RIP Theodor Pištěk

 

World-famous costume designer Theodor Pištěk, winner of an Oscar, César and Czech Lion, died on December 4^th in the Czech Republic at the age of 93. He is especially famous for his successful collaboration with Oscar-winning director Miloš Forman. Theodor Pištěk was born on October 25, 1932, in Prague into an artistic family. His parents, actor Theodor Pištěk and actress Marie Ženíšková, were among the leading personalities of the Czech cultural scene of the time. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and soon made a name for himself as a costume designer, set designer and painter. Pištěk won an Oscar for his costumes in “Amadeus”, for which he was also nominated for his work on “Valmont”. It earned him a César Award. In 2003, the artist received the Czech Lion for his lifetime contribution to Czech film. Ten years later, he was awarded the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the Karlovy Vary IFF. Pištěk’ was the costume director on the Czech western “David Sadel’s Last Shot”.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Francesco De Leoni

[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.]

 Francesco De Leoni is/was an Italian character actor. I can find only two films where he appeared, and both were Spaghetti westerns. “Zorro contro Maciste” (Samson and the Slave Queen) in 1963 as the queen’s messenger and “Una forca per un Bastardo” (A Rope for a Bastard) in 1967 as Jerry.

Other than that I can find no biographical information on him. Michael Ferguson adds, "Francesco De Leoni became a production manager and worked for another ten years Probably died in the early 1990's."

De LEONI, Francesco M. (aka Franco De Leone) [Italian] – film actor.

Samson and the Slave Queen – 1963 (Queen’s messenger) [as Franco De Leone]

A Rope for a Bastard – 1967 (Jerry) [as Francesco M. De Leone]

MURDER MOST FOUL TRIVIA: MISS MARPLE AT YOUR SERVICE!

 

MURDER MOST FOUL

 

1964, UK

Pc: Lawrence P. Bachman Production (Lon)

Dist: M.G.M. (03/64, UK and US)

D: George Pollock; P: Lawrence P. Bachmann; Sc: David Pursall & Jack Seddon; Nov: "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" by Agatha Christie (02/52, Dodd, Mead and Company, UK), and an extract of the poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew"; M: Ron Goodwin

C: Margaret Rutherford (Miss Jane Marple), Ron Moody (H. Driffold Cosgood), Eric Francis (Stage Manager), Michael Segal (Stagehand), Susan Richards (Cleaning Lady) & Charles Tingwell (Inspector Craddock), Stringer Davis [James Buckley Stringer Davis] (Jim Stringer)  

     Comm: MURDER MOST FOUL was Ms. Margaret Rutherford’s third of five appearances as Agatha Christie’s intrepid lady detective (counting her amusing cameo in “The Alphabet Murders” (08/65, UK). It was preceded by “Murder She Said” (09/61 UK), and “Murder at the Gallop” (05/63, UK), and followed by “Murder Ahoy!” (09/64, US and 10/65, UK). The book’s main character Hercule Poirot, was replaced by Miss Marple for the film, and most of the other characters are not in the novel either. Neither is her big stage number!

     When Miss Marple goes to the Cosgood Theatre, to audition and snoop on a theatrical troupe, she is asked to recite something, and she chooses Robert W. Services’ poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" (1907). Her captive audience of waiting stagehands and cleaners listen on with novel interest.

     Service was a Scot who came to Canada as a young adult. He was an employee of the Imperial Bank of Canada, and was sent to Whitehorse, Yukon, in 1904. Service garnered enough knowledge of the gold rush and mining in general to bolster his writings. His poems were used in schools for many years.

     "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and Services’ other poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee” (both 1907) are still his most famous works and were published in a book of prose titled “Songs of a Sourdough”.

     The poem "The Shooting” takes place in a Yukon saloon during the Gold Rush of the late 1890’s Canada. It follows three characters: Dan McGrew, a rough-hewed prospector; McGrew's sweetheart ‘Lou’, a saloon woman; and a mysterious stranger who arrives at the saloon, to get in from the cold. The newcomer appears to know both McGrew & ‘Lou’ and has come to settle a long-forgotten grudge. McGrew and the stranger shoot and kill each other, leaving ‘Lou’ to take the gold that the stranger had on him, and to start a life anew.

     Miss Marple and Ms. Rutherford give a hardy rendition of the story, and the Christie plot is returned to forthwith.

