Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Iván Rodríguez Battista

[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.]

Iván Rodríguez Battista is an Italian film maker acting as a producer, actor and stuntman in both films and television.

He’s appeared so far in twenty-one films performing stunts from 2016 to 2025. He’s appeared as an actor in two films and was an associate producer on one film “El Borracho: El vino viejo es el más peleón” in 2020.

Battista’s two Euro-westerns are “Por un puñado frases” and “Trinidad” both in 2025 performing stunts.

BATTISTA, Iván Rodríguez [Spanish] – producer, stuntman, film, TV actor.

Por un puñado frases – 2025 [stunts]

Trinidad – 2025 [stunts]

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Hark Böhm

Hark Bohm was born on May 18, 1939, in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. Bohm was the son of senior State Councillor Walter Bohm and his wife, student counsellor Ingeborg Bohm. He grew up on the North Sea island Amrum. After graduating from high school in 1959 in Hamburg, he then graduated from the University with a degree in law. He quit his legal internship in Munich in 1969 and dedicated himself entirely to the art of film. He was cast in several Fassbinder films. There Fassbinder put him preferably one for pedantic and authoritarian roles.

In 1971, Hark Bohm became a member of the New German Cinema. In the following years he was director and author of several short films before then with his only Euro-western “Chetan, Indian Boy”, which became an award-winning feature film. It was followed by several films that dealt with social change.

Hark Bohm was also known as co-founder of the Hamburg Film Bureau in 1979. In the same year he also initiated the Filmfest Hamburg with Werner Herzog, Volker Schlöndorff and Wim Wenders with the so-called Hamburg Declaration. In 1993 he founded the Hamburg film studies at the University of Hamburg - where he held a professorship since 1992 - which has been integrated into the Hamburg Media School in 2004. Hark Bohm was a member of the Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg.

He is the brother of late actor Marquard Bohm [1941-2006], father of actor Dschingis Bowakow. He’s the adoptive father of actor Uwe Böhm [1962- ], who starred in several of his films, mostly under his actual name Uwe Enkelmann. His other adopted children and Lili and David have all appeared in films. He had one other adopted child, plus two foster children.

Hark died on November 14, 2025, at the age of 86.

Hark Böhm directed one Euro-western: “Tschetan” (Chetan, Indian Boy) in 1972

BOHM, Hark (Hark Böhm)[5/18/1939, Othmarschen, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany – 11/14/2025, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany] – producer, director, playwright, writer, songwriter, actor, brother of brother of director, writer, actor Marquard Böhm [1941-2006], married to teacher Angela Luther [1940-    ] (196?-1969), married to producer, costume designer, actress Natalia Bowakow (1960-    ) adoptive father of  producer, actor Dschingis Bowakow [1961-    ],cameraman, actor David Böhm, actor Uwe Böhm (Uwe Enkelmann) [1962-2022], Bembe Bowakow,  actress Lili Böhm (Liliana Böhm) [1989-    ], founding director of the Hamburg University Film School.

Chetan, Indian Boy – 1972

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Jaime Jesús Balcázar

Jaime Jesús Balcázar Granda was born in Barcelona, Spain. He is the younger brother of producer, director, writer Alfonso Balcazar. He made a series of feature films, three of which were best known as Spaghetti westerns. As a member of the Balcázar family, who dominated the Catalan film market, he was initially responsible for the synchronization of the produced films, before he shot his first film - but not for his own company, but for Leda Films from Madrid. This was followed by six entertainment films.

His film, “El misterio de la vida”, was a Spanish version of the German Enlightenment film Helga; in his later years he turned to the fictional erotic film. Several films were made in collaboration with German director Hubert Frank.

Today he’s living in retirement.

Jaime wrote and co-wrote screenplays for five Spaghetti westerns: “Thompson 1880” in 1966, “Gentleman Jo... uccidi” (Gentleman Killer) and “Professionisti per un massacre” (Professionals for a Massacre) with José Antonio de la Loma, Enzo Dell’Aquila and Roberto Gianviti both in 1967, “Sonora” and “Dos veces Judas” (Twice a Judas) both in 1968.

BALCAZAR, Jaime Jesús (aka Jaime Jesús Balcázar) (Jaime Jesús Balcázar Granda) [1/27/1934, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain -     ] – producer, director, assistant director, brother of producer, director, writer Alfonso Balcazar (Alfonso Balcázar Granda) [1926-1993].

