekly publication, Dorban.
After his military service he founded and managed the Parsa Theatre. He then established the Hebrew Stage of New York where he acted as artistic director.
He was a stage actor and playwright who appeared in eight films and TV series from 1973 to 1984. Among those films was one Euro-western 1976’s “Kid Vengeance” where he played the role of Orlando.
Moti died in Tel-Aviv, Israel on March 27, 1990, at the age of 49.
BAHARAV, Moti [3/1/1941 Palestine – 3/27/1990,
Tel-Aviv, Israel] – director, playwright, poet, writer, film, TV actor.
Kid Vengeance – 1976 (Orlando)
This long-lost location for the usually missing scene from 1966’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” show the Confederate camp where Tuco and Blondie are stopped by a Confederate sentry and Tuco asks where Mission San Antonio is. He tells the sentry he’s taking a wounded soldier (Blondie) there for treatment. The same location was used again in a scene from “Johnnty Yuma” that same year. This location is called Cortijo Monterreal in Tabernas, Almeria. The 2022 photo is the opposite side of the building.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The same location as seen in 2022. This is the backside of the building.
Aquila Rossa
(Red Eagle)
Son of Long Feather and a white woman, after various vicissitudes becomes the representative of his people in the White House. Written and designed by Benedetto Resio. In the appendix the stories "The Ambush in the Forest" with Tim & Tom, and "Roal, the Hero of the Abyss" which end on The Condottiers.
This comic book series was published from 1950 to 1951. It was published in Milan, Italy by MTO under the direction of Marino Tomasina and contained 51 issues with the first issue released on October 15, 1950, and ending in September 30, 1951. Each issue contained 32 black and white pages with color covers.
Titles
01 (15.10.50) - “L’agguato” (The Ambush)
02 (22.10.50) - “I due rivali” (The Two Rivals)
03 (29.10.50) - “Corvo nero” (Black Crow)
04 (05.11.50) - “La prigioniera” (The Prisoner)
05 (12.11.50) - “Nell’abisso” (In the Abyss
06 (19.11.50) - “Chioma bionda” (Blonde Hair)
07 (26.11.50) - “Dolce fiore” (Sweey Flower)
08 (03.12.50) - “I contrabbandieri di armi” (The Arms Smugglers)
09 (10.12.50) - “La fine dei traditori” (The End of the
Traitors)
10 (17.12.50) - “La trappola” (The Trap)
11 (24.12.50) - “Il pozzo dei serpenti” (The Well of Snakes)
12 (31.12.50) - “Il fiume sotterraneo” (The Underground
River)
13 (07.01.51) - “Assalto al forte” (Storming the Fort)
14 (14.01.51) - “La valle della Luna” (Valley of the Moon)
15 (21.01.51) - “Tim, il rosso” (Tim, the Red)
16 (28.01.51) - “Il guado” (The Ford)
17 (04.02.51) - “La danza della morte” (The Dance of Death)
18 (11.02.51) - “Il figlio del cercatore d’oro” (The Son of
the Gold Digger)
19 (18.02.51) - “L’oro del Gran Canyon” (Gold of the Grand
Canyon)
20 (25.02.51) - “Il prigioniero della caverna” (The Prisoner
of the Cave)
21 (04.03.51) - “La scomparsa di Tino” (The Disappearance of
Tino)
22 (11.03.51) - “I desperados di Topeka” (The Desperadoes of
Topeka)
23 (18.03.51) - “Il segreto del Dottor Hopkins” (Doctor
Hopkins Secret)
24 (25.03.51) - “La tigre bionda” (The Blonde Tiger)
25 (01.04.51) - “Duello mortale” (Mortal Duel)
26 (08.04.51) - “Aquila contro aquila” (Eagle Against Eagle)
27 (15.04.51) - “Saluti a Dora Sgor” (Greetings to Dora
Sgor)
28 (22.04.51) - “Guerra senza frontiere” (War Without
Borders)
29 (29.04.51) - “Arriva Joe Morrison” (Here Comes Joe Morrison)
30 (06.05.51) - “La corsa con la morte” (The Race With
Death)
31 (13.05.51) - “Tragico dilemma” (Tragic Dilemma)
32 (20.05.51) - “Vince Dora Sgor” ( Vince Dora Sgor)
33 (27.05.51) - “La rivolta dei bandoleros” (The Revolt of
the Bandoleros)
34 (03.06.51) - “Cavalcata selvaggia” (Wild Ride)
35 (10.06.51) - “Le Gole Nere” (The Black Gorges)
36 (17.06.51) - “Belve al laccio” (Beasts with a Snare)
37 (24.06.51) - “La scomparsa degli Araukany” (The
Disappearance of Araukany)
38 (01.07.51) - “Il supplizio delle termiti” (The Torture of
the Termites)
39 (08.07.51) - “L’ultima battaglia” (The Last Battle)
40 (15.07.51) - “Aquila per tutti” (Eagle for All)
41 (22.07.51) - “Aquila a Washington” (Eagle in Washington)
42 (29.07.51) - “Alla Casa Bianca” (At the White House)
43 (05.08.51) - “Tra la vita e la morte” (Between Life and
Death)
44 (12.08.51) - “Il grande giorno di Aquila” (The Great Day
of Aquila)
45 (19.08.51) - “Mistero sul Potomac” (Mystery on the
Potomac)
46 (26.08.51) - “Sabbie mobili” (Quicksand)
47 (02.09.51) - “Lotta sull’abisso” (Fight Over the Abyss)
48 (09.09.51) - “Alaska!” (Alaska!”)