     Miss Marple, take a well-deserved bow!

 

By Michael Ferguson

Voices of the Spaghetti Western - “Dead Men Don’t Count”

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 “Dead Men Don’t Count”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English]

Fred Danton – Anthony Steffen (I) Pino Locchi, (S) Claudio Rodríguez, (G) Michael Chevalier 

Johnny – Mark Damon (I) Cesare Barbetti, (S) José Guardiola, (G) Fred Maire

Mrs. Rogers - María Martín (S) Lola Cervantes, (G) ?

Steve Rogers – Luis Induni (I) Manlio Busoni, (S) José María Cordero, (G) Hans Wiegner

Forrest – Barta Barri (S) Pedro Sempson (G) Wolfgang Amerbacher

Sheriff Bob – Piero Lulli (I) Roberto Bertea, (S) José Martínez (G) Edgar Ott

Wolfgang Amerbacher  (1921 – 1970)

Wolfgang Amerbacher  was born in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany on November 2, 1921. He received his artistic training at the State Academy of Art in his hometown and also made his stage debut in Karlsruhe in 1951. Until 1955 he had an engagement at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. The ARD radio play database lists him for the first time in 1952 with a small role in a radio play, then again in 1961. It was not until the mid-1960s until his death that he worked regularly as an actor and speaker, and his dubbing activities were particularly extensive. In 1970 he starred in the play “Das Geld liegt auf der Bank” by Curth Flatow directed by Erik Odes at the Kleine Komödie in München.

Amerbacher made his television debut in 1966 in an episode of the ARD early evening series ‘Förster Horn’, after which he sporadically took on other tasks for television, such as in the series ‘Die Firma Hesselbach’ and ‘Das Kriminalmuseum’.

In addition to a series of radio plays, Amerbacher was a busy dubbing actor with numerous speaking roles since the mid-1960s. He repeatedly lent his voice to foreign colleagues in the series ‘Bonanza’ and ‘Tennis Rackets and Cannons’, and in feature films he was often the German voice of the American actor Jason Wingreen. Amerbacher also dubbed German colleagues several times.

Two days after the completion of the filming of the series Private Detective Frank Kross, on November 30, 1970, Wolfgang Amerbacher passed away by suicide.

Special Birthdays

Abramov, Anatoli (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 1983.

Dan Bubulici (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2012.

RIP Péter Kálloy Molnár

 

Hungarian theater, film, television and voice actor, singer, musician, director, playwright, poet, literary translator Péter Kálloy Molnár died of cancer in Budapest on December 1^st. He was only 55. Born in Mezõcsát, Hungary on June 6, 1970, from 1991 he was a member of the company of the National Theatre. He graduated from the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in 1993 in the class of István Iglódi. Between 1993 and 1997 he was a member of the company of the Vígszínház. Since 1996, he has been the artistic director of the Komédium Kör. He has been a freelance artist since 1997, performing at Komédium, International Buda Stage and the Thália Theatre. Between 1999 and 2002 he was the chief director of the International Buda Stage. He was a regular on the television show Beugró, regularly received dubbing roles and also worked as a dubbing director. He has been reciting, playing guitar and piano since the age of six, and during his high school years and in the theatre arts he played in an orchestra, but later this was pushed into the background. His wife was Ágnes Lestár, a dubbing director and drama writer, whose mother is actress Szilvia Dallos, and father is film director János Lestár. They have two children: István and Szofi. In 2021, he started writing his own film screenplays. Péter appeared in an uncredited role in the Hungarian western “No Hero Here” in 2015. He was also the Hungarian voice of Enrique Martínez in “800 Bullets”, Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Cold Mountain”, Ran Tan Plan in “Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure”.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Tony De Leo

[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.]

I can find little biographical information on Antonio Di Leo. Apparently, he had a circus background where he was employed as an animal trainer which his friend Francesco Prosperi offered him the leading part for his final film in 1984 called “The Wild Beasts”

Tony appeared in only four films from 1973-1984. Two of those films were Spaghetti westerns: “Sette monache a Kansas City” (Seven Nuns in Kansas City) in 1973 as Bob, “Porno erotico western” (Porno-Erotic Western) in 1978 as a saloon brawler

De LEO, Tony (aka John Aldrich, Toni Di Leo) (Antonio Di Leo) [Italian] – film, TV actor.

