Happy 75th Birthday Ron Ely

Ronald Pierce Ely was born on June 21, 1938 in Hereford, Texas. Ely won the role of Tarzan in 1966 after playing various bit-parts, including an airplane navigator in the 1958 film “South Pacific” and a guest-starring role on Barbara Eden's first television series, the romantic comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire”. Ely's height (6' 4") and athletic build also won him the title role in the 1975 film “Doc Savage”, as well as various guest shots. In a 1978 ‘Fantasy Island’ episode, for example, Ely portrayed Mark Antony in a Roman military short tunic and breastplate that displayed almost as much of his physique as his Tarzan costume had. Also during the early 1970s Ely travelled to Europe appearing in two Euo-westerns: “Alleluia and Sartana, Sons of God” and “Cry of the Black Wolves” (both 1972)

 
From 1960-61, Ely starred in the TV series ‘The Aquanauts’. In the 1980s, Ely hosted the musical game show ‘Face the Music’. Additionally, Ely hosted the 1980 and 1981 ‘Miss America Pageants’, replacing longtime host Bert Parks. He replaced Lloyd Bridges as "Mike Nelson" in the last season of TV’s ‘Sea Hunt’, from 1987-1988.
 
In the 1990s, Ely’s roles included a retired Superman from an alternate reality in the 1991 two-part episode ‘The Road to Hell’ of the ‘Superboy’ syndicated TV series, and a big game hunter named Gordon Shaw in the 1992 episode ‘Tarzan the Hunted’ of the syndicated Tarzán TV series (starring Wolf Larson).
 
Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on popular TV shows, his most recent being ‘Sheena’ and ‘Renegade’. He is now retired from acting.
 
In recent years Ely has embarked on a successful writing career and has penned two mystery novels featuring private eye Jake Sands: Night Shadows (1994) and East Beach (1995).
 
Today we celebrate Ron Ely’s 75^th birthday.

RIP Miguel Morayta

Mexican filmmaker Miguel Morayta died yesterday June 19^th of natural causes at age 105 of natural causes.

 
In an interview with Ricardo Morayta, son of the director, explained that the death of his father was because of his age, a few months shy of 106 years, "He had no disease, just his heart was very tired and stopped beating."

The filmmaker, who was born Migel Morayta Martinez on August 15, 1907 in Ciudad Real, Spain but lived the past six decades in Mexico, was director of over 70 films and a screenwriter of more than 50, among which " El médico de las locas" (1955) , ""¡Ay Jalisco no te rajes!" (1964) and "Capulina contra los monstruos" (1973), along with writing the screenplay for his only Euro-western: "Guns for San Sebastian" (1968).

His son Ricardo recalled that his father was a person very dear to the film community of the Golden Age, but unfortunately his colleagues of those years all went ahead of him, "My father was the longest-serving director in history. Besides being a prolific film director and writer, Miguel Morayta was founder of the Mexican Society of Directors-Directors of Audiovisual Works, the Union of Cinema Production Workers and the General Society of Writers in Mexico.

 

New DVD Release

La muerte tenía un precio

(For a Few Dollars More)
(1965)
 
Director: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte
 
Label: Divisa Home Video
Region: B (2), Blu-ray
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 - 16:9 (1080p)
Audio: Spanish, English
Subtitles: Spanish
Runtime:130 min
Extras: Gallery, filmographies
ASIN: B00D407SSU
Available: June 20, 2013

Scalpman

Scalpman – Italian title
 
A 1973 Italian production
Producer: ?
Director: Tonino Valerii (Antonio Valerii)
Story: ?
Screenplay: ?
Cinematography: ?
Music: ?
Running time: ?
 
Cast: ?
 
Story: Unknown

[film was never made]

Happy 80th Birthday Brett Halsey

Charles Oliver Hand was born on June 20, 1933 in Santa Ana, California. Known to us as Brett Halsey, he is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He had a prolific career in B pictures and in European-made feature films. He created the role of John Abbott on the soap opera ‘The Young and the Restless’, a role he filled from May 1980 to March 1981, when he was replaced by Jerry Douglas.

 
Halsey is a great-nephew of the United States Navy Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey; Universal Pictures selected his acting name from the admiral.
 
Brett appeared in five Euro-westerns from “Kill Johnny Ringo” (1965) to “Roy Colt and Winchester Jack” (1970).
 
Today we celebrate Brett Halsey’s 80^th birthday.

Happy 85th Birthday Martin Landau

Martin Landau was born on June 20, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. Martin is an American film and television actor who began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's “North by Northwest” (1959). He played continuing roles in the television series ‘Mission: Impossible’ (for which he received several Emmy Award nominations) and ‘Space: 1999’. He received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture and his first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988), and was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989). His performance in the supporting role of Bela Lugosi in “Ed Wood” (1994) earned him the Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. He continues to perform in film and television and heads the Hollywood branch of the Actors Studio. Landau appeared in only one Euro-western “A Town Called Hell” (1970). Today we celebrate Matin Landau’s 85^th birthday.

Remembering Richard Wyler

Richard Stapley was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, on June 20, 1923. A writer, Stapley published his first novel when he was just 17 years old. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

 
Following the end of World War II, Stapley began appearing in theater roles in London. He soon signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), making his film debut in the 1948 film, “The Three Musketeers”, opposite Elizabeth Taylor. He next appeared in the 1949 remake, “Little Women”, in which he played John Brooke, the love interest of Janet Leigh's character, Meg.
 
He continued to appear in a string of Hollywood films at different studios during the 1940s and 1950s, including the 1951 period drama “The Strange Door”, which co-starred Boris Karlof and Charles Laughton; 1953's “King of the Khyber Rifles”, opposite Tyrone Power; “Charge of the Lancers” with Paulette Goddard; and “The Iron Glove” with Robert Stack in 1954. In 1955 Stapley starred in “Target Zero” as a British UN tank commander serving in the Korean War.
 
Stapley returned to the United Kingdom and Europe in 1960, where he adopted the stage name, Richard Wyler. His British television credits from that era included the crime series, “Man From Interpol”. He also appeared in a series of European-made adventure and western films using the name, Richard Wyler, including “The Barbarians”, “The Rattler Kid”, “The Ugly Ones”, “Dick Smart”, and “The Girl From Rio”, which co-starred Shirley Eaton and George Sanders.
 
During the 1970s, Stapley returned to film roles under his birth name, Richard Stapley. He co-starred in the 1970 film, “Connecting Rooms”, opposite Michael Redgrave and Bette Davis. He was also cast in Alfred Hitchcock's “Frenzy”.
 
When his acting roles became fewer he became a radio announcer in Britain and also drove racing motorcycles where he was hospitalized after a crash. He had his own motor cycle courier company and wrote a regular column for Motor Cycling magazine, Richard Wyler's Coffee Bar Column
 
Stapley became a naturalized U.S. citizen during his later life. He focused on writing following his acting career. He published a novel entitled, Naked Legacy, in 2004. Stapley also completed a second novel and corresponding adapted screenplay, both called Tomorrow Will Be Cancelled. He was working on an autobiography at the time of his death of kidney failure on March 5, 2010, at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California.
 
Today we remember Richard Wyler on what would have been his 90^th birthday.