Thompson 1880 - 1966

Gentleman Killer – 1967 [as J.J. Balcázar]

Professionals for a Massacre – 1967 (co)

Sonora – 1968 [as J. J. Balcázar]

Twice a Judas - 1968

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Diego Bonuccelli

Diego Bonuccelli was born in Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy on November 11, 1993. He’s a director, writer, cinematographer and actor.

He studied at the University of Pisa. Since 2013 he directed several short films, feature films, documentaries and video commercials. In 2016 he directed two short films: "XII844" about the Sant'Anna di Stazzema Massacre and "Più Accecante della Notte" starring famous Italian comedian Giorgio Panariello.

Diego Bonuccelli's filmmaking is distinguished by an extreme use of close-ups. As an independent filmmaker, he frequently assumes multiple key roles—including director, writer, editor, and cinematographer—across his projects, allowing him to maintain tight creative control over the visual and narrative execution.

Diego has been the cinematographer on two Euro-westerns: “The Green Furies” in 2012 and “Welcome to Elderstorm” in 2014

BONUCCELLI, Diego [11/11/1993, Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy -     ] – director, writer, cinematographer, actor.

The Green Furies – 2012 

Welcome to Elderstorm - 2014

Dead Souls review – Alex Cox rides into sunset with anti-Trump spaghetti

Rotterdam film festival

The Repo Man director relocates Gogol’s surreal novella to the old west in what he says will be his final film

The Guardian

Peter Bradshaw

February 1, 2026

English film-maker Alex Cox comes riding into town with this jauntily odd and surreal western which he has indicated will be his swansong, shot on the rugged plains of Almeria in Spain and also Arizona. Cox himself is the star – an elegant, dapper presence – and his co-writer is veteran spaghetti western actor Gianni Garko.

The story has obvious relevance to contemporary America, and a flash-forward makes some of this clear. But it is also inspired by the classic novella of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, a mysterious parable of greed and vanity about a man who travels around offering to buy the souls of dead serfs on various estates in pre-revolutionary Russia so landowners can lower their tax bills, but plans to claim that they are still alive and therefore pass himself off as a wealthy man.

Cox transplants some of this tale to the American old west of the late 19th century. He plays Strindler, a spindly and cadaverous fellow with elaborate courtly manners, a fastidious suit and bowler hat. Strindler sometimes claims to be a government official and sometimes an itinerant preacher. Having checked in at a fly-blown hotel, he exerts himself to make the acquaintance of the local notables, including the sheriff and mayor, to whom he sycophantically loses at cards.

Strindler has a proposition to make: he will pay bafflingly large amounts of money for lists of dead Mexicans who have died on their land or in their employ. This exploitative and racist world being what it is, there are an awful lot of Mexican names to be “farmed” in this way, and it is Strindler’s sinister plan to sell them on to government departments who want evidence that undesirable aliens are being excluded from American territory. But in another, stranger sense, Strindler is offering a kind of cleansing or redemption: he will take these dead people off their hands.

Strindler is a kind of proto-ICE drifter, although with a distinctive, quaint kind of innocence, and for all that he is a crook through and through, Cox shows that Strindler is outranked in crookedness by pretty much everyone he meets. He is out of his depth, and never more so when challenged to a gunfight: a duel that ends in bloody chaos, after which the recording authorities take the view that one should print the legend and not the truth.

Dead Souls has a distinctive indie-budget look, of which Cox makes a virtue by presenting the action almost as a theatrical chamber piece. Bizarre and fruity characters pop up on the parched landscape. Dead men will raise themselves and start singing. Sometimes Strindler will dream he has been catapulted into an American future during a third world war in which his services are needed to buy the names of dead Russians, Chinese and Peruvians.

It is a diverting and watchable love letter to the spaghetti west of the movies, and a satirical thorn in the flesh of Trumpian politics.

Who Are Those Guys? Gabriele Ferzetti

 

Pasquale Ferzetti was born in Rome on March 17, 1925. He studied at the Accademia d'Arte Drammatica in Rome but was expelled.

He adopted the stage name Gabriele Ferzetti early in his career, by which he became widely known in the performing arts. His first leading role was in the film “Lo Zappatore” (1950). He portrayed Puccini twice in the films “Puccini” (1953) and “House of Ricordi” (1954). He made his international breakthrough in Michelangelo Antonioni's controversial “L'Avventura” (1960) as a restless playboy. After a series of romantic performances, he acquired a reputation in Italy as an elegant, debonair, and somewhat aristocratic looking leading man.