Seven Nuns in Kansas City – 1973 (Bob)

Porno-Erotic Western – 1978 (saloon brawler)

The Wicked Wicked West

 

Painted Angels – U.K. title

The Wicked Wicked West – Canadian title

Ángeles pintados – Argentinian title

Anjos Pintados – Brazilian title

Langenneet enkelit – Finnish title

Angeli del west – Italian title

The Wicked Wicked West – U.S.A. title

 

A 1998 British, Canadian film production [British Screen Productions, BBC (London),

     Greenpoint Films, Heartland Motion Pictures, Cinépix Film Properties, SOCO,

     SaskFilm, Shaftesbury Films, Téléfilm Canada (Toronto)]

     Producers: Mark Shivas, Christina Jennings (Mackenzie Donaldson), Stephen Onda,

      Ann Scott, Laurence Bowen, Scott Garvie

Director: Jon Sanders

Story: Anna Mottram, Jon Sanders

Screenplay: Anna Mottram, Jon Sanders

Cinematography: Gerald Packer [color]

Music: Douglas Finch

Running time: 110 minutes

 

Cast:

Annie Ryan – Brenda Fricker

Nettiw – Kelly McGillis

Katya - Meret Becker

Eileen - Bronagh Gallagher

Georgie - Lisa Jakub

Ada - Anna Mottram

Doctor Belcher – Kent Allen

Sam – Alan Bratt

Oscar – Dwayne Brenna

Joe – Michael Burns

Judge – Bob Clout

Julia - Elyssa Dombowsky

Charlie Masterson – Joseph Griffin

Johnny Dow – Greg Lawson

Frank McGuinn – Bruce McFee

Olinska - Andrea Rodrigue

Nun - Jodi Sadowsky

Billy - Keiran Semple

Mazeppa - Michelle Sereda

Louie – Robert Wu

With: Wayne Apostle, Ian Black, Harold Gillespie, Susan Hamann, Charlotte Kallichuk, Tamara Lapchuk, Iain MacLean, Kristian Marken, Wendy McDonald, David McIntyre, Greg McKinnon, Billy Morton (William Morton), Darren Muscoby, Ian Nestegaard Paul, Dimitri Van Zwanenberg, Juanita Vogelgesang

Welcome to a whorehouse in a small Western town. With the exception of the men being serviced, no one is thrilled to be here, though most of the working girls have nowhere else to turn.

Owner Annie Ryan (Brenda Fricker) is fighting to stay open. A local saloon owner named Frank is trying to have her place shut down, though he runs whores out of his business as well.

Her girls include petty young Georgie (Lisa Jukub), who knows all the men want her because she’s “fresh meat). She dreams of working in a big city house where she can sip wine from crystal glasses. Then there’s Ada, who’s trying to support three children and growing too old in the eyes of the clientele.

Eileen has just lost her best friend in the place; she was gunned down by a jealous ex-lover. Eileen dreams of returning to her homeland of Ireland. In the meantime, she finds a new friend in Katya, a former dancer who claims she can see into the future.

The survivor of the bunch is Nettie (Kelly McGillis). She has a son being raised by a drunken husband. For a while, she thinks the whorehouse would be a better place to raise him. Eventually, she changes her mind.

Review

Lots of folks have probably looked at the title and the subject matter and figured they’re in for a fun romp of a movie, old West style with a broad dash of sex added in for good measure.

If so, they’ve been mightily disappointed. This is a serious look at the women working inside the bordello, and theirs is not a happy or satisfying life. And it’s difficult to perceive anything that happens in the movie as “sexy.”

A film taking that approach is admirable, perhaps. The problem is that, outside the experiences of the women living inside Annie Ryan’s house, there’s no plot to follow. The result: the film is both bleak and boring.

Kelly McGillis was nearly a decade removed from her starring role in “Top Gun” (1986) when this film was made. You might also recognize Lisa Jakub in the role of Georgia; she played the daughter in “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993).

By Mark Franklin

Who Are Those Guy? ~ Tom Felleghy

 

Tamás Fellegi was born in Budapest, Hungary on November 26, 1921. After studying acting and directing in Budapest he worked mainly in theater productions primarily as a director but once in a while he would act in a particular role. In 1956 he fled Hungary with his wife, actress Liane Ger [19??-1990] and his friend János Barta (aka John Bartha) [1915-1991] and the three ended up in Rome working at Cinecittà. Now known as Tom Felleghy, he would go on to appear in over 200 films. His parts were usually small supporting parts and even cameo roles. He usually appeared as high-ranking military officers, doctors, sheriffs, lawyers and town officials. Tpm appeared in films until 1991 with his last credited film being "Voices from Beyond". During his long career he appeared in 34 westerns but is probably best remembered for his role as Dr. Esson in Dario Argento’s "Cat O’Nine Tails" in 1971.