49 (16.09.51) - “La terra del ghiaccio e dell’insidia” (The
Land of Ice and Danger)
50 (23.09.51) - “Sabotaggio!” (Sabotage!)
51 (30.09.51) - “By, Aquila! (Addio, Aquila!)” (Bye, Aquila!
(Goodbye Eagle!)
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Henry John Bagge was born in Tottenham, London, England on September 5, 1896. Bagge served as a mechanic in the British Navy during World War I and continued service in the Royal Naval Air Service before being transferred to the RAF Reserve in March 1919. He then became a professional football (soccer) player who played as a defender for Fulham during the 1920s. He played 191 matches in all competitions for Fulham, scoring one goal. He went to coach in Spain after the Second World War and later managed Athletic Bilbao from 1947 to 1949 and Salamanca from 1950 to 1951.
Bagge died on April 27, 1967, at the age of 70.
The same as today the film industry drew on popular sports individual to draw attention and customers to their films and the British were no exception. Billed as Harry Bagge he appeared in only one film and that was 1928’s “Adventurous Youth”.
BAGGE, Harry (Henry John Bagge)
[9/5/1896, Tottenham, London, England, U.K. – 4/27/1967, England, U.K.] –
professional soccer manager, player (midfielder), film actor.
Adventurous Youth – 1928
We continue our search for locations for “Bad Man’s River”. Canales tells Duarte the men who came under the flag of truce were the King gang. As Duarte sips his tea the camera zooms in to show Canales buried up to his head in the dirt.
This scene was
filmed at Daganzo de Arriba, Spain.
For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western
locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas on Fevruary 26, 1971. She attended Booker T. Washington High School, Grambling State University. Singing since the age of 14 she left Grambling in 1993 before graduating, to focus more fully on music. During this time, Badu took several minimum-wage jobs to support herself. She taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Working and touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, she recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love", and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Records.
In 1996, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had her first child, a son named Seven Sirius Benjamin, on November 18, 1997. Their relationship ended in 1997 before the birth of their son. In late 2000, OutKast released the song "Ms. Jackson", which was inspired by André 3000's relationship with Badu and her mother. The song reached number one on Billboard Hot 100 and would go on to win a Grammy Award.
On July 5, 2004, Badu gave birth to a daughter, Puma Sabti Curry; Puma's father is Texas-based rapper The D.O.C. On February 1, 2009, Badu gave birth to her third child, a girl named Mars Merkaba Thedford, with her boyfriend of five years, rapper Jay Electronica.
Badu was Ranked #100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
Her only Euro-western appearance was as Stagecoach Mary in 2013’s “They Die By Dawn”.
BADU, Erykah (Erica Abi Wright) [2/26/1971, Dallas,
Texas, U.S.A. - ] – producer,
director, writer, composer, film, TV, voice actress, mother of Seven Sirius
Benjamin [1999- ] with producer,
writer, composer, André Benjamin [1975-
], mother of Puma Sabti Curry [2004-
] with writer, composer, rapper, actor The D.O.C. (Tracy Lynn Curry)
[1968- ], mother of Mars Merkaba
Thedford [2009- ] with producer,
composer, singer Jay Electronica (Timothy Elpadaro Thedford) [1976- ].
