Happy 70th Birthday Jutta Hoffmann

Jutta Hoffmann in thw 1970s was one of the best actresses of stage and screen in East Germany. Born on March 3, 1941 in Halle an der Saale, Germany. After high school she attended the Film Academy in Potsdamn-Babelsberg from 1959-1962. In 1960 she appeared in her first film and in 1963 her first stage appearance at the Maxim-Gorki-Theater in Berlin. She was named best actress at the 1972 Venice Film Festival and the German Critics Prize for her work in “Der Dritte”. During this time she appeared in her only Euro-western “Blue Hawk” (1979). In the 1980s she left East Germany and appeared on stage in Hamburg. From 1993 until 2006 she worked at The University of Music and Theater in Hamburg as a professor of performing arts. Jutta has been married to director Herrmann Zschoche and Austrian actor, director Nikolaus Haenel and has two children. Today we celebrate Jutta Hoffmann’s 70th birthday.

Remembering Fred Ludwig

Born Alfred Hoffmann on March 3, 1921 in Langsdorf, Germany. As Fred Ludwig he trained as a stage actor in Hamburg, Oldenburg, Bremerhaven and Tübingen. From 1956-1963 he contracted with the National Theater in Berlin. Fred then appeared in East German TV and DEFA films. From 1967 until 1979 Fred appeared in six East German westerns, “The Falcon's Trail” (1967), “White Wolves” (1969), “Apaches” (1973), “Kit & Co.” (1974), “Blood Brothers” (1975) and “Death for Zapata” (1975). Ludwig passed away on October 14, 1984. Today we celebrate what would have been Fred Ludwig’s 90th bithday.

Rememberng Jose 'Pepe' Calvo

José Selgado was born on March 3, 1916 in Madrid, Spain. José abandoned his studies in medicine to pursue an acting career. He debuted on stage in 1934 and appeared in his first film in 1951. As José ‘Pepe’ Calvo he was seen in more than 150 films over a forty year career. He worked under some of the most renowned film makers in Spain including Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis Buñuel. Noteworthy was his work in the many Spaghetti westerns filmed in Spain including his role in “Fistful of Dollars” as Silvanito. Some of his other more famous Euro-western roles were in “Gunfight at Red Sands” (1963), “In the Shadow of a Colt” (1965), “Fort Yuma Gold” (1966), “Blood at Sundown” (1967), “The Price of Power” (1969) and “Dead Men Ride” (1971). Towards the end of his career he focused on television, and participated in such programs as “Studio1" and “Novela”. Calvo was married to actress Mercedes Barranco [19??-2008] (19??-1980). Pepe Calvo died on May 16, 1980 in Los Palmas, Grand Canary Islands, Spain. Today we remember José Calvo on what would have been his 95th birthday.

Franco & Ciccio on the Warpath

Franco e Ciccio sentiero di guerra - Italian title
Zwei Trottel als Revolverhelden - German title
Franco - Ciccio, oi dyo polemarhoi - Greek title
Paths of War - English title
Franco & Ciccio on the Warpath - English title

A 1969 Italian production [Mondial Televisione Film (Rome)]
Producer: Sergio Bonotti
Director: Aldo Grimaldi (Arnaldo Grimaldi)
Story: Giovanni Grimaldi, Bruno Corbucci
Screenplay: Giovanni Grimaldi
Cinematography: Fausto Zuccoli [Eastmancolor]
Music: Roberto Pregadio
Running time: 95 minutes

Cast:
Franco - Franco Franchi (Francesco Benenato)
Cicio - Ciccio Igrassia (Francesco Ingrassia)
Jeff - Renato Baldini
Lucy Foster - Adler Gray
Wowoka - Joseph Persaud (Turam Quibo)
Wowoka - Turam Quibo
Lieutenant Martin/Morgan - Stelvio Rossi
Colonel Foster - Gianni Solaro (Gianni Lorenzon)
Mormon - Lino Banfi (Pasquale Zagaria)
Indian - Pietro Torrisi
Scotsman - Renato Malavasi
Sergeant Douglas - Alfred Rizzo
barman - Luigi Bonos
sheriff - Fulvio Mingozzi
with: Turi Campochiaro (Salvatore Campochiaro), Wolff Fischer (Wolfgang Fischer), Silvano Spada, Veronica Mary Wells