Tom Felleghy died in Bracciano, Rome, Lazio, Italy on September 13, 2005, at the age of 83.

FELLEGHY, Tom (aka Tom Felag, Tom Fellegay, Thomas Felleghi, Tommaso Felleghi, Tom Felleghi, Thomas Felleghy, Thomas Fellegi, Tom Fellegi, Thomas Fellegy, Tom Fellegy, Tom Fellighi) (Tamás Fellegi) [11/26/1921, Budapest, Hungary – 9/13/2005, Bracciano, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – producer, director, theater, film, TV, voice actor, married to actress Lianou Ger [19??-1990] (1959-1990), father of two children.

The Sheriff – 1959 (Donovan) [as Tom Fellegi]

The Magnificent Three – 1961 (Gonzales) [as Tom Fellegi]

The Man from Oklahoma – 1964 (Steve Watson)

Renegade Gunfighter – 1965 (Judge Gowan)

Ringo’s Big Night – 1965 (Judge Nottingham)

The Two Sergeants of General Custer – 1965 (General MacLean)

The Big Gundown – 1966 (Mr. Miller)

The Brute and the Beast – 1966 (Tom Murph/Murray)

Cisco – 1966 (Burt Challenge)

El Rojo – 1966 (sheriff)

Go with God, Gringo – 1966 (inspector)

The Greatest Robbery in the West – 1966 (Sheriff Roy Norman)

The Man from Nowhere – 1966 (Will)

Black Tigress – 1967 (Don Rogers/Rodriguez)

Born to Kill – 1967 (Mr. Tyson)

If You Want to Live... Then Shoot! – 1967 (Marlow)

Killer Kid – 1967 (Barnes)

The Two Faces of the Dollar – 1967 (Major Stein)

Black Jack – 1968 (Mack)

Gatling Gun – 1968 (Pinkerton) [as Tom Felleghi]

Two Pistols and a Coward – 1968 (Brody)

The Ballad of Ben and Charlie – 1971 (gambler)

A Gunman Called Dakota – 1971 (judge) [as Tom Felag]

His Name was King – 1971 (Major Ericson)

The Ballad of Ben and Charlie - 1972 (gambler)

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears – 1972 (Von Mittler)

Gunmen and the Holy Ghost – 1972 (Colonel)

Return of the Holy Ghost – 1972 (Colonel John Mills)

Where the Bullets Fly – 1972 (sheriff)

Court Martial - 1973 (Colonel Stratford)

Hallelujah to Vera Cruz – 1973 (Colonel of Regularies)

The Return of Shanghai Joe – 1974 (Judge Finney)

California – 1977 (colonel)

Buddy Goes West – 1981 (doctor)

Mike Malloy's Le Van Cleef biography available in limited quantities this week only!

For the whole week of Cyber Monday, Lee Van Cleef’s first published biographer, Mike Malloy, has some author’s copies of his book available to those in the U.S. He is also willing to sign them as well if desired.

It’s $16 for the 2nd Edition (softcover graphic cover) or $21 for the hardcover 1st Edition (plain hardcover library binding, but superior quality on the inside pages). Shipping is an additional $4 via Media Mail.

Please contact Mike Malloy directly if you are interested! https://www.facebook.com/mikemalloy

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Rosy De Leo

[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.]

Rosy De Leo was most likely born in Italy sometime in the early 1940s, although I can find no specific date of her birth. She appeared in eight action films between 1963 and 1969. I can find no other biographical information on her.

De Leo appeared in two Spaghetti westerns: “Zorro contro Maciste” (Samson and the Slave Queen) in 1963 as Carmencita, “Sansone e il Tesoro degli Incas” (Lost Treasure of the Aztecs – 1964), “Zorro il ribelle” (Zorro the Rebel) in 1966 as Rosita

De LEO, Rosy (aka Rosy di Leo, Rosy de Leo, Teresa De Leo) (Rosa De Leo) [Italian] – film actress.