They Die By Dawn – 2013 (Stagecoach Mary)
The son of Count Alberto Guardabassi a doctor and Baroness Orietta Danzetta, Giancarlo Guardabassi which originated from an ancient family from Perugia. Giancarlo Guardabassi was born on August 21, 1937, in Foligno, Perugia, Italy. He lived in Via Guardabassi, so called in honor of his ancestor, Senator Francesco Guardabassi, hero of the Risorgimento of the Umbrian capital.
In the fifties he attended the classical high school in via Guardabassi in Perugia and later graduated in Law at the University of Perugia, where he initially began working as a lawyer at a well-known law firm. In November 1958 he won the National Competition of Light Music Edera d'Oro of Collescipoli. In the first half of the 1960s Guardabassi was introduced to the talent-scout and author Franco Migliacci by his friend and pianist Claudio Mantovani. In the Roman house of Migliacci, Guardabassi held an audition that was successful. Migliacci and Mantovani then brought Guardabassi to the court of the musician Bruno Zambrini and Guardabassi's musical career began. “Se ti senti sola”, a song he presented at the Cantagiro in 1964, reached the top of the Italian charts. Among his other successes “Sulamente a mia”, a song with which he participated in the Naples Festival of 1964 paired with Claudio Villa, “Da' retta a me, A me piace tua figlia”.
Guardabassi recorded some hits also in Spanish and after a tour in Argentina and Brazil his songs were broadcast on the radios of South and Central America, where he became known in particular in Argentina and Cuba. In the Caribbean Island, in what was called the "prodigious decade", Giancarlo Guardabassi was presented on the radio with his real name or preferably with the adapted name of Juan Carlos Guardaban.
Giancarlo also wrote a number of songs and was a DJ for Radio Rai in the 1960s and in the 1970s hosted the radio program “Hot Discs” a contemporary program “Hit Parade”. Guardabassi is considered one of the first Italian disc jockeys, thanks to his youthful and modern style.
From the late seventies to the late nineties, Giancarlo Guardabassi toured Italy with his "GG Show". The show, different every year, was presented in a square; Guardabassi conducted the show accompanied by a musical orchestra and singers, dancers and comedians. In the last editions participated in the show a young Neri Marcorè as a singer and imitator.
Giancarlo sang the song “Fuoco nel Cielo” in the Franco and Ciccio 1964 Spaghetti western “Two Mafiamen in the Far West.”
GUARDABASSI, Giancarlo (aka Juan Carlos Guardaban)
[8/21/1937, Foligno, Perugia, Italy -
] – DJ, singer, songwriter.
Two Mafiamen in the Far West - 1964 [sings: “Fuoco nel
cielo”]
According to this archived April 23, 1975, Variety
report sent to me by Michael Ferguson, Ty Hardin and Bob Hevelone (brother of
Barbara Hevelone, Lee Van Cleef’s widow) vacated Spain when they were charged
and fined $9,200 on charges of smuggling drugs (marijuana?) into Spain. Bob’s
middle name is given as Sheldon but it’s actually Eldon.
In following up on this story I was able to locate this report:
The Canberra Times
July 10, 1974
TY HARDIN
LONDON, Tuesday
(AAP). — A US actor, Ty Hardin, of Bronco Lane tele vision series, has been released on bail from a Span ish jail where he has been held for a month on drug trafficking charges. The 46-year-old 6ft 2in Texan, was yesterday given "provisional liberty" in a Madrid court and had his passport confiscated pending trial. I Typhoon
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Ben Affif Badra is sometimes credited as Afif Ben Badra or Ben Badra. He’s of Algerian decent and was born in Hajjaj, Algeria on June 1, 1960. He is an actor and stuntman currently living in France. In the United States, he appeared as a warlord in the Roland Emmerich film “10,000 BC” and as Tamas Morato in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”. He also appeared in the suspense/thriller film “Taken”, written by Luc Besson, and in the Spanish public TV series ‘Aguila Roja’.
He's appeared in two Euro-westerns so far in his career: “No hablo American” in 2013 as The Snake and “Fucking Dead” in 2015 as Fright.
BADRA, Affif Ben (aka Afif ben badra, Afif Ben Badra,
Afif Benbadra, Afif Bendadra, Affif Benbedra, Ben Badra, Benbadra, Benbedra) [6/1/1960,
Hajjaj, Algeria - ] – dancer film, TV
actor, stuntman.
