Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Matt Cimber

Matt Cimber (born Thomas Vitale Ottaviano in the Bronx, New York on January 12, 1936. He is an Italian-American filmmaker, director, producer, and screenwriter renowned for his contributions to exploitation cinema, blaxploitation films, and horror genres in the 1970s, as well as for creating the groundbreaking women's professional wrestling television series GLOW in the 1980s.

Cimber began his career in the early 1960s directing off-Broadway plays by playwrights such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams before transitioning to film. His directorial debut was the low-budget drama “Single Room Furnished” (1968), which starred his then-wife, actress Jayne Mansfield, in her final role before her death in 1967; the couple had married in Mexico in September 1964 and shared a son, Antonio "Tony" Cimber, born in 1965, prior to their divorce in 1966.

Throughout the 1970s, Cimber gained prominence in the grindhouse and exploitation film circuit with works like the blaxploitation action film “The Candy Tangerine Man” (1975), the horror thriller “The Witch Who Came from the Sea” (1976), and the crime drama “Lady Cocoa” (1975), often blending elements of sex, violence, and social commentary that earned cult followings and praise from filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson. In the 1980s, he directed the controversial erotic thriller “Butterfly” (1982), adapted from James M. Cain's novel and starring Pia Zadora, which received mixed reviews but highlighted his versatility beyond low-budget fare.

Later in his career, Cimber shifted toward more dramatic and historical subjects, directing the World War II survival story “Miriam” (2006), based on a true account of Holocaust resilience, which premiered at film festivals and featured a strong performance by Ariana Savalas. He also co-created ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ (GLOW) (1986–1990), a syndicated TV series that popularized female wrestling and influenced later depictions in media, including Netflix's 2017 series ‘GLOW’. As of 2025, Cimber remains an influential figure in independent and genre filmmaking, with his body of work celebrated for its bold storytelling and cultural impact.

Matt Cimber directed on Spaghetti western, “Pelo Amarillo y Pecos Kid” (Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold) in 1984

CIMBER, Matt (aka Gary Harper, Matteo Ottaviano, Rinehart Segway) (Thomas Vitale Ottaviano) [1/12/1936, Bronx, New York, U.S.A. -     ] - producer, director, writer, actor, married to Jane Baldera (1954-1963) father of Katie Cimber [1956-    ], Venico Cimber, [1959-    ],  Jayne Mansfield (Vera Jayne Palmer) [1933-1967] (1964-1966) father of producer, director, film editor, actor Tony Cimber (Antonio Raphael Ottaviano) [1965-    ], married to dress designer Christy Hilliard Hanak (1967-1988) father of two children, married to actress Lynn Fero (1987-19??). married to Aynalem Getahun Workneh [1968-    ] (1998-2002).

Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold – 1984

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Juan Bosch

Juan Bosch Palau was born on May 31, Valls, Tarragona Province, Catluna, Spain. Bosch was a Spanish film director and screenwriter.

"All my life I have watched cinema and, before, going to the cinema was a ritual that marked you a lot," said Joan Bosch himself to define his relationship with cinema. His passion for this medium was also dominated by his avid reading of plays or film books in his native Valls or Sabadell during the 1930s and 1940s. At the age of 19 he took part as an assistant director in The “Adventures of Captain Guido”, by Jacinto Goday, and in 1952 he shot “Gaudí”, his first short film.

In 1946 he travelled to Morocco to work as military at the same time he was directing “Las aventuras del capitán Guido” in 1946. He returned to Madrid and worked as a screenwriter with Antonio del Amo. Juan directed thirty-one films between 1957 and 1983. He also wrote screenplays for twenty-nine films between 1951-1985. He also worked as a production manager on two films in 1951 and 1955. Bosch used the alias John Wood in most of his Spaghetti western films as Juan Bosch is John Wood in Spanish.

Bosch died on 18 November 2015, in Barcelona, Spain at the age of 90

“I corvi ti scaveranno la fossa” (The Buzzards and Crows Will Dig Your Grave) with Lou Carrigan and Roberto Gianvitti in 1971, “Il mio nome è Scopone e faccio sempre cappotto” (Dallas) with Renato Izzo, “Dio in cielo... Arizona in terra” (God in Heaven, Arizona on Earth) with Fabio Piccioni, “Tu fosa será la exacta... amigo” (My Horse… My Gun… Your Widow) and “La caza del oro” (Too Much Gold for One Gringo) with Fabio Piccioni all in 1972 and “La ciudad maldita” (Red Harvest) with Alberto De Stefanis in 1976.

BOSCH, Juan (aka Julian Bosch, John Wood) (Juan Bosch Palau) [5/31/1925, Valls, Tarragona Province, Catluna, Spain - 11/17/2015, Barcelona, Catalunia, Spain] – director, writer, actor.

The Buzzards and Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971 (co) [as Julian Bosch]

Dallas – 1972 (co)

God in Heaven, Arizona on Earth – 1972 (co) [as John Wood]

My Horse… My Gun… Your Widow – 1972 (co) [as John Wood]

Too Much Gold for One Gringo – 1972 (co)

Red Harvest – 1976 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Deviller

Deviller (often listed as Devillers) was a cinematographer known for his work on the 1926 French silent film À la manière de Zorro (In the Way of Zorro), directed by Paul Flon. He worked alongside Freddy Smekens to provide the black and white cinematography for this early adventure film.

I can find no further information on him.

Deviller’s only Euro-western was “À la manière de Zorro” (In the Way of Zorro) with Freddy Smekens in 1926.

DEVILLER (aka Devillers) – cinematographer.

In the Way of Zorro – 1926 (co)