Samson and the Slave Queen - 1963 [as Rosy di Leo]

Lost Treasure of the Aztecs - 1964

Zorro the Rebel – 1966 (Rosita)

The western that Clint Eastwood shot himself after saying no to Leone

The Nameless Foreigner (1973) ends up dialoguing with the Italian director's cinema: is it a good film?

Esquire

By Giuseppe Giordano

11/20/2025

One of the recurring figures in the western is that of the nameless stranger, and one of the recurring roles in Clint Eastwood's filmography is precisely the gunslinger with no past: a man skilled at shooting who comes from nowhere, settles the score and returns to nothing. The Nameless Stranger (1973) is also the Italian title of the first western in which Eastwood self-directed: the original title is High Plains Drifter, but in Italy we imported it with a reference to the recurring mask in Sergio Leone's cinema.

In Leone's masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), the nameless stranger is Harmonica, played by Charles Bronson, but the director had no intention of changing a winning team: yet the relationship with Eastwood, protagonist in the Dollar Trilogy (1964-1966), appears at this point already cracked. Each attributed the success of the other, while Eastwood found the practice of dubbing in Italian cinema absurd, and had protested, creating problems, at the time of the post-production of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He had also seen his character's prominence dilute over the course of For a Few Dollars More (in which he is joined by Lee Van Cleef) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (with Lee Van Cleef and especially Eli Wallach, who seems to be the real protagonist). Before '73, Eastwood made other westerns that were not directed by Leone. But The Nameless Stranger, the first western he directed, dialogues with Leone in a special way.

Some lines of dialogue would like to have the sententious force of Sergio Leone's phrases, and even the tenses tend to dilate. But this is an art that only the Italian has managed to master: in Eastwood's film, it ends up becoming a quotation of a quote, on balance a caricature and parody. Parody and caricature are also a surreal shooting in a bathtub and a truly gigantic cigar, a clear reference to the cigar that Leone put in Eastwood's mouth at the time of A Fistful of Dollars and that Eastwood had no intention of smoking. The nameless stranger is therefore out of the coordinates of the genre from the first minutes, when a man on horseback emerges from nowhere, while both the image and the music are distorted, suggesting a hallucination.

The destination of the man on horseback is a mining town built on the shores of a lake (a western with a water background??) that seems to have no reason to exist: there is no station or a port, the streets are almost completely empty. The houses are scattered and polished. They possess the dimension of depth, while in other westerns they are usually flat sets, facades with nothing behind them. Some buildings are still under construction. Eastwood's character, who of course does not have a name, crosses Lake – as the village is called – under everyone's eyes. Three outlaws confront him and are left with a stunt. They had been hired to protect the citizenry from other outlaws hired before them. The most logical successor is the foreigner, who is hired by the inhabitants of Lago as yet another protector in exchange for... anything he wants. And the foreigner ends up repeating the same story, becoming the tyrant of Lago. But there seems to be something personal about his persecution.

"I'm not a gunslinger," Eastwood's character says. At the end of the film, we will find out that he is not lying. Harmonica, Charles Bronson's character in Once Upon a Time in the West, already had an esoteric quality: coming from nowhere, being everywhere, fighting without being hit and without missing a shot, he looked more like an idea (on a meta-cinema level) or a ghost (on a narrative level) than a flesh-and-blood character. It was the idea, or the ghost, of the Old West, of the West that retreated with the advance of the train. Even in Lago, a mining town, modernity has arrived in the form of capitalism: avarice is the original sin that Eastwood's character comes to cleanse like an avenging angel evoked by the accumulation of goods, therefore of guilt. He is the one who establishes the link, punishing consumption with consumption, accelerating it, going to get boots that he will not pay for, offering for everyone at the bar but without dropping a dollar. He rapes a woman and continues to "order" others in a hotel he occupies for free: commodification concerns minorities first and foremost.

Is The Nameless Stranger a must-see movie?

