“Roy Colt & Winchester Jack”
(1970)
Director: Mario Bava
Starring: Brett Halsey, Charles Southwood, Marilu Tolo
Country: Japanese
Label: King Records
Blu-ray, DVD
Language: Italian (mono)
Subtitles: Japanese
Runtime: 85 minutes
Subtitles: Japanese
Extras: Intermission at the time of theatrical release
Available: August 4, 2026
She was the city’s ‘Queen of Oshawa’ in the 1950s: Shirley Harmer, 2016 Walk of Fame inductee, dies at 92
Harmer shared stage with some of the biggest stars of the era from Liberace, to Robert Goulet, to Johnny Carson and Josephine Baker
Oshawa This Week
By Tim Kelly
May 28, 2024
She was the ‘Queen of Oshawa’ in the mid-1950s and Shirley Harmer certainly rose to the heights, singing at the Hollywood Bowl, Maple Leaf Gardens, appearing with Liberace and chatting with Johnny Carson on his late-night talk show.
Harmer, whose showbiz career was at its height in the 50s and 60s including roles in Hollywood movies, died recently on May 7. She was 92.
Born in Oshawa, or more precisely, Thornton’s Corners on March 25, 1932, Harmer grew up in a musical family according to her nephew Chris Lea, who said his aunt was a “born entertainer.”
“In the press, she’s often referred to just as Shirley in the headlines. That’s the level of fame she had in the 50s,” Lea said in an interview.
Indeed, in a front-page section from the Toronto Daily Star from June 14, 1954, there are four pictures of the 22-year-old with one showing her on a bicycle by the mailbox in front of her home near Stevenson and King streets. Others show her around the piano singing with her family, with her father holding a Toronto Star newspaper bag (she’d been a carrier as a child) and in a fancy dress for a performance. The headline says: Once a Star Weekly Carrier, Shirley on Way to Films.
Another newspaper, this time her hometown Daily-Gazette of August 1954, shows her being crowned Queen of Oshawa at the Oshawa Fair in Alexandra Park that weekend. It salutes the young star’s rise in the world of entertainment.
Inducted into the Oshawa Walk of Fame in 2016, Harmer lived a glamorous life that started young, Lea said.
“She began entertaining when she was 14. Her mother was kind of a stage mother and would take my mom and Shirley and her older sister Lorraine down to CFRB for the regular radio show,” Lea said.
“She started working almost immediately, at dance halls when she was 15, and then later at Maple Leaf Gardens in the 1950s and on to the Hollywood Bowl,” he said. He said she also sang at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Lea said Harmer was on the Johnny Carson show in the mid- to late-1960s and got to chat with the “King of Late Night,” himself.
There is a clip of Harmer singing “I could have danced all night” from the musical “My Fair Lady,” with Liberace taken from the 1957 CBC show Chrysler’s Festival. Other clips include her in duets with rising young Canadian star singer-actor Robert Goulet.
In later years, after moving to Italy, Harmer wound up doing about 75 shows with the legendary Josephine Baker.
After moving back to the United States, Harmer returned to Canada just over a decade ago. Her final years were spent at the Bartlett, a seniors apartment building about a block from her childhood home.
“Her ukulele skills will be especially missed by The Pink Ladies, her last girl band,” said Lea.
Lea said no funeral was planned but the family will hold a wake.
HARMER, Shirley [3/25/1932, Thornton's Corners,
Ontario, Canada – 5/7/2024, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada] – singer, actress married
to singer, actor George Murray (George Alexander Murray) [1913-1982]
(1954-1959), member of Boyd Valleau and his Orchestra.
Blood River – 1969 [sings: “Blood River”]
Bernard Segall (composer) would have been 115 today but died in 1993.
J.W. Jensen (actor) would have been 95 today but
died in 2007.
[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Mario Acciai is a very little-known Italian actor. He has
only one credited film listed on the IMDb but we know he appeared in at least
four credited roles alone in the Spaghetti western genre. He was active as a fotoromanzi
actor and how many other genres he may have appeared in is unknown.