Franco and Ciccio, two soldiers in the Sicilian army, are forced to flee by the arrival of Garibaldi. The two smuggle themselves out of Sicily by lying in coffins being exported, the two friends are shipped to America, where they find themselves lost and without money. They enlist in the U.S. Army and are sent west to the fight Indians, despite their stupidity they are able, by a series of fortuitous circumstances, to cause the defeat of the Indians and their final surrender. Things seem to get the best for Franco and Ciccio, but the sudden discovery of a wrong doing forces them to abandon their enlistment in the army and they find refuge in the desert. To put an end to their troubles, the two hapless friends agree to marry the daughters of an Indian chief and to integrate into an American Indian tribe.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W98XPS5mU0

Remembering Alfonso Balcazar

Alfonso Balcázar Granda was born on March 2, 1926 in Barcelona, Spain. His entire family was rooted in the world of cinema. He and his brothers founded Balcázar, S.A. Productions and were an early influence on westerns filmed in Spain. They also founded Filmax, a distribution company, which distributed the films Balcázar, S.A. produced. This guaranteed them a market for the films they made from their production half of the company. Along with his brother Jaime Jesus they both wrote and directed most of the films which consisted of westerns and low budget action and horror films. Among the more than 20 Euro-westerns Alfonso produced, directed, or wrote screenplays for were “Viva Carrancho!” (1965), “A Pistol for Ringo” and “The Return of Ringo” (1965), “Yankee” (1966), “Clint the Stranger” (1967), and “The Return of Clint the Stranger” (1972). In all, Alfonso directed over 40 films often under the pseudonym Al Bagran. Alfonso died on September 28, 1993 in Sitges, Barcelona, Spain. Today we remember Alfonso Balcázar on what would have been his 85th birthday.

RIP George Courtney Ward

Celebrity photographer, 93 dies at his Dorset home

Saturday 26th February 2011

He may not be a household name himself, but photographer George Courtney Ward worked with some legends in his time.

George, who died at his home in Westbourne on Tuesday, February 15, aged 93, photographed some of the most famous names in cinema during his 30 years working at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, Alec Guinness and Kenneth More were just some of the screen stars in George’s portfolio. Ward was the still photographer on Dirk Bogarde's 1961 Euro-western "The Singer Not the Song".

George was born in Christchurch in 1917 and grew up in the town before becoming a stills photographer at Pinewood. At first he commuted, but shortly moved to Fulmer in Buckinghamshire with his mother and aunt.

After more than 30 years working at Pinewood, George moved to Elstree studios in 1969 when the photographic department was closed down. But when that studio was taken over in 1972, he decided to sell his house, retire and move back down to Bournemouth.

Remembering Tony Ashton

Edward Anthony Ashton was born March 1, 1946 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. He took piano lessons as a child and when he dropped out of school at the age of 15 he was already an accomplished pianist. He played jazz piano in a group he formed ‘The Tony Ashton Trio’. He then joined ‘The Remo Four’ as an organist/vocalist. The group was the house band for Hamburg’s Star Club. They toured the U.S. with the ‘Beatles’ recorded singles and released an album called ‘Smile’ in 1966.

In 1970 along with drummer Roy Dyke and bass player Kim Gardner he formed a group called ‘Ashton, Gardner and Dyke’. They recorded three albums and gained recognition in the U.K. in 1971 with their single ‘Resurrection Shuffle’ which reached #3 on the U.K. charts. A fusion of R&B and jazz they were far ahead of their time. Even with their success they failed have anymore hit singles and the group broke up in 1973.

Ashton would go on to play with ‘The Executives’, ‘The College Boys’, “Mastersounds’ and as a session musician backed such artists as Jerry Lee Lewis, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. Ashton met Jon Lord in 1973 when they collaborated on the soundtrack for the Euro-western “The Last Rebel”. Ashton and Lord would go on to record an album together. Later after the break up of ‘Deep Purple’ Ashton, Lord and Ian Paice formed the group ‘P.A.L.’ Also joining the group was Bernie Marsden and Paul Martinez. They scheduled a tour of the U.K. after they recorded ‘Malice in Wonderland’ but it was canceled halfway through because of financial problems. The group disbanded and Tony then co-hosted with Rick Wakeman the TV show “Gas Tank”. In 1986 he married Sandra Naidoo and adopted her daughter. During the 1990s he turned to painting while still playing in a few gigs. By 1999 he was seriously ill with cancer and a benefit concert was given in his honor. Tony died from the disease on May 28, 2001. He was only 55. Today we remember Tony Ashton on what would have been his 65th birthday.