Ferzetti starred as Lot in John Huston's biblical epic, “The Bible: In the Beginning...” (1966), and played railroad baron Morton in Sergio Leone's “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968). Perhaps his best-known role, internationally, was in the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty's Secret Service” (1969) as Marc Ange Draco, although his voice was dubbed by British actor David de Keyser. He was perhaps best known to non-mainstream audiences for his role as the psychiatrist, Hans, in Liliana Cavani's “The Night Porter” (1974). In the 1970s, he appeared in a significant number of crime films, often as an inspector.

He appeared in Julia and Julia, opposite Laurence Olivier in “Inchon” (1982), and the cult film, “First Action Hero”. Later in his career, he played the role of Nono in the TV series ‘Une famille formidable’, while also appearing in Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film “I Am Love”.

Ferzetti was married to actresses Maria Grazia Eminente and Claudia Verdini. His daughter is actress Anna Ferzetti and granddaughters as actresses Greta and Lea Favino.

Gabriele Ferzetti died on December 2, 2015, in Rome aged 90.

FERZETTI, Gabriele (Pasquale Ferzetti) [3/17/1925, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 12/2/2015, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – film actor, married to actress Maria Grazia Eminente [1937-    ] (1958-1963), married to Claudia Verdini (1984-2015) father of actress Anna Ferzetti [1982-    ], grandfather of actress Greta Favino [2006-    ], actress Lea Favino [2012-    ],

Once Upon a Time in the West - 1968 (Mr. Morton)

Special Birthdays

Wilhelm Koch-Hooge (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 2004.

Rafael Anglada (actor) would have been 105 today but died in 1993.

Leslie Nielsen (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 2010.

 

Elena Sereda (actress) would have been 100 today but died in 2010.

Burt Reynolds (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2018.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Dorothy DeBorba

[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.]

Dorothy Adelle DeBorba was born in Los Angeles, California on March 28, 1925.She originated from a music background. Her mother was a singer and a dancer, and father was a drummer in the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Her first starring role was for “Men of the North” (1930), a movie directed by Hal Roach, who liked her so much he hired her to star in his Our Gang series. Despite her cute and curly hair appearance, she was a big tom-boy. In her first appearance, “Pups Is Pups”, she recalled having a lot of fun having to make thirty-seven takes jumping into a pool of mud, getting taken out, cleaned and redressed to do it again. However, in “Shiver My Timbers”, filmed at San Pedro Harbor, she got a splinter in her while sliding down a gangplank, and during a storm scene, she got wet inside a box that turned out not to be waterproof. She also recalls falling on the phony ice in “Spanky” and getting rammed by the goat in “Hook And Ladder”.

After three years of shorts, Dorothy entered the gawky age and was let go. She was the last Our Gang leading lady to serve multiple years until Darla Hood became a regular two years later. Director Robert F. McGowan advised her mother to wait before letting her star in any features, possibly to let Dorothy blossom into a young beautiful lady, but Hal Roach gave Dorothy a short scene in "Bombshell" with Jean Harlow. Afterward, Dorothy left acting altogether. She grew up, had two children and settled in Northern California. Before she retired, she was a senior clerk in the School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Dorothy became a member of the Sons of the Desert in 1980, loyally attending banquets in Los Angeles and International Conventions until her health no longer allowed her to travel. She was planning on attending the International Convention in Sacramento, when she passed away from emphysema and lung disease on June 2, 2010, in Walnut Creek, California at the age of 85..

Dorothy’s only Euro-western as mentioned above was “Men of the North” in 1930 a s a child.

DeBORBA, Dorothy (Dorothy Adelle DeBorba) [3/28/1925, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. – 6/2/2010, Walnut Creek, California, U.S.A. (emphysema)] – film actress, daughter of singer, dancer, film actress Lillian DeBorba [1898-1955], married to stuntman ? (1946-194?) mother of Richard Lawrence Haberreiter [1946-    ], married Max Ferdinand Haberreiter [1922-2005] (1950-1958) mother of Janet Sue Haberreiter [1952-    ].

Men of the North – 1930 (child)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Richard Blasco

 Ricardo Blasco Laguna was born in Valencia, Spain on April 30, 1921. Ricardo was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, assistant director, poet, essayist, and television director active primarily in the mid-20th century Spanish cinema.

Blasco's early professional life was rooted in the post-Civil War Spanish film scene, where he worked with prominent studios like Cifesa, starting as a script reader and progressing to writing and assisting on dubbing projects. His directorial output reflected the era's trends, incorporating musical comedies, dramas, and action-oriented stories that occasionally crossed into European genre cinema, such as his sole venture into the spaghetti western subgenre with Gunfight at Red Sands, which he also scripted. Notable collaborations included frequent work with actors like Agustín González and composers such as Juan Quintero, contributing to films that highlighted Andalusian themes in works like Sighs of Triana (1955). By the late 1960s, his directing career tapered off, though his contributions to Spanish cinema during the Franco era remain a footnote in the transition toward more international influences.