No hablo American – 2013 (The Snake)
Fucking Dead – 2015 (Fright)
As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to be paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.
I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S)
Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once
in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe these actors are as
well-known as the actors they voiced.
Today we’ll cover “A Man Called Gringo”
[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English]
Mace Carson - Götz George (S) Rafael de Penagos, (G) Götz George
Lucy Walton - Alexandra Stewart (S) Mari Ángeles Herranz, (G) Uta Hallant
Ken Denton - Helmut Schmid (S) Francisco Arenzana, (G) Helmut Schmid
Gringo – Daniel Martin (S) Juan Miguel Cuesta, (G) Rainer Brandt
Reno – Sieghardt Rupp (S) Benjamín Domingo, (G) Lothar Blumhagen
Kate Rowland - Silvia Solar (S) Josefina De Luna, (G) ?
Sam Martin – Pietro Tordi (S) Manuel De Juan, (G)
Curt Ackerman
Rafael de Penagos (1924 – 2010)
Rafael de Penagos was born in Madrid, Spain in 1924. He was a legendary Spanish voice dubber. He was the son of cartoonist Zalabarado Rafael de Penagos [1889-1954]. He made his film and dubbing debut in Barcelon in the early 1940s. He then moved and settled in Santiago, Chile and later Buenos Aires, Argentina where he published his first book of poetry. He returned to Spain in 1945 where he acted, gave poetry recitals and studied university courses. In 1964 he was awarded the National Literature Prize for his work Como pasa el viento. Being very gifted in comedy he was the voice of Stan Laurel for re-releases of Laurel and Hardy films to Spanish TV. He later was the voice of Jeremy Brett in the 1980s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ TV series. Later he would lend his voice to cartoons. Among his Spaghetti Western dubbing he was the Spanish voice of Marco Tulli in 1963's “The Shadow of Zorro”, Joachim Fuschsberger in 1964's “The Last Tomahawk”, Angel Del Pozo in 1967's “Run , Man Run”, Francisco Sanz in 1969's “The Price of Power” and Ezio Marano in 1970's “They Call Me Trinity” among others.
Rafael de Penagos died in Madrid on February 25, 2010, at
the age of 85.
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Dominique Badou is a French actress. Most likely born in the 1950s, she was a model and once appeared in the Italian magazine Men in 1967 and in Cine Monde also in 1967. She appeared in seven films from 1967-1972. Among this list of films are four Spaghetti westerns. What happened to her is anyone’s guess as after her 1972 appearance in “It Can be Done Amigo” with Bud Spencer and Jack Palance she seems to have disappeared from the film industry.
BADOU, Dominique (aka Dominique Badeau) [French] –
film actress.
Blindman – 1971 (bride)
Django’s Cut Rate Corpses - 1971 (Susan Crane)
The Price of Death – 1971 (prostitute)
It Can Be Done Amigo – 1972 (Sonny’s girl)
“Die 7 Pistolen des MacGregor”
(7 Guns for the MacGregors)
(1966)
Director: Franco Giraldi
Starring: Robert Woods, Fernando Sancho, Agatha Flory,
Leo Anchoriz
Country Germany
Label: Explosive Media
Bluray and DVD
Region B
Aspect ratios: 16:9 - 1.77:1, 16:9 - 1.66:1
Resolution: 1080p / from a new 2K master
Audio: German, English, Italian
Subtitles: German, English, Italian
Running time 97 minutes
Extras: Trailer; photo gallery
ASIN: B0C52ZG8PL
Release date: August 24, 2023
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Mary Badin has one film credit to her name and that was as a bride in 1971’s “Blindman” starring Tony Anthony and Ringo Starr.
BADIN, Mary – film actress.
Blindman – 1971 (bride)
“Les Cruels”
(The Tramplers)
(1967)
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Starring: Joseph Cotton, Gordon Scott
Country: France
Label: Studio Canal
Bluray/DVD combo
Region: B
Discs: 2
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Languages: DTS-HD French, Italian
Subtitles: French
Running time: 90 minutes
Extras: None
ASIN: B0C5F5W6XY
Available: August 23, 2023
Spanish character actor Gonzalo de Esquiroz) was born on June 13, 1930 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Esquiroz spent no less than 15 years, between the ages of 25 and 40, shooting films until completing a record of 280 including stunt work and as a character actor in Spanish and International films.
