From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Karl Dannemann

[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.]

Karl Dannemann was born on March 22, 1896, in Bremen, Theuringen, Germany. The son of an innkeeper Johann Albert Dannemann and his wife Clara Marie Caroline Dannemann. Karl was the youngest of seven children, Karl did not get to know his father. At the age of seven, he got his first paint box. But probably at the insistence of his mother, he first completed an apprenticeship with a master painter and then trained as a stage designer at the Bremen Theatre and attended the Bremen School of Arts and Crafts in the evenings – a forerunner of the Bremen University of the Arts. While still a student, he was drafted as a soldier in 1916 and did not return from Russia until the spring of 1918. On February 14, 1920, he married Erna Margarete Noeren.

As a master student of Max Slevogt, he realized some of his most striking works in Bremen in the 1920s. He created frescoes in the Bacchus Cellar of the Bremen Ratskeller and in the Bell, the painting Hindenburg Banquet in the Bremen Town Hall, as well as various stage sets, portraits, seascapes, still life’s, city and landscape paintings.

On January 1, 1932, he joined the NSDAP. That same year, Dannemann began his career as an actor, first on stage, then in film, where he appeared in a total of about 50 productions, in entertainment films as well as in National Socialist propaganda films. Most of the time, he was a concise supporting actor who portrayed everyday people or played the hero's sidekick. He received the most attention in 1941 with his role alongside Hans Albers in “Carl Peters”. In the same year, he wrote the screenplay for the short film “Somewhere in a Wide Country” (based on The Bear by Anton Chekhov) and directed it for the first time. The film was not intended for public screening but as a directorial test. He had been exempted from the war effort as indispensable and was on the list of the divinely gifted.

Dannemann committed suicide in 1945 at the age of 49 to avoid capture by Soviet troops. His wife Erna Dannemann died childless on March 2, 1975, in Potsdam-Babelsberg in an old people's home on the Allee to Glienicke.

Karl Dennemann’s only Euro-western was in “Wasser für Canitoga” (Water for Canitoga) in 1939 as Dyke.

DENNEMANN, Karl (aka Carl Dannemann) [3/22/1896, Bremen, Theuringen, Germany – 5/4/1945, Berlin, Berlin, Germany (suicide)] – painter, director, writer, film actor, married to Erna Margarete Noeren [1892-1975] (1920–1945).

Water for Canitoga – 1939 (Dyke)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Luigi Batzella

Luigi Batzella was born in San Sperate, Sardinia, Italy on May 27, 1924. He was assistant director, director, writer, composer and film editor. He also appeared films as a stuntman and actor.

After what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as "a nondescript career as an actor," Batzella began his career as a director in 1966 with the war film “Tre franchi die pietà”. After directing a few low budget westerns, Batzella directed his first horror film “The Devil's Wedding Night” which was co-directed with an uncredited Joe D'Amato. Following the release of his next horror film “Nude for Satan” in 1978, Batzella directed two Nazisploitation films “Kaput Lager – Gli ultimi giorni delle SS” and “La Bestia in calore” for which he was credited as Ivan Kathansky. His next feature would be the sex comedy “Probito erotico” starring Ajita Wilson where he is credited as Paul Selvin. His final official film credit was for the film “Strategia per una missione di morte” where he is credited as Kathansky in some prints and as A.M. Frank in the French version. Curti has stated that some sources claim Batzella was involved with the Bruce Le production “Mie ju que que”.

Luigi Batzella died in San Sperate, Sardinia, Italy on November 18, 2008 at the age of 84.

Batzella directed four Spaghetti westerns: “Anche per Django le carogne hanno un Prezzo” (Django’s Cut Rate Corpses – 1971 [as Paolo Solvay], “Quelle sporche anime dannate” (Paid in Blood) again as Paolo Solvay, “La colt era il suo Dio” (God is My Colt .45) this time as Dean Jones and finally “Quelle del Texas” in 1973 as Paolo Solvay which was to star  Sal Borgese, Christa Linder but the film was never made.