He began his career in the film industry during the 1940s and 1950s, contributing as a screenwriter and assistant director to various productions before making his directorial debut. Blasco is best known for his work in adventure and western genres, including directing the spaghetti western “Gunfight at Red Sands” (1963), starring Richard Harrison, as well as Zorro-themed films such as “The Three Swords of Zorro” (1963) and “Behind the Mask of Zorro” (1965). Over his career, he directed around seven feature films, often blending Spanish cultural elements with international co-productions, and collaborated on screenplays for titles like “Amor bajo cero” (1960) and “Autopsy of a Criminal” (1963). Later, he worked as a television director for Televisión Española and as a historian, editing the Gran Enciclopedia de la Región Valenciana in 1973. He passed away in Madrid at the age of 72.

As mentioned above as Richard Blasco he directed three Spaghetti westerns: “Duello nel Texas” (Gunfight at Red Sands) and “Le tre spade di Zorro” (Three Swords of Zorro) both in 1963 and “El Zorro cabalga otra vez” (Behind the Mask of Zorro) in 1965.

BLASCO, Richard (aka Ricardo Blasco, Richard Blasco) (Ricardo Blasco Laguna) [4/30/1921, Valencia, Valencia, Spain – 2/8/1994, Madrid, Madrid, Spain] – director, assistant director, poet, writer, composer, actor.

Gunfight at Red Sands - 1963

The Three Swords of Zorro – 1963

Behind the Mask of Zorro – 1965

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Alfonso Balcazar

Alfonso Balcázar Granda was born in Barcelona, Spain on March 2, 1926. The son of a furrier of Valladolid origin who had made his fortune in Barcelona, in 1950 he decided to leave the prosperous family business to dedicate himself to film production with his brother Jaime. The new activity was inaugurated with the financing of “Catherine of England” (1951), a film that was almost unfinished due to the bankruptcy of the original production company and which was followed by some titles of modest budget and clearly commercial vocation, such as the football comedy “Eleven Pairs of Boots” (1954). In the middle of the decade, co-productions with European countries and Mexico began, although it should be noted that from the administrative point of view they were not entirely "transparent" operations, in the sense that, for example, the credits did not refer to Mexican producers or French or Italian companies were created that, in the end, they were simple branches of Balcázar in Paris (Jam Films) or Rome (Enalpa). Alfonso progressively delegated the productive tasks to his brother to devote himself to directing, making his debut in 1959 with “La encrucijada”, a drama about the Civil War that offered a relatively impartial vision of the conflict and without excessive concessions to the propaganda of the victors. As Alfonso was aware that he lacked adequate professional training, from the first moment he surrounded himself with a team of efficient collaborators, especially scriptwriters such as Miguel Cussó or José Antonio de la Loma and assistants such as Paco Pérez-Dolz or the Italian Romolo Guerrieri

In the 1960s he dedicated his career to the western genre that was dominating the European cinemas. He and his brother were two of the biggest names in Spanish western film productions.

Alfonso Balcazar wrote stories and screenplay for around 50 films between 1958 and 1983. He directed 30 and produced 21 films during that time. 

He often worked with both Giovanni Simonelli and Antonio de la Loma while writing twelve screenplays for Spaghetti westerns: “Los pistoleros de Arizona” ($5,000 on One Ace) with José Antonio de la Loma, Sandro Continenza and Helmut Harun, “Oklahoma John” (The Man from Oklahoma) with Helmut Harun, Giuseppe Maggi and Giovanni Simonelli) both in 1964, “Doc, manos de plata” (The Man Who Came to Kill) with Giovanni Simonelli, “Centomila dollari per Ringo” ($100,000 for Ringo) with Giovanni Simonelli and José Antonio de la Loma, “Il ritorno di Ringo” (The Return of Ringo) with Duccio Tessari, Fernando Di Leo, “Sette magnifiche pistole” (7 Magnificent Pistols for Timothy) with Giovanni Simonelli and José Antonio de la Loma and “Tierra de fuego” (Sunscorched) with ), José Antonio de la Loma, Irving Dennis, Mark Stevens and Warren Kiefer all in 1965, “Dinamite Jim” (Dynamite Jim) with José Antonio de la Loma and “Los cinco de la venganza” (5 Giants from Texas) with José Antonio de la Loma both in 1966, “Clint il solitario” (Clint the Stranger) with Jose Antonio de la Loma and Helmut Harun in 1967, “Legge della violenza – tutti o nessuno” (The Law of Violence) with Gianni Crea, and Piero Regnoli in 1969, Gianni Crea, and Piero Regnoli in 1969, “Hijos de pobres, pero deshonestos padres… le llamaban Calamidad” (Now They Call Him Sacramento) with Giovanni Simonelli and “Judas... ¡toma tus monedas!” (Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return) both in 1972.

