Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Rita di Lernia

[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.]

Italian stage, film, TV and voice actress Rita di Lernia was born Maria Rita Bresadola de Lernia on April 28, 1943, in Riccione, Rimini, Italy she graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome in 1962 and immediately started her acting career in the theatrical field, working over the years with the Stabili theaters of Genoa, Turin and Milan and for television. As a film actress she began her career in 1966 and retired in 2002. She had been part of the cast of a dozen films with important roles, including “The Monster” alongside Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi and in “Ciao nì!”, in the part of Renato Zero's mother. As a voice actress she lent her voice to Marie Laforêt in “The Miser” and to Fanny Ardant in Claude Lelouch's film “Bolero”. She was director of the Teatro 23 School together with Lorenza Biella and Riccardo Cavallo; in the same school she was a teacher of vocal and speech education, and had among her students Monica Bellucci, Claudia Koll and Neri Marcorè. She retired in 2015, after being stricken with Alzheimer's disease. Rita was married to voice actor Pietro Biondi. Rita died in Spoleto, Umbria, Italy on November 5, 2025 at the age of 82.

Rita di Lernia appeared in only one Spaghetti western as Isabel McDonald in 1974’s “La pazienza ha un limite… noi no!” (Patience has a Limit, We Don’t).

di LERNIA, Rita (Maria Rita Bresadola de Lernia) [4/28/1943, Riccione, Rimini, Italy –

11/5/2025, Spoleto, Umbria, Italy (Alzheimer's)] – theater, film, TV voice actress, married to actor and voice actor Pietro Biondi [1939-    ] (19??-2025).

Patience has a Limit, We Don’t – 1974 (Isabel McDonald)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ José Antonio de la Loma

José Antonio de la Loma Hernández was born on March 4, 1924, in Barcelona, Spain. He was the son of a military father and while attending college became interested in writing for the cinema. In the meantime, to earn a living he dedicated his life to teaching and was a schoolteacher in Barcelona during the 1940s. His cinema debut was in 1953 with his screen adaptation of “La hija del mar” directed by Àngel Guimerà.

José later became one of the most recognized screenwriters of the Spaghetti Western genre in the 1960s with over a dozen screenplays. José then entered into writing screenplays with social criticism in the 1970s for movies called quinquies films. These films concerned themselves with the life and death of juveniles living in the slums of the larger cities in Spain brought about by emigration in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also an author and wrote several novels during his lifetime. De la Loma died in Barcelona, Spain on April 7, 2004.

José Antonio de la Loma directed two Spaghetti western: “Perché uccidi ancora” (Why Kill Again?) with Eduardo Mulargia in 1965 and “El más fabuloso golpe del Far West” (The Boldest Job in the West) in 1971.

de la LOMA, José Antonio (aka José Antonio, José Antonio De La Loma, Antonio Della Loma, D.J. Anthony Loma, J. Anthony Loma, José Antonio de Loma, Jose A. de la Loma, Jose Anto. de la Loma, Jose Antonio de la Loma, Jose Antº. de la Loma) (José Antonio de la Loma Hernández) [3/4/1924, Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain – 4/6/2004, Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain] – producer, production manager, director, writer, songwriter,

Why Kill Again? – 1965 (co)

The Boldest Job in the West – 1971[as José Antonio]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ G. L. Buzzi

G.L. Buzzi’s full name was Gian Luigi Buzzi. He is/was an Italian writer. Basically that is all that I can find on the man as no biographical information is available.

G.L. Buzzi co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western, “I giorni della violenza” (Days of Vengeance) with Mario Amendola, Antonio Boccacci, Paol Lombardo in 1967.

BUZZI, G.L. (Gian Luigi Buzzi) [Italian] – writer.

Days of Vengeance – 1967 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Amerigo Gengarelli

Amerigo Gengarelli was born on October 30, 1920. He is an Italian cinematographer known for his work on mid-20th-century Italian films, particularly in the sword-and-sandal peplum genre and Spaghetti westerns during the 1960s. Active primarily from the 1950s through the early 1970s, Gengarelli served as director of photography on a variety of productions, including large-scale historical action films and lower-budget genre pictures. His credits include “I Tartari” (1961), “Orazi e Curiazi” (1961), “Taras Bulba il cosacco” (1962), “L’affondamento della Valiant” (1962), “Con lui cavalca la morte” (1967), “Un buco in fronte” (1968), and “Mademoiselle de Sade e i suoi vizi” (1972), reflecting collaborations with directors such as Ferdinando Baldi and Giuseppe Vari across peplum epics, westerns, crime stories, and later exploitation films. According to IMDb, he is credited with 14 titles as cinematographer and 17 as cameraman and electrical department. His contributions helped shape the visual style of popular Italian commercial cinema during a prolific era for genre filmmaking, though detailed biographical information about his early life or personal background remains limited in available sources.

Gengarelli would be over 100 years old if still living. No obituaries, tributes, awards, or posthumous recognitions appear in connection with his name, reflecting his relative obscurity in broader film history despite contributions to Italian genre cinema.

Amerigo Gengarelli was a cinematographer on three Spaghetti westerns: “Jim il primo” (The Last Gun) with Romolo Garrone in 1964, “Con lui cavalca la morte” (Death Rides Along) in 1967 and “Un buco in fronte” (A Hole in the Forehead) in 1968

GENGARELLI, Amerigo (aka Amerigo 'Ghigo' Gengarelli, Ghigo Gengarelli) [10/30/1920, Rome, Lazio, Italy - ?] – cinematographer, cameraman.

The Last Gun - 1964 (co)

Death Rides Along - 1967

A Hole in the Forehead – 1968

Spanish western film sets: “Rancho Gringo”

 

The construction of “Rancho Gringo” was made entirely of wood with a stone fireplace at the base and then mud., with an old and disheveled appearance, it was almost always accompanied by a stable and corral.

The set was first erected for the film “Welcome, Padre Murray” in 1963 where it only had one building, as can be seen in “Tres hombre buenos” (Implacable Three) with Geoffrey Horne.

For the film “El Gringo” (Gunfight at Red Sands) with Richard Harrison in 1963 one more building wit a stone fireplace was added.

In the film “El hombre del valle maldito” (The Man of the Cursed Valley) with Ty Hardin from 1964, the house was set on fire and only the porch was scorched.

You can also see it in “La tumba del pistolero” (Grave of a Gunman) from 1964 that the porch is still singed. 

The entire building was burned in 1964’s “Brandy” with Alex Nicol.

The ranch was rebuilt with a much simpler design in 1964 for (Bullets Don’t Argue) with Rod Cameron. It was also the sets last appearance as it was burned to the ground in the film the stable was also burned.