Gonzalo summarizes his childhood like this: "I remember very little about Santa Cruz because my father was in the military and before he was a year old we went to Cádiz, then to Lugo, and, later, on a tour of almost the entire geography of Spain".
He entered the world of cinema "by chance, through some friends. My profession was military and I was always well prepared physically. I was a champion of Spain in athletics and in 1953 I won the prestigious Jean Bouin race in Barcelona". I learned "without school of any kind. Around the filming, learning took place almost spontaneously, from horseback riding to fencing to handling the sword. There was nothing organized as such, but I was ruthless and learned by practice, and that was the same in my case".
Esquiroz, like other pioneers, actively participated in the two most important moments of the Spanish film industry in the 20th century: on the one hand, the film factory of producer Samuel Bronston in the 1950s and on the other, those known as the "spaghetti westerns" in the 1960s. Of the latter, he appeared in ninety films, not only as a specialist but also as an actor because "sometimes the director asked you to and you had to do it". He then worked with mythical directors of the genre such as Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci. Those were times of artisan cinema and that is why Esquiroz appears in a multitude of credits, the kind that are reflected on the screen at the end of the film, after "The end". In all Gonzalo appeared in nearly 300 films.
Esquiroz also dubbed many actors, but he remembers, for example, "Charlton Heston in El Cid , the first of this series of major productions in Spain, “55 days in Beijing” and “The Pride and the Passion”. Also, Steve McQueen in “Papillon” in a shoot that began in Spain and ended in Jamaica. Without forgetting others like Alain Delon or Dustin Hoffman. In my case, I not only dubbed but also acted, because those were times when the director said that you had to play an Indian or a villain and one put on the makeup and costume and learned the script".
To round off such an interesting life, after turning 40, Gonzalo Esquiroz entered Televisión Española, where he produced for many years the mythical debate program "La Clave" that during this transition was presented and directed by José Luis Balbín, to which Gonzalo, with a lot of diplomacy.
ESQUIROZ, Gonzalo (Gonzalo de Esquiroz)
[6/13/1930, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain – ] – director, stuntman, film, TV, voice
actor, married to ? father of two girls and one son Ignacio Esquiroz.
Shadow of Zorro – 1962 (Dan’s henchman)
Torrejón City – 1962 (rider)
Welcome Padre Murray – 1962 (gunfighter)
Gunfight at Red Sands – 1963 (Kincaid Wilson)
The Implacable Three – 1963 (McCoy henchman)
Murieta! - 1963 (rapist)
The Sign of the Coyote – 1963 (Lenny henchman)
Bullets and Flesh – 1964 (Robby)
Bullets Don’t Argue – 1964 (Manny/Manuel’s deputy)
Charge of the 7th – 1964 (Confederate major)
The Colt is My Law – 1965 (deputy)
A Place Called Glory – 1965 (Vallone henchman)
The Relentless Four – 1965 (Anders’ ranch hand)
7 Hours of Gunfire – 1965 (Indian)
Vengeance Ranch – 1965 (bandit_
Django Does Not Forgive – 1966 (Private Nichols)
A Few Dollars for Django – 1966 (Carver)
The Hellbenders – 1966 (Search party serg eant)
The Ugly Ones – 1966 (Bill)
Any Gun Can Play – 1967 (Charo Ruiz)
For a Few Bullets More – 1967 (Travis henchman)
John the Bastard – 1967 (bandit on train)
A Train for Durango – 1967 (Lobo henchman)
Between God, the Devil and a Winchester – 1968
Killer, Adios – 1968 (townsman)
Quinto: Fighting Proud – 1969 (Vincent) [master of arms]
Dead Men Ride – 1971 (Redfield henchman)
Raise Your Hands Dead Man, You’re Under Arrest – 1971
Lolito
These Damned Pounds of Gold – 1971 (stagecoach passenger)
Sonny & Jed – 1972 (Franciscus deputy)
The Stranger and the Gunfighter – 1974 (deputy)
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Little is known about this Italian actress. She was most likely born in the early 1950s and was most likely a model who appeared in some fotoromanzi magazines, very popular in the 1960s and 1970s in Italy and she has two film credits according to the IMDb both from 1971. She appeared in an uncredited role in Franco & Ciccio’s “Scusi, ma lei le paga le tasse?” and as an orphan girl in her only Euro-western, Robert Hossein’s “Judge Roy Bean.