BALCAZAR, Alfonso (aka Albagran, I. Albagran, Al Bagran, A. Balcazar, Alfred Balcazar) (Alfonso Balcázar Granda) [3/2/1926, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain – 12/28/1993, Sitges, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain] – producer, director, writer, brother of producer, director, assistant director, writer Jaime Jesús Balcázar (Jaime Jesús Balcázar Granda) [1934-    ], married to Celestina Bertrand Bertrand [1929-2005] (1949-1993) father of seven children, founded P.C. Balcazar Productions, Filmax Distribution Co. and built Esplugues City Studios.

$5,000 on One Ace – 1964 (co)

The Man from Oklahoma – 1964 (co)

The Man Who Came to Kill – 1965 (co)

$100,000 for Ringo – 1965 (co)

The Return of Ringo – 1965 (co)

7 Magnificent Pistols for Timothy – 1965 (co)

Sunscorched – 1965 (co)

Dynamite Jim – 1966 (co)

5 Giants from Texas – 1966 (co)

Clint the Stranger – 1967 (co)

Now They Call Him Sacramento – 1972 (co)

Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return – 1972

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Johan Bodin

Johan Bodin is a versatile filmmaker based in Grangärde, Dalarna, Sweden. With over a decade of experience in the film industry, he has established himself as a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and VFX artist.

He runs the production company Wizworks Studios, producing a wide range of projects—from commercials to short and feature films.

Bodin is known for his creative versatility and has worked on everything from VFX compositing for international productions like “The Underwater Realm” to directing and shooting his own films such as “The Great North” and “The Great North II: Grizzly’s Cabin”. He describes himself as an “Alli-Molli-man” – a multi-skilled creator with a hands-on approach to filmmaking.

Johan Bodin was cinematographer on two Euro-westerns: “The Great North” in 2018 and the sequel “The Great North 2: Grizzly’s Cabin” in 2019.

BODIN, Johan [Swedish] – director, writer, cinematographer, film editor, VFX.

The Great North – 2018

The Great North 2 Grizzly’s Cabin - 2019

EMPTY HOLSTER, THE

1912, France

Aka… The Empty Holster

T: 850ft. (UK)

Pc: Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (Par)

Dist: Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France (Fr), Lux (06/19/12, UK)

Syn: Dick receives a new revolver from his sweetheart as a birthday gift. Whilst stopping at a roadside waterhole to refresh himself, he loses it, but rides on un. conscious of his loss. A tramp finds the revolver and attacks the mail carrier with it. Dick, returning to search for his revolver, finds the prostate mail carrier, and is discovered by the sheriff. He is accused of murder, and condemned to death, his empty holster branding him as the criminal. However, he is saved by the efforts of his sweetheart, who arrests the true culprit with her own hands.

     Comm: [Filmed in France,?] Bioscope ran a synopsis in June19, 1912, UK.

 

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

SAVED BY A SHOT

1912, Denmark

Aka… Et Skud i rette Tid / ‘A Shot at the Right Time’ (Coph)

Ex… Saved by a Shot (UK)

T: 820 ft (UK) 

D: [?]

Pc: Nordisk Film Kompagni (Oslo)

Dist: Nordisk Film Kompagni (Oslo), Nordisk (06/15/12, UK)

C: [?]

