Happy 65th Birthday Pilar Velázquez

María del Pilar Velázquez Llorente was born on February 13, 1946 in Madrid, Spain. After her high school studies she entered the Spanish Theater in 1964. She debuted in “Caminos de Damasco”. Her film career took place between 1966 and 1977 where she would appear in over 50 films and TV appearances in both Spanish and Italian movies as Pilar Velázquez. In 1979 she married singer, actor Miguel Gallardo [1950-2005] and temporarily stopped her film career. The couple had one child before the marriage ended in divorce. She returned to films in 1996's “Pon un hombre en tu vida”. Since the 1980s Pilar’s devoted most her time to acting on stage.. Pilar appeared in six Euro-westerns among which were “The Forgotten Pistolero” as Isabella Carrasco, “His Name was Holy Ghost” (1970) as Juana and “Thunder Over El Paso” (1972) as Anne. Today we celebrate one of the most beautiful Spanish actresses of the Euro-western genre, Pilar Velázquez on her 65th birthday.

Remembering Martin Hirthe

Martin Hirthe was born on February 13, 1921 in Berlin, Germany. He attended acting school and then entered the army during World War II. He was captured and became a British prisoner of war. While a captive he starred in a presentation of “Black and White”. After the war he remained in Austria and appeared in his first theatrical engagementes in Klagenfurt, Graz and Vienna before returning to Germany and playing in Baden-Baden, Kassel and Göttingen. In 1962 he returned home to Berlin and played at the Schiller Theater. During his stage career he made several TV appearances. Hirthe was probably better known for his voice then his face as he became of the busiest German film dubbers in the 1960s and ‘70s. He was the German voice of such actors as Walter Matthay, Martin Balsam, Telly Savalas and Ernest Borgnine. During this time he was the voice of Bud Spencer in seven films including the westerns “God Forgives, I Don’t” and “Ace High” both in 1968. He was the voice of Fernando Sancho in “Django Shoots First” and “The Return of Ringo” and “$7.00 to Kill” all in 1966, “$10,00 for a Massacre” (1967). He voiced Eli Wallach in “Ace High” (1968) and “The White, the Yellow and the Black” (1975). Among other westerns he was the voice of Telly Savalas, Frank Wolff, Jack Palance, Rod Steiger and Roberto Camardiel. Martin died on August 9, 1981 in Berlin. Today we celebrate what would have been Martin Hirthe’s 90th birthday.

RIP Peter Alexander

Singer, actor and entertainer Peter Alexander died on February 12th, 2011 in Vienna, Austria. He was 84. Peter Alexander Ferdinand Maximilian Neumayer was born on June 30, 1926, in Vienna, Austria. He had seven number-one hits between 1955 and 1969 (including “The Last Waltz” in 1967) and had 38 top ten records. He sold over 46 million CDs. Alexander received the Bambi award for lifetime achievement in 1996 and three times the Golden Camera. His “Peter Alexander Show” received incredible ratings during it’s television run from 1969-1995. Alexander retired four years ago at the age of 80 after the death of Hildegard his wife of 50 years in 2003. His daughter Susan was killed in a car accident in Thailand in 2009 at the age of 50. Peter appeared in one Euro-western, 1965's “Count Bobby, the Terror of the Wild West”.

New DVD Release

The Spikes Gang

Director: Richard Fleicher
Starring: Lee Marvin, Ron Howard, Gary Grimes
Label: MGM
Format: NTSC
Region: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1, anamorphic
Language: English
Subtitles: none
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Running time: 96 minutes
Extras: none
ASIN: B004LB5FBS
Release date: January 28, 2011

Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie - International title

A 1994 Spanish production [Picmatic Producciones S.A. (Madrid)]
Producers: Luis María Gallardo, Fernando Erias
Director: Mariano Vázquez
Story: Mariano Vázquez
Screenplay: Mariano Vázquez
Cinematography: Falvio Martinez Labiano, Andrés Torres [Eastmancolor, widescreen]
Music: Mariano Vázquez
Running time: 14 minutes

Cast:
boy - Sergio Aquilera
father - Tino Vallhonrat
mother - Victoria Vivas
professor - Gonzalo Durán
Colonel Masterson - Carlos Alvarez
Indian - Paco Calatrava (Francisco Lózano)

A young boy learns about the world’s violence while he dreams and plays in the dream world of the Old West.

Guess Who I Am

I’m a German actress born in 1938. Guess who I am.

Fatman correctly guessed this week's photo as that of Karin Dor.





Happy 75th Birthday Burt Reynolds

Burton ‘Burt’ Leon Reynolds, Jr. was born on February 11, 1936 in Waycross, Georgia. An all-state football player in high school, Burt attended Florida State University on a scholarship. Before his first game he was injured in a car accident and worsened the injury later that year. With Burt’s football career over he continued taking classes at Palm Beach Jr. College and became interested in acting. He won the 1956 state drama award for his role in “Outward Bound”. He met Joanne Woodward who took an interest in him and found him an agent. Burt went to New York and began a stage career in “Look, We’ve Come Through” and then starred alongside Darren McGavin in the TV series “Riverboat” (1960-1961). Reynolds then landed a supporting role in “Gunsmoke” (1962-1965) as the half-breed blacksmith Quint Asper. Encouraged by his friend Clint Eastwood he accepted a role in a Spaghetti western “Navajo Joe” in 1966 directed by Sergio Corbucci. Reynolds would go on to also appear in 1969's “100 Rifles” with Raquel Welch and Jim Brown. Burt returned to the U.S. and became a huge star in the 1970s and 1980s appearing in a number of action films such as “Deliverance” (1972), “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing” (1973), “The Longest Yard” (1974), the “Smokey and the Bandit” films. In the 1990s he starred in the highly successful TV series “Evening Shade” for which he won an Emmy Award as Best Actor in 1991. After a messy divorce from second wife Loni Anderson [1945- ] he filed bankruptcy. In the mid-1990s he started a comeback with his performance in “Striptease” (1996) and “Boogie Nights” (1997). Burt underwent heart surgery in early 2010 and though he’s recovered his career has come to a standstill. Today we celebrate Burt Reynolds 75th birthday.