BATZELLA, Lugi  (aka Gigi Batzella, A.M. Frank, Paull' Hamus, Paul Hamus, Dean Jones, Ivan Katansky, Ivan Kathansky, Paul Selvin, Paul Selway, Paolo Solvay, Paul Solvay, Ivan Kathansky) [5/27/1924, San Sperate, Sardinia, Italy – 11/18/2008, San Sperate, Sardinia, Italy (Parkinson's disease)] – director, assistant director, writer, composer, film editor, stuntman, actor.

Django’s Cut Rate Corpses – 1971 [as Paolo Solvay]

Paid in Blood – 1971 [as Paolo Solvay]

God Is My Colt .45 – 1972 [as Dean Jones]

Quelle del Texas – 1973 [as Paolo Solvay] [film was never made]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ E. Armstrong

Edward Armstrong was born on March 3, 1846, in Tidenham, Gloucestershire, England. The son of John Armstrong, later Bishop of Grahamstown. He was a British historian who was educated at Bradfield College and Exeter College, Oxford, and became a Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford. Armstrong wrote books on Charles V, Elisabeth Farnese, and Lorenzo de' Medici. He also contributed to The Cambridge Modern History and the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

Armstrong served as warden of Bradfield College from 1920 to 1925 and died in Oxford, England on April 14, 1928, at the age of 82.

Armstrong was the screenwriter from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, The Song of Hiawatha for the 1903 film “Hiawatha, The Messiah of the Ojibway”.

ARMSTRONG, E. (aka E.A. Armstrong) (Edward Armstrong) 3/3/1846, Tidenham, Gloucestershire, England, U.K. – 4/14/1928, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, U.K.]– historian, writer, son of Bishop of Grahamstown John Armstrong [1813-1856], married to Mabel Wilson [18??-1920], married to Geraldine Prynne Harriss [1899-19??] (1921-1928],

Hiawatha, The Messiah of the Ojibway– 1903

Spaghetti Western Cinematographers ~ Étienne Becker

Louis Étienne Becker was born in Paris, France on May 1, 1936. He was the son of the French director Jacques Becker, and the brother of Jean Becker. He was an actor, director, screenwriter, Cinematographer, film editor, assistant operator and camera operator

Known as Étienne Becker, he started at the photographic laboratory in France "Dimanche". He entered the film industry as a camera assistant on "Ghislain Cloquet." He worked as a cameraman on six films between 1961to 1968. He was a cinematographer on forty-nine films from 1963 to 1995. He also appeared in front of the camera as an actor in two films in 1962 and 1969.

Becker died at the age of 59 in Clichy, France on December 11, 1995.

Étienne Becker was the cinematographer on one Euro-western: “Touche pas à la femme blanche” (Don’t Touch the White Woman!) in 1973.

BECKER, Étienne (Louis Étienne Jacques Becker) [5/1/1936, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 12/11/1995, Clichy, Île-de-France, France] – cinematographer, cameraman, film actor, son of production manager, director, assistant director, writer, actor Jacques Becker (Jacques Louis Thomas Becker) [1906-1960], brother of producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor Jean Becker [1933-    ], half-brother of actress Marie Becker, uncle of producer, production manager, director, assistant director, writer Louis Becker [1956-    ], married to Nadine Ballot [1941-    ] (1965-19??), married to Manuella Mirabaud [1944-2013], married to  assistant director writer, and actress Cécile Émilie Boisrond.

Don’t Touch the White Woman! – 1973

END OF LINCOLN, THE

 

1910, France

Aka… La Fin de Lincoln / ‘The End of Lincoln’ (Fr), La Mort de Lincoln / ‘The Death of Lincoln’ (Sh, Fr)

Ex… ‘The Assassination of Lincoln’ (tr Fr), Das Ende Lincolns / ‘The End of Lincoln’ (10/26/10, Ger)

Pc: Compagnie Générale des Établissements Pathé Frères [Charles Pathé] (Par)

Dist: Société Pathé Frères [Charles Pathé] (1910, Fr)

D: Albert Capellani

P: Charles Pathé & Émile Pathé, Théophile Pathé & Jacques Pathé

Syn: 1865. The Civil War. USA.