Syn: Mexico [?] Aztecs [?]. Ned Seeman and a party arrive at the abode of the Snake King. They strike a bargain with the latter to give them a demonstration of the art of capturing snakes alive. Ned and the Snake King’s daughter become interested in each other. The party reaches a spot where a huge snake is curled round the branch of a tree. The Snake King, grasping the reptile by the throat and failing, soon has him safely in the sack his son is carrying. Several more are captured, and the party return to the Snake King’s house. As the party are taking their places on the coach, Ned engages the Snake King’s daughter in conversation and gives her the flower he is wearing. A Mexican, who is in love with the girl, stands angrily watching the scene. The coach drives off, and the girl stands waving a fond farewell to Ned. The Mexican, roughly seizing the girl’s arm, demands an explanation. She laughs at him, but he snatches from her the flower Ned had given her and flings it to the ground. As the Mexican draws his knife, the girl’s brother intervenes and sends the Mexican about his business. The brother tracks the Mexican. The Mexican decides on a desperate plan, and, coming upon a snake, he causes the reptile to emit its venom into a small bottle he has with him. The girl's brother sees his action. Ned Seeman arrives at the Snake King’s and is left with the daughter. She proceeds to get wine, and just as Ned has poured out a glass for himself and one for her, the Mexican comes in. A glass is filled for him. While Ned and the girl have their heads momentarily turned, he empties the snake’s venom into Ned's glass. His action has been seen by the girl’s brother, who fires into the room. This startles them, and the glasses crash to the ground. The Mexican floors Ned, and, picking up a chair, smashes the window in an attempt to escape. But he is caught and led away. Matters are explained by the brother, and Ned and the girl are joined together in happiness by the Snake King. 

     Bioscope ran the synopsis June 6 1912 (UK).

 

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

Special Birthdays

Jack Berthier (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 2008.

Luisa Rivelli (actress) would have been 95 today but died in 2013.

Aiché Nana (actress) would have been 90 today but died in 2014.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Chet Brandenburg

[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.]

James Chester Brandenburg was born in Peoria, Illinois on October 15, 1897. He was the brother of stuntman Ed Brandeburg. Chet began his career on the silent screen in 1924s "Wide Open Spaces," which starred Stan Laurel. Chet's father was Alfred Daniel Brandenburg who.was an actor and stuntman. Chet began his career on the silent screen in 1924s "Wide Open Spaces," which starred Stan Laurel. He went on to appear in 436 films and television programs between 1924 and 1968.

Brandenburg appeared on several TV western series including multiple episodes of Gunsmoke, in uncredited roles

Chet’s only European western was in 1930’s “Men of the North” as a man at the dance.

BRANDENBURG, Chet (James Chester Brandenburg) [10/15/1897, Peoria, Illinois, U.S.A. - 7/17/1974, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] – assistant director, stuntman, film, TV actor, brother of stuntman, actor Ed Brandenburg (Marion Edgar Brandenburg) [1896-1969], married to Anna Beatrice Casey [1898-1989] (1915-1974) father of Robert Chester Brandenburg [1917-1993], Richard Casey Brandenburg [1931-2016].

Men of the North – 1930 (man at dance)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Hans Billian

Hans Joachim Hubert Backe was born on April 15, 1918, in Breslau, Silesia, Germany. Billian originally wanted to become an opera singer but due to the deterioration of his voice during his nine years in military service he had to abandon this plan. After World War II, he settled in West Germany and started to work as an actor at theatres in Hamburg and Wolfenbüttel. He later began to work also as a director's assistant.

In 1950, he started to work for various German film producers. Especially, his work for Constantin-Film proved to be successful until 1961 when he left this company to work as a freelance screenwriter and director. Until the late 1960s, he wrote films or directed films that fell under the category Heimatfilm, such as “Ich kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut” in 1965. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he directed softcore sex comedies, like “Pudelnackt in Oberbayern” (1969) (a Bavarian sex comedy pioneer), “Die Jungfrauen von Bumshausen” (Run, Virgin, Run) (1970), and “Das Mädchen mit der heißen Masche” (Loves of a French Pussycat) (1972) (starring Sybil Danning).

In 1973, Billian directed hardcore short-length loops for the Swedish company Venus Film. When the ban on hardcore pornography was lifted in Germany, he started to direct numerous short-length hardcore films there. In the 1990s, he directed porn videos, especially for the producer Tabu of Bochum, but these videos fell far from the quality of his work in the 1970s.

Billian died in Gräfelfing, Bavaria, Germany on December 18, 2007 at the age of 89.

BILLIAN, Hans (aka Hans Billan, Phillip Halliday, Christian Kessler) [4/15/1918, Breslau, Silesia, Germany– 12/18/2007, Gräfelfing, Bavaria, Germany] – director, writer, actor.

Fräulein Surehand – 1975

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Chip Baker

Chip Baker was born on November 15, 1970, somewhere in the U.K. I can find no biographical information on him.

Baker has written screenplays for  two Spaghetti westerns: “6 Bullets to Hell” in 2016 and “Bullets for the Bad” in 2018 with Danny Garcia (Daniel Garcia), Jose L. Villanueva and Nick Reynolds.

