Happy 75th Birthday Oliver Clark

Oliver Clark was born Richard Mardirosian on January 4, 1939 in Buffalo, New York. This American character actor is of Armenian heritage and his brother, Tom Mardirosian [1947- ], is also an actor. Clark made numerous appearances in film and television, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Two of his best-known characters were John Doe #6 on the NBC drama ‘St. Elsewhere’, a likeable and humorous psychiatric patient, and Mr. Herd, a patient of psychologist Bob Hartley on the CBS situation comedy ‘The Bob Newhart Show’. He played Mr. Belding in the original pilot of the series ‘Good Morning Miss Bliss’ but was subsequently replaced by Dennis Haskins.

 
Clark also played Roger Barton on an episode of ‘The Golden Girls’, and played Joe Carruthers, the man who later becomes Santa Claus, in the movie ‘Ernest Saves Christmas’ (1988).

Oliver appeared in one Euro-western: “Another Man, Another Chance” (1977) in the role of Evans.
 
Retired since 2003, today we celebrate Oliver Clark’s 75^th birthday.

Happy 75th Birthday Ramón Farrán

Ramón Farrán Sánchez was born on January 4, 1939 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Ramón is a Spanish composer and conductor. The son of a musician, he started very young playing drums in his father's big band, "Orquesta Plantación". His career was oriented to jazz-fusion, and he played with Sonny Rollins, Don Byas, Chet Baker and Joe Henderson. He was a music producer in the 1960s for (Juan y Júnior) and composed for Julio Iglesias. He also composed the soundtrack for TV series "Los marginados" and wrote the soundtrack for "Ilegally yours", by Peter Bogdanovich. His one Euro-western score is for the 1996 comedy Euro-western: “Here Comes Condemor (The Sinner of the Plains)”.

 
Still active today we celebrate Ramón Farrán’s 75^th birthday.

Happy 95th Birthday Edoardo Fiory

Odoardo Fiory was born on January 4, 1919 in Rome, Italy. Little is known about Odoardo but he became a director, assistant director and screenwriter starting in 1954 with “Uomini ombra” as director and “Frogwoman” as an assistant director. He continued directing and writing scripts until “Il terno a letto” (1980) in all he was involved in about 20 films, four of which were Euro-westerns: “Rattler Kid” (1967) and “One by One” (1968), “Death Knows No Time” (1969) and “White Fang and the Gold Diggers” (1974) all as a screenwriter.

 
Today we celebrate Odoardo Fiory’s 95^th birthday.

Remembering Daniel Montorio

Daniel Montorio Fajó was born on January 4, 1904 in Huesca, Aragon, Spain. Daniel had a hard childhood, full of misfortunes, as he came from a very poor family with five children to support and few resources. Daniel's father played guitar in Sertoriana Rondalla and it is believed it is here that Daniel started his musical vocation, although studies were few and far between because of the limited income of the house. Don Alejandro Crowns, a great professional musician, gave him his first lessons in music theory, which followed the piano, from which he studied various applications. Upon the death of his teacher, Mariano he continued his studies until his father died when he was fourteen in 1918.

 
As the eldest brother, Daniel must deal with the needs of the house, for several hard years. Thanks to the help and protection of Ramon Mayor, Daniel gets a Huesca Provincial pension of one hundred twenty five pesetas monthly for a year, to broaden his musical studies. When just eighteen, he goes to Madrid and Studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Here he received first place prizes in piano and harmony. He competes and wins a position in the Alabarderos Band in 1928.
 
Little by little he reveals in various performance pieces, which will add to a fruitful career as a composer, along with a life entirely devoted to his art. He compose ninety-five plays and composed music for over one hundred films. Among the plays should be noted “Una rubia peligrosa”, “Las noches de Montecarlo”, “Vampiresas 1940”, “Tabú”, “Una mujer imposible”, “Tentación”, “El conde de Manzanares” and “Luces de Madrid” among many others.
 
As a musician and film composer, Daniel Montorio is a remarkable figure, both for the variety of his compositions but for the importance of the films on which he worked. He participated in the silent films synced some Spanish film, but it was in the sound (in Spanish cinema of the 1930s), that his greater activity prevailed. He had an easy and brilliant melody, song lyrics that was added to black and white sound versions of silent films. He also composed the music for descriptive “Fermín Galán”, one of the first Spanish films of the 1930s. For Jean Grémillon Dolorosa, he made the adjustment and the addition of background music which led to great a success. Personal and bright is the score for “El negro que tenía el alma blancaa!” ( Benito Perojo ). He worked with Luis Buñuel between 1935-1936. He scored three Euro-westerns during his career “Dirty Gold” (1941), “Relevo para un pistolero” and “Shoot to Kill” both 1963.
 
Daniel Montorio died on March 24, 1982 in Madrid, Spain.
 
Today we remember the great Spanish composer on what would have been his 110^th birthday.

Guess Who I Am

I’m a British actor born in London in 1922.

 
I’m famous for my Hammer films.
 
I appeared in only one Euro-western in 1971.
 
Guess who I am.

Il dottore correctly named Christopher Lee as this week's photo.

Spaghetti Western Locations

We continue our search for “Return of the Seven” film locations. After ridding the village of the bandits the six mercenaries go on the hunt for the missing men kidnapped from the village. The trail leads through some desolate terrain but the trail becomes easier and easier to track as they near their destination. 

The scenes of their trek were filmed around Agost and the mountains surrounding the area were used with different camera angles and close-ups and far shots to show their movement.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Captain Douglas’ excellent website: http://www.western-locations-spain.com                           
and Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm            
 
 
[Captain Douglas has dedicated and entire section of his website to “The Return of the Seven” with behind the scenes photos and stories, highly recommended.]

Happy 70th Birthday Manfred Richter

Manfred Richter was born on January 3, 1944 in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Manfred worked as a lathe operator and was known for his role as a boxer in the stage play “Titel hab' ich noch nicht“ (1964). He was seen as a young go-getter for the television film directed by Ulrich Thein “Staatlichen Schauspielschule Berlin” and “Engagements”. Subsequently, he studied acting from 1964 to 1967 at the State Drama School in Berlin. This was followed by engagements at theaters in Dresden and Freiberg, before he worked freelance in 1977.

 
Since the late 1960s, he appeared in many film and television productions of the GDR. After the reunification, he often played in supporting roles in various television series, including, for example, ‘Polizeiruf 110’ and ‘Praxis Bülowbogen’. He also worked as a theater actor in smaller theaters, such as the Berlin Chamber, Dresdner Comedy and the New Munich theater, Richter occasionally was heard as a voice actor. He appeared in one Euro-western as a soldier in “The Falcon’s Trail” (1967).
 
On April 20, 2012 Manfred Richter died in a Berlin hospital cardiac arrest.
 
Today we remember Manfred Richter on what would have been his 70^th birthday.