Eastwood's post-western takes up Leone's demystifying discourse, but if Once Upon a Time in the West has the melancholic tones that will also be of Once Upon a Time in America, The Nameless Stranger is a cynical and ruthless film, with which Eastwood punishes the emerging consumer society by making use of an unpleasant protagonist and a series of repulsive supporting actors, giving the punishment a religious and ritual dimension, evident above all in the ending – which we do not anticipate. All these choices end up giving a hallucinatory, metaphysical, paranormal and horrific tone to this unmistakable and frankly absurd western. It is the greatest quality of the first Eastwood, that of Thrill in the Night (1971), The Texan with Ice Eyes (1976) and The Man in the Crosshairs (1977). His cinema is never superfluous, made to fill the theaters, keep the machine running. It is not self-preservation cinema, because otherwise it would have been better to make a more digestible western. The nameless foreigner, regardless of artistic merits, which are still great, has a strong idea and something interesting to say. It's one of those films that they add, necessary for cinema to survive and keep up with the changing times. In interviews, Eastwood often repeats that he only chooses stories that he himself would like to see on the screen: watching The Nameless Stranger we end up believing him.

Special Birthdays

Charles Fawcett (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 2008.

Carla Del Poggio (actress) would have been 100 today but died in 2010.

Jacques Toulouse (actor) is 80 today.

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Angela De Leo

[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.]

Angela De Leo is an Italian model who was born in Avellino, Campania, Italy in 1950. She had a short career in films where she appeared in seven films that I can find reference to between 1967 and 1972.

Her only Spaghetti western role was in “Buckaroo – il Winchester che non perdona” (A Winchester Does Not Forgive) in 1967 as Jodie.

De LEO, Angela (aka Angela Di Leo) [1950, Avellino, Campania, Italy -     ] – film actress.

A Winchester Does Not Forgive – 1967 (Jodie)

"Lui era Trinità" (He was Trinity”, the documentary that tells the extraordinary life of producer Italo Zingarelli

"Lui era Trinità" (He was Trinity) is the documentary that tells the extraordinary life and career of Italo Zingarelli. An incredible figure. He was a boxer, founder of a winery but, above all, film producer of the cult movies "They Call Me Trinity" and "Trinity is STILL My Name". The film about Zingarelli arrives on Canale Dieci. Here's when it will air. 

The documentary "He was Trinity" traces the fundamental stages of Zingarelli's professional life.

The documentary "He was Trinity" will be broadcasted on Channel Ten. The screening is for Monday December 1 at 9:15 p.m. It will be broadcast in rerun on December 2 at 10:30 a.m. and on December 3 at 11:40 p.m.

It tells the life and career of Italo Zingarelli, mind and producer of two cult movies such as "They Call Me Trinity" and "Trinity is STILL My Name".

From him started that force that then gave the scene to Bud Spencer and Terence Hill for those two legendary chapters that became blockbusters in the seventies.

In love with cinema, visionary, innovator, Zingarelli leaves an indelible mark on the history of Italian cinema.

It is produced by Fish-eye Digital Video Creation in collaboration with Rai Documentary and directed by Dario Marani.

The documentary develops through an intense narrative that is intertwined with memories, testimonies, film clips and period materials.

His three lives – boxer and stuntman, hugely successful film producer, finally wine entrepreneur in the heart of Chianti – make up a unique mosaic in the Italian cultural scene.

The voices of the protagonists: Hill, Spencer, Argento and many others

Outlining the human and professional portrait of Zingarelli are his children, friends and people who collaborated with him.

Among the most significant contributions are those of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, the latter offer thanks from an unpublished interview in 2004. Testimonies come from Dario Argento, Giovanna Ralli, Barbara Alberti and other illustrious names in Italian cinema and critics.

In the stories, anecdotes and memories that emerge concerning Zingarelli, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill as well as the successful path of the Trinity series.

The intuition that changed Italian cinema

Italo Zingarelli was an unconventional producer. It was his intuition that led to the birth of the "western beans", an ironic response to Sergio Leone's famous "spaghetti westerns".

In the documentary, which will aired on Monday December 1 at 9:15 p.m. the journey through Zingarelli's life will also lead us to discover the settings of the films and many anecdotes related to characters loved by the public, such as Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. But it will also be possible to discover details relating to scenarios in which Zingarelli moved and connected to important directors such as Dario Argento.

Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS0e48uRiUY

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now “Texas, Adios”

In this scene from 1966’s “Texas, Adios” we the scene where the Sullivan brothers free the women from their captures. It was filmed at Cotijo de La Hoya Altica in Retamar in Almeria, Spain.

Here’s the same location as seen in 2025.

European Western Comic Books – Cocco Bill

 

Cocco Bill

This comic book series is nearly a complete reprint of Benito Jacovitti’s Opera Omnia. A total of 80 issues were published, plus issue 45bis, a supplement to issue 45. A second edition was subsequently published (some issues were returned from stock, others were reprinted).