C: Henri Desfontaines (Abraham Lincoln [?]), [unk] (John Wilkes Booth), [unk] (Mary Lincoln)

 

     Comm: [Filmed in France]  THE END OF LINCOLN depicts the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. Made the same year that Pathé opened their first American studio in New Jersey.

     French director Albert Capellani was born nine years and Henri Desfontaines eleven years after the death of Lincoln.

     A Pathé Berlin ad for THE END OF LINCOLN ran on the back page of the German magazine Kinematograph, n200 (10/26/10, Ger).

     Actor Desfontaines later directed the western inspired adventure film CAPTAIN RASCASSE (1927, Fr).

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

Spaghetti Western Locations for “I Want Him Dead”.

We continue our search for Spaghetti western locations for “I Want Him Dead”. With the building on fire Jack Blood mounts his horse while the other men jump in the wagon and they ride off. When they are out of site Aloma runs into the burning building cuts the ropes and she and Clayton escape outside. They embrace and she tells Clayton she thought he was finished. He tells her it’s alright.

This scene was filmed at in Balsicas de Alfaro Tabernas, Almeria, Spain. Also used in “Adios, Sabata” and several other Spaghetti westerns.

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/

Special Birthdays

Horst Giese (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 2008.

Dominic Stanca (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1976.

Hansjörg Felmy (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 2007.

Joel Courtney (actor) is 30 today.

Spaghetti Western Trivia ~ “For a Few Dollars More” Identification

 

Lee Miller as saloon patron in “For a Few Dollars More” and ‘Perry Mason’. MILLER, Lee (Harlan Leroy Miller) [3/21/1918, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. – 7/26/2002, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] – film, TV actor, married to Bertha Elizabeth McClean [1921-19??] (1942-1949) father of two children, married to Professor Maxine Lynch [1921-2011] (1950-2002).

Listed incorrectly at IMDb as being in Man at Bar in “Fistful of Dollars” (which has no bar scenes)

Similar stocky build

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Jérémy Denisty

[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.]

Jérémy Denisty was born in Bruges, Belgium on October 3, 1991. As a teenager living in Loupoigne, Belgium he was a student in "5ème secondaire" and then attended the Collège Cardinal Mercier in Braine l'Alleud, specializing in dramatic art, Julien has always been attracted to the theatre. At the age of four he was able to recite the dialogue of the Disney films he had seen...! After taking part in the recording of a CD supporting the defense of children's rights along with Adamo and Marion, he did a film test for the Dardenne brothers' "L'enfant". Considered too young for the part (he was only twelve at the time) he was nonetheless noticed and six months later he was hired for "Nos Jours heureux". The film was followed by the role of the mayor's son in "Big City", a western whose heroes are children.

Denity has appeared in five films and one television mini-series between 2006 and 2018.  

As mentioned above his only Euro-western was in “Big City” in 2006 as the Mayor’s son.

DENISTY, Jérémy [10/3/1991, Bruges, Belgium -     ] – film, radio, TV actor.

Big City – 2006 (Mayor’s son)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director – Jean Bastia

Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni was born February 21 1919, in Bastia, Corsica to the playwright and novelist Jean Bastia from a Corsican family. He was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, and assistant director active primarily in mid-20th-century French cinema.

He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director on numerous productions during the 1940s and 1950s, contributing to over 40 films in roles including production manager and screenwriter before transitioning to directing.

Bastia directed a dozen feature films, often in adventure, comedy, and later erotic genres, with notable works including the Fernandel-starring western comedy “Dynamite Jack” (1961), the war drama “Réseau secret” (1967), and the erotic thriller “...et mourir de désir” (1974), which highlighted his versatility in blending narrative storytelling with period-specific themes.

Details on Bastia's personal relationships, marriage, or children remain scarce in public records, with no documented marriages or offspring noted in available biographical sources, reflecting a private life largely shielded from media attention. His enduring connection to Corsica, through family heritage, suggests a cultural affinity that persisted beyond his professional pursuits in mainland France. No specific interests outside cinema, such as hobbies or philanthropy, are well-documented.