BAKER, Chip [British] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer, composer, film editor, founded Chip Baker Films.

Reverend Colt – 2013, 2016 [Film was never made.]

6 Bullets to Hell – 2016

Bullets for the Bad – 2017 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Ray Binger

Ray Oliver Binger was born on November16, 1888, in Browntown, Wisconsin. He was an American cinematographer. He started working in Hollywood in 1924, mastering the art of process photography. By 1934 he had gravitated towards special effects work. He was one of the many technicians involved in bringing authenticity to “The Hurricane” in 1937, and was instrumental in the plane crash sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Foreign Correspondent” in 1940. Not all his assignments were quite that showy, however. He received an Oscar nomination in the category Best Special Effects for generating fake crowds to fill up the baseball stands in 1942's “The Pride of the Yankees”. He was nominated twice more in the same category for The “Long Voyage Home” (1940) and “The North Star” (1943).

Binger died in Seal Beach, California, on September 29, 1970 at the age of 81.

Ray’s only Euro-western was “The Men of the Borth” in 1930.

BINGER, Ray (aka Ray O. Binger, R.O. Binger) (Ray Oliver Binger) [11/16/1888, Browntown, Wisconsin, U.S.A. – 9/29/1970, Seal Beach, California, U.S.A.] – cinematographer, cameraman, SFX, married to Sarah Jane Flemming [1894-1967] (1917-1967) father of Olive Patricia Binger Losada [1921-1982].

The Men of the North - 1930

Spaghetti Western Locations Then & Now – “The Genius”

In the opening scene of “The Genius we see some locals watching the arrival of the morning stage and one of the passengers is Joe Thanks/Nobody.

This was filmed on the set of ‘Flagstone’ which was built for “Once Upon a Time in the West by architect Carlo Simi. The set was used several times over the years as many of the buildings were constructed of bricks and stood the test of time.

Poblado Flagstone is located across from the abandoned train depot in La Calahorra, Granada, Spain.

Only a shell of the original building still exists as can be seen in this 2025 photo.

European Western Comic Books - LA LEGGENDA D’ALEXIS MAC COY

 

The Legend of Alexis Mac Coy

This comic book was a monographic series, published in large-format albums, the western series The Legend of Alexis Mac Coy, by J. P. Gourmelen and A. H. Palacios. It was published in 1983 with issue #1 being released in March and ended with issue #4 in November. The comic book was published by EPC in Rome, Italy under managing director Arturo G. Bernacchi. Each issue contained 56 black and white pages with color covers.

 

Titles

01 (00.03.83) - "La leggenda d'Alexis Mac Coy" (The Legend of Alexis Mac Coy)

02 (00.00.83) - "Un certo Mac Coy" (A Certain Mac Coy)

03 (00.00.83) - "Una trappola per Mac Coy" (A Trap for Mac Coy)

04 (00.11.83) - "Il trionfo di Mac Coy" (The Triumph of Mac Coy)

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Felipe Álvarez

[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.]

“Felipe Álvarez was a background actor, active in Spanish films at least from the mid-1950's to the mid-1970's.

Álvarez has only two credited roles. In the first of these, “Aquí están las vicetiples”, he has a quite substantial speaking role and should certainly be credited. “El hombre del expreso de Oriente”, where he has a small speaking role with a couple of lines. It's not a large role, but Alvarez is credited second from last in a fairly lengthy cast list and in a film where Agustin Bescos is credited for just walking through a door it should be enough to get him credited.

While it is impossible to be absolutely certain of the identification from the information available, with the one role where he almost certainly must be credited and a second credited speaking role to back this up, I do think the following list of credits are accurate. There most likely others that have been missed.” – Thrilling Forum

Like most character and bit players there is no biographical information available on Felipe.

“Torrejón City” in 1962 as a saloon patron, “Brandy” (Ride and Kill) as a townsman and “Los pistoleros de Casa Grande” (Gunfighters of Casa Grande) as a rancher both in 1963, “Relevo para un pistolero” in1964 as a saloon patron and “Los cuatreros” as a saloon patron both in 1964. “Custer of the West” in 1967 as an attendee at the party, “Il mercenario” (The Mercenary) in 1968 as a Mexican in Garcia’s house, “Vivi preferibilmente, morti” (Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid as a townsman and “A Talent for Loving” as a saloon waiter both in 1969.

ALVAREZ, Felipe (Felipe Álvarez) [Spanish] – film actor.