The comic book series was published in 2017 with issue #1 being released on August 18, 2017, and ended on March 11, 2019. It was published by Hachette Publishing and was released weekly with each issue containing 56 black and white pages with color covers.

 

Titles

01 (18.08.17) – “Cocco Bill e il meglio di Jacovitti” (Cocco Bill and the Best of Jacovitti)

02 (29.08.17) – “Ugh-Ugh Cocco Bill” (Ugh-Ugh Cocco Bill)

03 (05.09.17) – “Lo sceriffo Cocco Bill” (Sheriff Cocco Bill)

04 (12.09.17) – “Cocco Bill e gli Apaciones” (Cocco Bill and the Apaciones)

05 (19.09.17) – “Cocco Bill fa 7+” (Cocco Bill Makes 7+)

06 (26.09.17) – “Cocco Bill sulle rotaie” (Cocco Bill on the Rails)

07 (03.10.17) – “Cocco Bill in Canada” (Cocco Bill in Canada)

08 (10.10.17) – “Cocco Bill nell’Aldiquà” (Cocco Bill in the Here and Now)

09 (17.10.17) – “Cocco Bill fa coccodè” (Cocco Bill Goes Coo-Doo)

10 (24.10.17) – “Il sergente Cocco Bill” (Sergeant Cocco Bill)

11 (31.10.17) – “Cocco Bill contro Cocco Bill” (Cocco Bill vs. Cocco Bill)

12 (07.11.17) – “Cocco Bill Kamumilla Kokobì” (Cocco Bill Kamumilla Kokobì)

13 (14.11.17) – “Cocco Bill nella foresta” (Cocco Bill in the Forest)

14 (21.11.17) – “Il araone Cocco Bill” (The Corsair Cocco Bill)

15 (28.11.17) – “Cocco Bill …evolissimevolmente” (Cocco Bill …volissimevolmente)

16 (05.12.17) – “Jacovittevolissimevolmente Cocco Bill” (Jacovittevolissimevolmente

                           Cocco Bill)

17 (12.12.17) – “Cocco Bill nell’Arizona” (Cocco Bill in Arizona)

18 (19.12.17) – “È Natale Cocco Bill” (It’s Christmas Cocco Bill)

19 (26.12.17) – “Il cosacco Cocco Bill” (The Cossack Cocco Bill)

20 (02.01.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Driinn!” (Cocco Bill Cocco Driinn!)

21 (09.01.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Bill” (Cocco Bill Cocco Bill)

22 (16.01.18) – “Cocco Bill Sette per due” (Cocco Bill Seven for Two)

23 (23.01.18) – “Cocco Bill Goggobill” (Cocco Bill Goggobill)

24 (30.01.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Bill così e cosà” (Cocco Bill Cocco Bill So and So)

25 (06.02.18) – “Cocco Bill Scioscioscioni Cocco Bill” (Cocco Bill Scioscioscioni Cocco

                           Bill)

26 (13.02.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Bull” (Cocco Bill Cocco Bull)

27 (20.02.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Zitt!” (“Cocco Bill Cocco Shut Up!)

28 (27.02.18) – “Cocco Bill Il Coccobello, il araon e il cattivo” (Cocco Bill The

                           Coccobello, the Bad and the Ugly)

29 (06.03.18) – “Cocco Bill Per un po’ di camomilla” (Cocco Bill For a Bit of

                           Chamomile)

30 (13.03.18) – “Cocco Bill e la Revolucion” (Cocco Bill and the Revolucion)

31 (20.03.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccobrrrr” (Cocco Bill Coccobrrrr)

32 (27.03.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco?.. No!” (Cocco Bill Cocco?.. No!)

33 (03.04.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccorichiii!” (Cocco Bill Coccorichiii!)

34 (10.04.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccobeheheh!!” (“Cocco Bill Coccobeheheh!!)

35 (17.04.18) – “Cocco Bill contro chissà?” (Cocco Bill against who knows?)

36 (24.04.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Killer” (Cocco Bill Cocco Killer)

37 (01.05.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccalemme” (Cocco Bill Coccalemme)

38 (08.05.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccobillaggini!” (Cocco Bill Coccobillaggini!)

39 (22.05.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccoettì!” (Cocco Bill Coccoettì!)