In his later years, Bastia resided in the Dordogne region, marking a quieter phase following his active career. He died on October 16, 2005, in Bergerac, Dordogne, France, at the age of 86, from natural causes

BASTIA, Jean (aka J. Bastia) (Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni) [2/21/1925, Bastia, Corsica, France – 10/16/2005, Bergerac, Dordogne, France] – production manager, director, assistant director, writer, songwriter, son of songwriter, singer, actor, filmmaker Jean Bastia [1878-1940].

Dynamite Jack – 1960

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter – Giorgio Alorio

Italian director and screenwriter Giorgio Alorio was born in Turin on February 27, 1929. Arlorio began his career in 1951 as an assistant director for Pietro Germi, Mario Soldati and Michelangelo Antonioni, while between the 1960s and the 1970s became a regular collaborator of Gillo Pontecorvo and Carlo Lizzani, with whom he co-wrote some of their films. He also directed some political documentaries.

Alorio wrote screenplays for twenty-two films between 1959 and 2011. He was also an assistant director on four films and directed six.

He was married to screenwriter Ludmila Blat and the father of daughter Sasha Arlorio. For many years, Arlorio taught Screenwriting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.

Giorgio Arlorio died in his home in Rome on 25 July 2019, at the age of 90

Arlorio wrote the screenplay for Alain Delon’s 1975 Euro-western “Zorro”.

ARLORIO, Giorgio [2/27/1929, Turin, Piedmont, Italy – 7/25/2019, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, writer, actor, married to writer Ludmila Blat (19??-2019), father of Sasha Arlorio.

Zorro – 1975

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer – Mario Bava

Mario Bava was born in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy on July 31, 1914. He was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, as well as the destructive capacity of human nature. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Italian genre cinema and one of the most influential auteurs of the horror film genre, he is popularly referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre".

Bava was a cinematographer until 1960. He developed a reputation as a special effects genius and was able to use optical trickery to great success. Among the directors for whom Bava photographed films were Paolo Heusch, Riccardo Freda, Jacques Tourneur and Raoul Walsh. While working with Freda on “Lust of the Vampire” (1957) in 1956, the director left the project after an argument with the producers and the film mostly unfinished. Bava stepped in and directed the majority of the movie, finishing it on schedule. This film, also known as "The Devil's Commandment", inspired a wave of gothic Italian horror films. After a similar incident occurred on Freda's “Caltiki, the Immortal Monster” (1959), and Bava's having been credited with "saving" Tourneur's “The Giant of Marathon” (1959), Galatea urged Bava to direct any film he wanted with their financing.

Bava was a cinematographer and cameraman on seventy-eight films between 1839 and 1977. He also was an assistant director on seven films and directed thirty-nine films and wrote stories and screenplays for twenty-one films.  

Mario was a cinematographer on four Spaghetti westerns "Minnesota Clay" and "Arizona Bill" (The Road to Fort Alamo) both tin 1964, "Il pisotlero segnato de Dio" (Two Pistols and a Coward) in 1968 and "Roy Colt e Winchester Jack" (Roy Colt and Winchester Jack) with Antonio Rinaldi which Bava also directed in 1970

Mario Bava was the son of cinematographer, SFX Eugenio Bava [1886–1966] and was married to Iole Sergio and the father of producer, director, assistant director, writer, film editor, actor Lamberto Bava.

Mario died in Rome of a heart attack on April 27, 1980. He was 65 years old.

BAVA, Mario (aka Mario Baja, Marie Foam, John Hold, Mickey Lion, Mario, John Old, John M. Old) [7/31/1914, Sanremo, Liguria, Italy – 4/27/1980, Rome, Lazio, Italy (heart attack)] – director, writer, cinematographer, cameraman, film editor, SFX, actor, son of cinematographer, SFX Eugenio Bava [1886–1966], married to Iole Sergio (1938-1980) father of producer, director, assistant director, writer, film editor, actor Lamberto Bava.

