Spaghetti Western Director ~ Tom Gries
Thomas Stephen Gries was an American director, writer, and producer renowned for his contributions to television and film, particularly in Westerns, crime dramas, and socially conscious telemovies during the 1950s through 1970s. Born in Chicago, Illinois on December 20, 1922, to Ruth Marie Gluck, an advertising copywriter and actress, and Joseph Charles Gries, he served in the U.S. Marines during World War II before attending Georgetown University. Gries began his Hollywood career in the late 1940s as a talent agent and publicist, transitioning to writing and directing for television in the 1950s, where he helmed episodes of acclaimed anthology series and action shows.
Gries's television work in the 1960s established him as a versatile craftsman, creating the adventure series ‘The Rat Patrol’ (1966–1968) and directing episodes of popular programs such as ‘Route 66’, ‘The Rifleman’, ‘Combat!’, and ‘Mission: Impossible’. He earned two Emmy Awards for his television direction: one in 1963 for the episode "Who Do You Kill?" of ‘East Side, West Side’, and another in 1972 for the prison drama telemovie ‘The Glass House’.
Transitioning to feature films in the late 1960s, Gries directed gritty Westerns and action thrillers that often-explored themes of social injustice, including “Will Penny” (1968) starring Charlton Heston as an aging cowboy, “100 Rifles” (1969) addressing Native American oppression, and “Breakout” (1975) with Charles Bronson.
In the 1970s, Gries returned to television for high-profile miniseries and specials, directing the Emmy-nominated ‘QB VII’ (1974), a legal drama based on Leon Uris's novel, and ‘Helter Skelter’ (1976), a critically acclaimed adaptation of the Charles Manson murders that was one of the highest-rated TV movies of its time. His final project, the Muhammad Ali biopic “The Greatest” (1977), was in post-production at the time of his sudden death from a heart attack at age 54 while playing tennis in Pacific Palisades, California. Gries's oeuvre, blending technical proficiency with character-driven storytelling, influenced generations of filmmakers, and he is survived by his wife Sally M. Damon, four sons—including actor Jon Gries—and other family members.
As mentioned above Tom Gries directed one Spaghetti western, “Los cien rifles” (100 Rifles) in 1969.
GRIES, Tom (aka Tommy Gries) (Thomas Steven Gries) [12/20/1922, Chicago, Illinois,
U.S.A. – 1/3/1977, Pacific Palisades, California, USA (heart attack)] - producer, production
manager, director, writer, brother of Chicago blues pianist "Buddy
Charles" (Charles Stephen Gries) [1927-2008], father of actor Jon
Gries (Jonathan Francis Gries) [1957-
] with actress Mary Munday [1926-1997], married to actress Marla English
(Marleine Gaile English) [1935-2012] (1958-1960) father of
film editor actor Cary Christopher Gries [1958- ], married to Alice King [1945- ] (1960-1963), married to actress Yvonne
Gilbert (Dolores Yvonne
Kauffman-Hogan) [1933- ] (1964-1975) father of one child, married
to actress Sally M. Damon (1976-1977).
100 Rifles – 1969
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Ignatius Colnigee
Ignazio Colnaghi was an Italian actor, voice actor, screenwriter, and advertiser, best known for providing the distinctive voice of the black chick character Calimero in the long-running television advertising program ‘Carosello’, starting from its debut spot on 14 July 1963. Born in Milan on June 15, 1924, Colnaghi began his career in the performing arts during the post-World War II era, contributing to radio, theater, film, television, and dubbing, often collaborating with prominent Italian cultural figures.
Colnaghi's early work included stage acting at the prestigious Piccolo Teatro di Milano, where he was among the inaugural ensemble members alongside Dario Fo and Franco Parenti in the late 1940s and 1950s. On radio, he appeared in the popular Rai variety program ‘Chicchirichì’ during the 1950s, portraying the office manager in sketches featuring Fo. Transitioning to screen roles, he acted in several Italian adventure and drama films of the 1950s and 1960s, such as “Gli avventurieri dell'uranio” (1958), “Brigliadoro” (1959), and “Le avventure di Topo Gigio” (1961), while also serving as a sports announcer for the newsreel series “La settimana Incom”, screened in cinemas across Italy.
As a voice actor, Colnaghi specialized in dubbing foreign performers, including Fernandel in his initial Italian releases and Pierre Brasseur, and lent his voice to animated characters like the caterpillar Giovannino in a 1954 television production. His most enduring contribution came in advertising, where he not only voiced Calimero—created by animators Nino and Toni Pagot for Miralanza detergent spots—but also played a key role in developing the character's persona, making the phrase "È un'ingiustizia, però!" a cultural staple in Italy.
Ignazio contributed to screenwriting primarily in Italian cinema and animation, drawing on his background as an actor to craft dialogue and narratives informed by performance dynamics. His most notable film credit as a screenwriter is for the 1964 Western comedy “Okay sceriffo”, directed by Angio Zane, where he co-wrote the story and screenplay alongside Zane and Mike Douglas, blending humorous scenarios with Western tropes set in a quirky American frontier. Colnaghi continued working into the 1980s, notably as a creative in commercials, before retiring; he passed away in Finale Ligure at age 93 on November 25, 2017.
Ignatius Colnigee wrote the screenplay for one Euro-western film and one TV series, “Okay sceriffo” (Okay Sheriff) with Mike Douglas and Angio Zane and ‘Lo sceriffo della valle d’argento’ with Mike Douglas and Angio Zane.
COLNIGEE, Ignatius (aka aka
Ignatius Colnigee, Giles Toothless) (Ignazio
Colnaghi) [6/16/1924, Milan,
Lombardy, Italy – 11/25/2017, Milan, Lombardy, Italy] – director, writer,
theater, film, radio, TV, voice actor.
Lo sceriffo della
valle d’argento (TV) – 1963-1976 (co)
Okay Sheriff – 1964
(co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Sam Leavitt
Sam Leavitt was an American cinematographer known for winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) for his work on “The Defiant Ones” (1958) and for his contributions to acclaimed Hollywood films of the 1950s and 1960s. He earned two additional Academy Award nominations for “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959) and “Exodus” (1960), and his notable credits include “Carmen Jones” (1954), “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955), “Cape Fear” (1962), and “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” (1967).
Born on February 6, 1904, in New York City, Leavitt entered the film industry in the 1920s as a camera operator and later worked in that capacity on productions such as “The Human Comedy” (1943) and “Anchors Aweigh” (1945). He became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers in 1935 but did not assume the role of director of photography full-time until 1952, when he began receiving cinematography credits on feature films. His breakthrough came with Otto Preminger's “Carmen Jones” and “The Man with the Golden Arm”, leading to collaborations with directors including Stanley Kramer and Preminger on several of his most recognized works.
Leavitt's cinematography on “The Defiant Ones” was praised for its low-key black-and-white style that sustained a stark and moody atmosphere, achieved through location shooting in adverse weather and careful exposure techniques to balance contrasting skin tones in shared frames. He also contributed to television, including early episodes of ‘I Love Lucy’, and continued working into the late 1970s, with his final theatrical credit on “The Man in the Glass Booth” (1975). Sam Leavitt died on March 21, 1984, in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 80.
Sam Leavitt was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “La marca de Cain” (The Desperardos!) in 1969.
LEAVITT, Sam (aka
Sammy Leavitt, Samuel Leavitt, Sam Levitt) (Samuel
Leavitt) [2/6/1904, New York City,
New York, U.S.A. – 3/2/1984, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
(stroke)] – cinematographer, cameraman.
The Desperados! –
1969
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