As mentioned, Mario Acciai appeared in four Spaghetti westerns: “Johnny Oro”
(Ringo and His Golden Pistol) as a townsman in 1965, “Djurado” as a saloon
patron in 1966, “L’ ultimo pistolero” (Django the Last Killer) as a Barrett
henchman in 1967 and “Un esercito di 5 uomini” (The 5-Man Army) as a villager
in 1969.
ACCIAI, Mario [Italian] –
fotoromanzi, film, TV actor.
Ringo and His Golden
Pistol – 1965 (townsman)
Djurrado – 1966
(saloon patron)
Django the Last
Killer – 1967 (Barrett henchman)
The 5-Man Army –
1969 (villager)
Spaghetti Western Director ~ George Holloway
Giorgio Capitani was an Italian film and television director and screenwriter renowned for his contributions to both cinema and popular Italian broadcasting, particularly through comedic films and acclaimed TV miniseries. Born in Paris on December 29, 1927, to Italian parents, Capitani began his career in the film industry as an assistant director in 1946, collaborating on projects with directors like Vittorio Cottafavi, before making his directorial debut in 1954 with the Italian version of “Delirio”.
Over the course of
his six-decade career, Capitani directed approximately 40 films, transitioning
from early peplum adventures such as “Ercole, Sansone, Maciste” e “Ursus gli
invincibili” (1964) to successful light-hearted comedies in the 1960s and
1970s, including “La notte è fatta per rubare” (1967), “L'arcangelo” (1969), “Aragosta
a colazione” (1979), and “Vai avanti tu che mi vien da ridere” (1982). By the
1980s, he increasingly focused on television, producing and directing
miniseries that garnered widespread acclaim, such as ‘...E non se ne vogliono
andare!’ (1983) and its sequel ‘...e poi se ne vanno?’ (1984), as well as
biographical dramas like ‘Papa Luciani: Il sorriso di Dio’ (2006), ‘Il generale
Dalla Chiesa’ (2007), and ‘Puccini’ (2009).
Capitani's most enduring legacy lies in his creation of the iconic TV series ‘Il maresciallo Rocca’ (1996–2005), starring Gigi Proietti as the titular character, a principled carabinieri marshal in a small Tuscan town; the series, partially filmed in Capitani's adopted hometown of Viterbo, became a cornerstone of Italian television with its blend of crime drama and humor, spawning multiple seasons and specials. He also penned screenplays for notable works, including contributions to “Italian Restaurant” (1994), and continued directing into the 2010s with projects like the comedy series “Dove la trovi una come me?” (2011). Capitani passed away in Viterbo at the age of 89 on March 25, 2017, after a brief hospitalization, leaving behind a body of work that bridged generations of Italian entertainment.
Giorgio Capitani using the alias George Holloway directed on Spaghetti western, “Ognuno per sé” (The Ruthless Four) in 1967.
HOLLOWAY, George (aka Giorgio
Capitini, George Holloway) (Giorgio Capitani) [12/29/1927, Paris,
Île-de-France, France - 3/25/2017, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy] – director, assistant
director, writer, actor.
The Ruthless Four –
1967
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Marino Dares
Marino Darés was born in Valencia, Spain on June 7, 1994. He is a Spanish screenwriter and director. At 21, he premiered his first feature film, “Red Clouds” (2016), a western shot in natural landscapes with a small independent crew. The film won the Audience Award at the Almería Western Film Festival in 2016. In 2018, he released “Blind Hawk”, a neo-noir thriller that premiered at the 33rd Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove. In recent years, he has directed several short films, including “Last Trial: A Star Wars Collateral Story” (2023), which was selected at festivals such as Cinema Jove, the Lanzarote International Film Festival, the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, FIFF London, and the Birmingham Film Festival. Recently, he directed “Rebel Storm: A Star Wars Collateral Story” (2025), selected and awarded internationally, including a premiere at LA Comic Con.