Minnesota Clay – 1964 (co)

The Road to Fort Alamo – 1964 (co)

Two Pistols and a Coward - 1968 (co)

Roy Colt and Winchester Jack – 1970 (co)

New German DVD of “Django Story”

 

“Django Story”

(1971)

 

Director: Demofilo Fidani

Starring: Gordon Mitchell, Hunt Powers, Jack Betts, Luciano Conti

 

Country Germany

Label: Video Cult

Region 2, PAL

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen

Languages: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono German, English

Running time: 82 minutes

Extras: German and English trailer; VHS opening and closing credits; gallery

ASIN: ‎B0FXGFL5YR

Release date: January 30, 2026

Spaghetti Western Voices – “I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly”

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 “I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly”

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

Shane – Mike Marshall (I) Luciano Melani, (S) Ricardo Solans, (G) Christian Brückner

Georgiana Bennett - Michèle Girardon (I) Gabriella Genta, (S) Montserrat García Sagués, (G)             Ursula Herwig

Christian Bennett - Valerio Bartoleschi (I) ?, (S) José Luis Mediavilla,

Ralph Magdalena – Dane Savours (I) Emilio Cigoli, (S) Jesús Nieto, (G)            Gerd Martienzen,

Benson – Spartaco Conversi (I) Leonardo Severini, (S) Pepe Mediavilla, (G) Arnold Marquis

Father Dominique Magdalena – Germano Longo (I) ?, (S) Miguel Ángel Jenner, (G)    Michael Chevalier

Montserrat García Sagués  (1949 -    )

Montserrat Garcia Segués was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1949. She has appeared in some 35+ films and mostly TV appearances from 1970 to 2019. She is regarded as an excellent actress, voice actress, Montserrat was a regular actress in theater, film, and television, and possessed an impressive sense of humor, is slowly fading into oblivion, forgotten by the profession and by audiences who should continue to remember artists like her.

At the age of 12 she dubbed a small role of one of the girl singers of the film “Smiles and Tears” in Spanish. Later, she dubbed a recurring character from ‘The Smurfs’ and, in addition, participated in the dubbing of the series ‘Neighbors’ and ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’. She directed the now-defunct Videotake studio, based in Barcelona, for a decade. Different programs were dubbed for Televisió de Catalunya, Canal 9 and Televisión Española, such as the anime of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ or the series ‘Beauty and Power’. Shee also directed the Catalan dubbing of the film “The Queen of Africa”.

Special Birthdays

Stewart Rome (actor) would have been 140 today but died in 1965.

Vittoriano Petrilli (writer) would have been 110 today but died in 1987.

Mila Stanic (actress) is 85 today.

RIP Eusebio Ibáñez

 

Word has been received from Asociación Cultural Sad Hill that Spanish character actor Eusebio Ibáñez died on January 28^th. Ibáñez had a small role in 1966’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. He played an injured Confederate soldier who was recovering at the Mission San Antonio when Tuco brought Blonde there. Eusebio can be seen in a tub with a bandage on his head in the main sanctuary of the church. Born, date unknown, but he was most likely in his 80s, in Castrillo de la Reina, Spain, he had been one the actors honored at the dedication of Sad Hill Cemetery and had returned several times for their annual festival. He leaves his wife Angelines

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Janine Denison

[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.]

Janine Denison is a South African actress born sometime in the 1960s. After majoring in English and Drama at the University of Cape Town, she began her acting career playing Kate in “P.S. Your Cat is Dead” at the Baxter Theatre, followed by “Walk in the Undergrowth” at the Market Theatre. For most of her career she’s concentrated on film and television work. She appeared in twelve films and TV appearances from 1985 to 1996

She is the author of the play “All the Rage”.

Janine appeared in two Euro-westerns  “Barrett” in 1988 as Dolores Morgan and “Guns of Honor” in 1993 as Belle Boyd.

DENISON, Janine [196?, South Africa -     ] – playwright, theater, film, TV actress.