BADIALI, Daniela [Italian] – fotoromanzi, film
actress.
Judge Roy Bean – 1971 (orphan girl)
Calgary Herald
By Jamie Portman
July 29, 1972
European western starring Charles Bronson
A train
rumbles up to the sunbaked old railway station. Hey! Who’s that leaning against
the station wall – that guy with the beady eyes, sweat-brimmed hat, spaghetti
mustache and unwashed face?
Good grief!
It’s Charles Bronson, the swarthy hero of umpteen European westerns.
Bronson’s a
fast worker. Before we know it, he’s on board that train carrying out a robbery
in his own inimitable fashion.
“My assistants
are going to take up a collection,” he cheerfully informs the gaping passengers.
“Just like they do in church.”
SINISTER DUDE
Unfortunately,
one of Bronson’s assistants is a sinister dude in black who, on closer
inspection, turns out to be French matinee idol Alain Delon.
Delon is one
of those ice-blooded villains who like to pump bullet holes into people, in
this case, however, he’s guilty of the most dangerous type of recklessness. He
breaks into a private railway car occupied by the honorable Japanese ambassador
to the United States, and rudely steals a magnificent, jeweled gold sword.
Since the
sword happens to be a gift from the Mikado to the president of the United
States, the ambassador is understandably vexed.
MOKUM
CONTENT
Through
a set of circumstances better known as screenwriter’s contrivance, Bronson
falls into the ambassador’s clutches.
The ambassador
assigns a rocka-faced Samurai (Toshiro Mifune) to accompany Bronson in tracking
down the insidious Delon.
“I commit
hara-kiri if I fail,” intones Mifune.
“That’s
something I would like to see,” grins Bronson.
“And he will
cut your head off,” adds the ambassador.
“That’s
something I wouldn’t like to see,” quavers Bronson.
The basic rule
of thumb for made-in-Europe westerns is that the more outrageous their hokum
content, the greater their entertainment value. Red Sun, now in its second week
at the Westbrook One, ranks high in this category. As Sir Noel Coward once
observed, tripe and onions can be a palatable dish if properly concocted.
And Red Sun is
certainly a concoction. These European westerns are usually filmed in Spain
with a wildly international production team. Ever since Clint Eastwood riddled
out a reputation in his Man With No Name characterizations these movies have
been labeled “spaghetti westerns” because of their predominantly Latin origins.
But Red Sun
has a British director in Terence Young, the man responsible for three James
Bond films. And even though it’s been filmed in some forsaken part of Spain,
it’s less spaghetti than it is sukiyaki.
That’s because of the formidable presence of
Toshiro Mifune as the avenging Samurai. He and Bronson naturally detest each
other. Bronson makes several attempts to escape from his awesome comrade, but
Mifune is more than a match for him.
DURABLE CHARACTER
Mifune never
gets tired because he can sleep while trudging up the slopes. He also claims
considerable expertise in judo. Bronson starts getting really worried when
Mifune eliminates mosquitoes from an evening campsite by drawing his sword and
chopping the pesky insects in half while they’re actually in flight. Bronson
panics, and stupidly shove this frightening person off a cliff, but even that
doesn’t work. For the purpose of this film Mifune is about as durable as Dr.
Frankenstein’s monster. He may not be credible, but who expects credibility
from a motion picture like this one.
Mifune does
have a few human weaknesses. He and Bronson visit an “establishment” frequently
patronized by the elusive Delon, and while Mifune solicits the favors of one of
the girls, Bronson and Ursula Andress, another of the inmates indulge in such vintage
repartee as the following:
He:
“Christine, you’re a whore, you’ve always been one, and you always will be
one.”
She: “You
always did know how to speak to a woman.”
Meanwhile, in
some back parlor, some amateur musician is plunking out Robert Schumann’s
children piece, The Jolly Farmer, on the piano. Elsewhere in the film, the
music is less incongruous, having been composed by modern tune smith Maurice
Jarre in his familiar style of torrid opulence.
Red Sun is
unquestionably lively, and also quite bloody. Predictably, Bronson turns out
not to have a heart of flint after all. But our first impression of Delon as a
double-dyed skunk is thoroughly vindicated by the end of the film. Miss Andress
is ornamental, whereas Mr. Mifune is monumental.
There are
alsos several marauding Spanish extras dressed in Apache costumes. In a movie
like this, anything goes.
.jpg)