40 (29.05.18) – “Cocco Bill Crazy Cocco” (Cocco Bill Crazy Cocco)

41 (05.06.18) – “Cocco Bill diquaedilà Prima parte” (Cocco Bill diquaedilà Part One)

42 (12.06.18) – “Cocco Bill diquaedilà Seconda parte” (Cocco Bill diquaedilà Part Two)

43 (19.06.18) – “Cocco Bill Coccobillando!” (Cocco Bill Coccobillando!)

44 (26.06.18) – “Cocco Bill Cocco Beach” (Cocco Bill Cocco Beach)

45 (03.07.18) – “Cocco Bill TV Junior” (Cocco Bill TV Junior)

45b (03.07.18) – “ZorryKid Prima parte” (ZorryKid Part One)

46 (10.07.18) – “ZorryKid Seconda parte” (ZorryKid Part Two)

47 (17.07.18) – “Kamasultra Prima parte” (Kamasultra Part One)

48 (24.07.18) – “Jak Mandolino Prima parte” (Jak Mandolino Part One)

49 (31.07.18) – “Kamasultra Seconda parte” (Kamasultra Part Two)

50 (07.08.18) – “Zorrykid all’arrembaggio! Prima parte” (Zorrykid to the boarding! Part

                           one)

51 (14.08.18) – “Zorrykid all’arrembaggio! Seconda parte” (Zorrykid to the Boarding!

                          Part Two)

52 (21.08.18) – “Microciccio Spaccavento” (Microciccio Spaccavento)

53 (04.09.18) – “Joebalordo Prima parte” (Joebalordo Part One)

54 (11.09.18) – “Gionni Galassia” (Gionni Galassia)

55 (18.09.18) – “Toni e Gionni” (Toni and Gionni)

56 (25.09.18) – “Sempronio Prima parte” (Sempronio Part One)

57 (02.10.18) – “Sempronio Seconda parte” (Sempronio Part Two)

58 (09.10.18) – “Joebalordo Seconda parte” (Joebalordo Part Two)

59 (16.10.18) – “Cipzagmapu” (Cipzagmapu)

60 (23.10.18) – “Jacovittevolissimevolmente: Jak Mandolino per gli amici: Jak

                           Violoncello Prima parte” (Jacovittevolissimevolmente: Jak Mandolino

                           per Friends: Jak Cello Part One)

61 (30.10.18) – “Jacovittevolissimevolmente: Jak Mandolino per gli amici: Jak

                           Violoncello Seconda parte” (Jacovittevolissimevolmente: Jak Mandolin

                           for friends: Jak Cello Part Two)

62 (06.11.18) – “Zorrykid Storie brevi Prima parte” (Zorrykid Short Stories Part One)

63 (13.11.18) – “Mandrago!” (Mandrago!)

64 (20.11.18) – “Pippo nel castello di Rococò” (Pippo in the Rococo Castle)

65 (27.11.18) – “Zorrykid Storie brevi Seconda parte” (“Zorrykid Short Stories Part Two)

66 (04.12.18) – “Jak Mandolino Un parazumparappappà di Jacovitti” (Jak Mandolino A

                           Parazumparappappà by Jacovitti)

67 (11.12.18) – “Chicchirino” (Chicchirino)

68 (18.12.18) – “Don Chisciotte” (Don Quixote)

69 (24.12.18) – “Kamasultra Terza parte” (Kamasultra Part Three)

70 (31.12.18) – “Pinocchio” (Pinocchio)

71 (07.01.19) – “Alonzo Alonzo… …detto Alonzo” (Alonzo Alonzo… …called Alonzo)

72 (14.01.19) – “Le babbucce di Allah” (Allah’s Slippers)

73 (21.01.19) – “Baby Tarallo” (Baby Tarallo)

74 (28.01.19) – “Tizio Caio e Sempronio” (Tom, Dick, and Harry)

75 (04.02.19) – “Pippo zùmpara pappà” (Pippo zùmpara papa)

76 (11.02.19) – “L’onorevole Tarzan” (The Honorable Tarzan)

77 (18.02.19) – “Zagar contro Zagar” (Orange against Orange)

78 (25.02.19) – “Gamba di Quaglia” (Quail’s Leg)

79 (04.03.19) – “Pippo e il araone” (Pippo and the Pharaoh)

80 (11.03.19) – “Il giro della risata” (The Laughter Round)