Torrejón City – 1962 (saloon patron)

Gunfighters of Casa Grande -1963 (rancher)

Ride and Kill – 1963 (townsman)*

Relevo para un pistolero - 1964 (saloon patron)

Shoot to Kill – 1964 (saloon patron)

Custer of the West – 1967 (party attendee)

The Mercenary – 1968 (Mexican in Garcia’s house)

Sundance Cassidy and Butch the Kid – 1969 (townsman)

A Talent for Loving 1969 (saloon waiter)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Paolo Bianchini

Paolo Bianchini was born in Rome, Italy on August 13, 1931. He hailed from a family with deep ties to Italy's resistance during World War II, as the nephew of Mariano Buratti, a partisan educator awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor posthumously after his execution at Forte Bravetta in 1944. This familial legacy, rooted in the anti-fascist struggle, likely shaped Bianchini's perspective on social justice and resilience amid Italy's turbulent mid-20th-century political landscape

 He began his career in 1953 working as an assistant director of a number of notable directors, including Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Vittorio De Sica, Mauro Bolognini and particularly Luigi Zampa, with whom he collaborated several times. From the second half of the 1960 Bianchini was also active as a director and a screenwriter, specializing in low-budget genre films. Starting in the 1970s he focused his work on television and advertising commercials.

Bianchi was also credited under the alias Paul Maxwell several times and as Paolo Bianchi.

Bianchin directed four Spaghetti westerns: “Quel caldo maledetto giorno di fuoco” (Gatling Gun) and “Dio il crea... io li ammazzo!” (God Made Them…I Kill Them” and “Lo voglio morto” (I Want Him Dead) all in 1968 and “Ehi Amigo… sei morto!” (Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death) in 1970.

BIANCHINI, Paolo (aka Paolo Bianchi, Paul Maxwell) [8/13/1931, Rome, Lazio, Italy - ] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, married to model, actress Susan Kaszner Worth (Susan Lee Kaszner Van Horn) [1936-    ] (1963-1975) father of Paolo Bianchini Jr. one other child.

Gatling Gun – 1968

God Made Them... I Kill Them – 1968 [as Paolo Bianchi]

I Want Him Dead – 1968

Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death - 1970 [as Paul Maxwell]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Rafael Azcona

Rafael Azcona Fernández was born on October 24, 1926, in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. He was a Spanish screenwriter and novelist who worked with some of the best Spanish and international filmmakers. Azcona won five Goya Awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement award in 1998.

Azcona initially began his career writing for humor magazines. He became known as a screenwriter when he penned the screenplay for the film, “El Pisito” (The Little Apartment), which was based on his own novel. The 1959 film was directed by Italian film director, Marco Ferreri.

Azcona teamed up with director Fernando Trueba in “Belle Époque,” which won an Academy Award for best foreign film in 1994. He collaborated with other Spanish directors including Luis Garcia Berlanga, Jose Luis Cuerda, José Luis García Sánchez, Pedro Olea, and Carlos Saura. Azcona was also awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 1994.

Rafael Azcona died at his home in Madrid, Spain, on March 24, 2008, at the age of 81.

Azcona wroter screenplays for three Spaghetti westerns: “Si può fare... amigo” (It Can Be Done Amigo) and “Una ragione per vivere e una per morire” (Masscare at Fort Holman) with Ernesto Gastaldi and Tonino Valerii, both in 1972 and “Non toccare la donna bianca” (Don’t Touch the White Woman) with Marco Ferreri in 1973

AZCONA, Rafael (aka Raffaele Ascona, Raphael Atzcona, R. Azcona, Raphael Azcona) (Rafael Azcona Fernández) [10/24/1926, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain – 3/24/2008, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (lung cancer)] – writer, actor, married to director, writer Susan Youdelman [1942-     ] (19??-998) father of Daniel Azcona, Barbara Azcona.

It Can Be Done Amigo - 1972

Massacre at Fort Holman – 1972 (co) [as Howard Sandford/Jay Lynn]

Don’t Touch the White Woman! – 1973 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Enrico Betti Berutto

Little is known about Italian cinematographer Enrico Betti Berutto. He was primarily a cameraman who worked on thirty-three films between 1948-1971 and a cinematographer on six films between 1948 and 1966. He was a production manager on the 1956 film “Donne sole”.

Berutto’s only Spaghetti western was as a co-cinematographer on 1962’s “Cabalgando hacia la Muerte” (Shadow of Zorro) with Rafael Pacheco.

BERUTTO, Enrico Betti (aka Enrico Betti Berruti, Enrico Betti) [Italian] – cinematographer, cameraman.

Shadow of Zorro – 1962 (co)