Barrett – 1988 (Dolores Morgan)

Guns of Honor – 1993 (Belle Boyd)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director – Hermann Basler

 Hermann Siegfried Basler was born in Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on October 6, 1896. The son of son of director Adolf Basler and screenwriter Mary Basler. His claim to Euro-western fame was his starring role in the silent film three-part series "Bull Arizona". Hermann was also a producer, director and screenwriter and co-wrote one of the Bull Arizona episodes along with his mother and father. By the early 1920s his career in front of the camera was over. Hermann wrote one more script in 1922 for the film “Der graue Hund” for director Phil Jutzi and that was the climax of his short three-year career.

Basler directed one Euro-western: “Der Überfall in der Sierra-Nevada-Schlucht” in 1920.

 Hermann Basler passed away on September 17, 1982, at Inning am Ammersee, Bavaria, Germany. He was 85.

BASLER, Hermann (Hermann Siegfried Basler) [10/6/1896, Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany - 9/17/1982, Inning am Ammersee, Bavaria, Germany] - producer, director, screenwriter, cameraman, actor, son of director Adolf Basler [1878-1951], screenwriter Mary Basler [18??-19??].

Der Überfall in der Sierra-Nevada-Schlucht – 1920

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter – Dario Argento

Dario Argento was born on September 7, 1940, in Rome, Italy, the first-born son of famed Italian producer Salvatore Argento and Brazilian fashion model Elda Luxardo. Argento recalls getting his ideas for filmmaking from his close-knit family from Italian folk tales told by his parents and other family members, including an aunt who told him frighting bedtime stories. Argento based most of his thriller movies on childhood trauma, yet his own--according to him--was a normal one. Along with tales spun by his aunt, Argento was impressed by stories from The Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen and Edgar Allan Poe. Argento started his career writing for various film journal magazines while still in his teens attending a Catholic high school. After graduation, instead of going to college, Argento took a job as a columnist for the Rome daily newspaper Paese Sera. Inspired by the movies, he later found work as a screenwriter and wrote several screenplays for a number of films.

Between 1968 and 1972, Argento was married to Marisa Casale, the great-granddaughter of Italian composer, pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella. Argento and Casale had one child, actress and costume designer Fiore Argento (born in 1970).

Argento had a professional and romantic relationship with Italian actress and screenwriter Daria Nicolodi; they met in 1974 during casting for “Deep Red”, and their daughter director, writer, actress Asia Argento was born in 1975. He’s the grandfather of actress Anna Lou Castoldi

Argento is considered in Italy as the Master of Horror and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at Locarno Film Festival [2021].

Often overlooked but most important were his western collaborations, which included “Cimitero senza croci (Cemetery Without Crosses) (1969), the Sergio Leone masterpiece “C'era una volta il West” (Once Upon a Time in the West) (1968) and co-writing the screenplay for “Un esercito di 5 uomini” (The 5-Man Army) with Marc Richards in 1969..

ARGENTO, Dario (aka Argento, Sirio Bernadotte) [9/7/1940, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – producer, director, writer, composer, film editor, actor, son of producer Salvatore Argento [1914-1987] fashion model Elda Luxardo [1915-2013], married to professor Marisa Casale (1968-1972) [1940-    ] father of production manager, actress Fiore Argento (Fiorella Argento) [1970-    ], father of director, writer, actress Asia Argento (Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento) [1975-    ] with writer, actress Daria Nicolodi [1950-2020], grandfather of actress Anna Lou Castoldi [2001-    ] awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at Locarno Film Festival [2021].

Today We Kill… Tomorrow We Die! – 1967 (co)

Cemetery Without Crosses – 1968 (co)

The 5-Man Army – 1969 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer – Léon Wladimir Batifol

French cinematographer Léon Wladimir Batifol was born around the end of the 20^th century but no specific date of birth can be found. He worked during the silent film era on eighteen films between 1919 and 1928. What happened to him after this is unknown as I can find no biographical information on him.

Batifol’s only Euro-western was “La filled du lion” in 1923.

BATIFOL, Léon Wladimir (aka Batifol, Guillaume Batifol, Léon Batifol) [French]– cinematographer, actor.