Marino Dares has written two screenplays for Spaghetti westerns: “Sin Sombra” in 2012 which he also directed and “Nubes rojas” (Red Clouds) along with Sergio Villanueva, Àlvar López and Kevin Castellano a film he also directed in 2016.
DARES, Marino (Marino Darés)
[6/7/1994, Valencia, Valencia, Spain -
] – director, assistant director, writer, film editor,
Sin Sombra – 2012
Nubes rojas – 2016
(co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Hanns Matula
Hanns Matula is an Austrian cinematographer known for his prolific contributions to post-World War II Austrian and German cinema as a director of photography on nearly fifty films and numerous television productions. Born on 6 December 1923 in Vienna, Austria, he began his career in the late 1940s, initially working as an editor on films such as ''Märchen vom Glück'' (1949) before transitioning into camera operating and cinematography roles.
Matula established himself as a reliable director of photography during the 1960s and 1970s, contributing to films including ''…und ewig knallen die Räuber'' (1962), often working in popular genres of the era. He frequently collaborated with director Franz Antel on light-hearted and comedic productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including titles such as ''Some Like It Cool'' (1976) and ''Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown'' (1987), which marked one of his final projects.
His extensive body of work spanned feature films, television series, and various genres, reflecting the evolution of Austrian commercial cinema from the reconstruction period through the late twentieth century. Matula died on 8 July 1987 in Vienna at the age of 63.
Hanns Matula was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “Heiß weht der Wind” (Legend of a Gunfighter) in 1964.
MATULA, Hanns [12/6/1923, Vienna,
Austria – 7/8/1987, Vienna, Austria] – cinematographer, cameraman.
Legend of a
Gunfighter – 1964
“Sie verkaufen den tod”
(Massacre at Fort Holman)
(1972)
Director: Tonino Valerii
Starring: James Coburn, Bud Spencer, Telly Savalas
Country: Germany
Label: Retro Gold
BluRay/DVD combo, Limited to 50 copies
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Language: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono German
Running time: 112 minutes / 82 minutes
Extras: English Trailer, German Trailer, German revival
trailer, Italian trailer, Image gallery
EAN: 0781365724182
Available: August 3, 2026
From the heart of California to the wild landscapes of the Italian Apennines, the international star continues his partnership with artist and producer Tiziano Cavaliere, realizing the dream of a lifetime with a western that combines adventure, mystery and esoteric atmospheres
ROMA
July 20, 2026
"Tex McKenzie", the new film starring Ronn Moss that marks a historic moment in the career of the international actor, was premiered at the Ischia Global Festival: his directorial debut.
A deeply personal project, born from a dream cultivated since childhood and which has its roots in the history of his family. Raised in California among ranches, horses and rodeos, Ronn Moss has been immersed in the imagery of the West since he was a child. His father organized some of the most important rodeos in California, while his mother was a riding instructor. It is no coincidence that as a boy he was known by the nickname of "Little Tex", a nickname that today seems to have found its natural consecration on the big screen.
If Hollywood in the fifties represented the cradle of western cinema, it is in Italy that Moss chose to make his first film of this genre, ideally following in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood and the great tradition of spaghetti westerns.
The character of Tex reflects many aspects of the personality of Ronn Moss himself, who thus returns to play an intense and charismatic role destined to conquer the international audience and his many fans.
The cast includes Stefano Sala, Daniel Nilsson, Sofia Elena Taglioni, Yassmin Pucci and also a cameo by actress and producer Devin DeVasquez, wife of Ronn Moss.
"Tex McKenzie" will arrive in US theaters this fall 2026 and then in the rest of the world.
The film is produced by Tiziano Cavaliere, Ronn Moss, Devin DeVasquez, Francesca Ceccarelli and Alessandra Grimoldi for Bros Group Italia, 11:11 Films International and Adamantis Europe.
The screenplay is signed by Tiziano Cavaliere and
Donatella Corrado, while the soundtrack is composed by Pino Di Pietro, Tiziano
Cavaliere and Ronn Moss.