La fille du lion - 1923

 

MEXICAN WOMAN, THE

 

1910, France

Ex… Die Mexikanerin / ‘The Mexican Woman’ (Ger)

T: 202mt

Pc: Société Générale des Cinématographes Éclipse [George Henri Rogers & Paul Joseph Roux] (Par)

Dist: Pc: Société Générale des Cinématographes Éclipse [George Henri Rogers & Paul Joseph Roux] (11/23/10, Fr)

     Comm: Éclipse ran ads in the German magazine Kinematograph, n202 and 203 (11/09/10 and 11/16/10, Ger). The French title is unknown.  As Éclipse only made one film that had ‘Mexican’ in its title it’s safe to say that THE MEXICAN WOMAN and A MEXICAN ROMANCE (12/28/10, Fr) are the same film.

 

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

Special Birthdays

A.P. Hoffmann (actor) would have been 120 today but died 1982. 

David Reynoso (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1994.

Tucker McGuire (actress) would have been 95 today but died in 1988.

Penelope Allen (actress) is 85 today.

RIP Michel Barbey

 

French voice actor and dubber Michel Barbey was active in French film beginning in the 1940s, with supporting roles in comedies and dramas and a rare starring part as the title character in 1950's Dominique. He died in France on January 24^th. Born in Drucourt, Eure, France on April 23, 1927. He played a doctor in the 1964 Jean-Paul Belmondo war film Week-end à Zuydcoote (with Raoul Delfosse) but by the seventies and eighties was busiest as a voice actor, dubbing several Spaghetti Westerns and lending his voice to French animated features like The Time Masters and Asterix Versus Caesar (as one of the centurions). He also dubbed Xanatos on Gargoyles, the cyclops in Hercules, Mon-Star on Silverhawks, Roach Coach and other villains on The Powerpuff Girls, Taurus Bulba on Darkwing Duck, and leads on various anime series.

Barbey was the French voice of Bud Spencer in several of his films.

Michel Barbey’s Spaghetti westerns – voice dubber:

The Brute and the Beast – 1966 [French voice of Franco Nero]

Johnny Yuma – 1966 [French voice of Luigi Vannucchi]

Three Graves for a Winchester – 1966 [French voice of Mickey Hargitay]

$10,000 for a Massacre – 1967 [French voice of Gianni Garko]

Viva Django! – 1968 [French voice of Terence Hill]

Cemetery Without Crosses – 1969 [French voice of Benito Stefanelli]

They Call Me Trinity – 1970 [French voice of Bud Spencer]

The Price of Death – 1971 [French voice of Gianni Garko]

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Claudio Denis

[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.]

Claudio Denis has only two film credits according to the IMDb and only one was a Spaghetti western “Billy le Kid” (Billy the Kid) in 1963.

His identity remains unknown as I can find no biographical information on him.

DENIS, Claudio – film actor.

Billy the Kid - 1963

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director – Jan Bartošík

Born in Piestany, Slovakia on June 2, 1944, to parents Otto Bartosik and Jolanka Takac, Jan received his master’s degree at the Technical University of Architecture in Bratislava in 1967. After enduring years of Communist oppression and imprisonment for an attempted escape during his college years, Jan, his sister, and nephew departed for Austria on August 20, 1969, one year after Czechoslovakia fell under the “Iron Curtain” and one day before the borders were closed. Immigrating to Seattle, Washington on November 13th, 1969, and later arriving in Los Angeles in the Spring of 1970, Jan began his life in California. Jan died in Manhattan Beach, California on February 9, 2022, from heart failure. He was 77 years old.

Jan Covbojka directed one Euro-western “Covbojka” (Horse Opera) in 1997.

BARTOSIK, Jan (Jan A. Bartošík) [6/2/1944, Pieštany, Slovakia, 2/9/2022, Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.A. (heart failure)] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer, composer, married to Carmel C. Brinkman [1961-    ] [1992-    ] father of Blaise Bartošík [1998-    ], Bridget Bartošík [2002-    ].

Covbojka - 1997

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter – Alberto Areal

Alberto Areal was a Spanish writer. Little is known about his personal or professional life. Apparently, he only has one writing credit according to the IMDb and that was a co-writing credit for the Spaghetti western “E per tetto un cielo di stelle” (And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars) in 1968 along with Mariano Laurenti.

I can find no other information about him.

AREAL, Alberto [Spanish] – writer.

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer – Jan Bartosik

Born in Piestany, Slovakia on June 2, 1944, to parents Otto Bartosik and Jolanka Takac, Jan received his master’s degree at the Technical University of Architecture in Bratislava in 1967. After enduring years of Communist oppression and imprisonment for an attempted escape during his college years, Jan, his sister, and nephew departed for Austria on August 20, 1969, one year after Czechoslovakia fell under the “Iron Curtain” and one day before the borders were closed. Immigrating to Seattle, Washington on November 13th, 1969, and later arriving in Los Angeles in the Spring of 1970, Jan began his life in California. Jan died in Manhattan Beach, California on February 9, 2022 from heart failure. He was 77 years old.

Jan Covbojka directed one Euro-western “Covbojka” (Horse Opera) in 1997.

BARTOSIK, Jan (Jan A. Bartošík) [6/2/1944, Pieštany, Slovakia, 2/9/2022, Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.A. (heart failure)] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer, composer, married to Carmel C. Brinkman [1961-    ] [1992-    ] father of Blaise Bartošík [1998-    ], Bridget Bartošík [2002-    ].

Covbojka - 1964

 

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Emiliano Ferrera

 

Emiliano Ferrera was born on December 10, 1974, in Rome, Italy. He is a film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and editor. In his films, he focuses exclusively on the western and its diverse genre combinations. He often creates the main roles, and in the external stylization of the heroes, often refers to the characters of the American actor Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone films. Emiliano is not only a successor and current representative of the Italian Western in its long-standing cultural tradition, but also a creator who revives this popular genre for today's audiences. He is the leading director today of Italian made westerns. Often supported by Stefano Jacurti as a co-director or actor, the two have produced the bulk of new westerns coming out of Europe for the past 10+ years.

His strong resemblance to Clint Eastwood allowed himself to be cast in 2007’s “Inferno Biano” (White Hell) a snow western directed by Jacurti and Ferrera. From there he’s gone on to produce, direct, write and appear in a western film almost every year. His respect for the genre and the history of the Italian western is apparent in his films, and he’s kept the genre alive for Spaghetti western fans.

He’s currently working on a new western called “Topeka” which he’s co-producing with Andrea Leone.

FERRERA, Emiliano [12/10/1974, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor, married to ? father of actress Sofia Ferrera

White Hell – 2007 (Ethan)

Dust and Lead – 2009 (gunman)

Shuna – 2009/2011 (Frank)

Mesa Verde – 2012 (Crabb)

If the World Dies – 2013 (Bill Carson)

Last Light Mile – 2014 (‘The Gunman’)

Twenty Dollars – 2015

Blood from Hell (TV) – 2016 (Joe)

Golden Pass – 2016 (deputy sheriff)

Sotto il cielo del west – 2016 (cowboy)

The Dutchman – 2017 (The Man With No Name)

The Generi (TV) – 2018 (rifleman)

Sad Hill – 2020 (The Man With No Name)

Never Dies – 2020 (bounty hunter)

Redemption – 2021 (Wales)

Black Town – 2022 (Joe)

Oltre il confine – 2023 (Joe, Jim Levi)

Django Undisputed – 2024 (Clint)

Topeka - 2025

Special Birthdays

Anita Aylott (actress) would have been 140 today but died in 1966.

Bob Bolander (actor) would have been 130 today but died in 1961.

Wilhelm Neef (composer) would have been 110 today but died in 1990.

Lucia Bose (actress) would have been 95 today but died in 2020.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Maria de Nieva

[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.]

Spanish actress Maria de Nieva has only once film credit according to the IMDb and that was also her only Spaghetti western credit in 1964’s “Oklahoma John” (The Man from Oklahoma).

de NIEVA, Maria [Spanish] – film actress.

The Man from Oklahoma – 1964