Cemetery with crosses - legends lost but remembered: Difference between revisions

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=== FRESH GRAVES ===
=== FRESH GRAVES ===


*'''ALESSANDRONI, ALessandro - 3/16/1925, Soriano, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 3/26/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy
*'''ALESSANDRONI, Alessandro - 3/16/1925, Soriano, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 3/26/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy


The great Italian maestro Alessandro Alessandroni, the famous whistler and guitar player of the Spaghetti westerns died March 26, 2017 in Rome, Italy. He was 92 years-old. Along with his choral group “I Cantoi Moderni” he was a major influence on the genre from the outset. I was his whistling we heard on the opening credit sequence of “Fistful of Dollars”. His whistling and guitar work were used in numerous westerns as he worked with many of the composers of the day including most often Ennio Morricone and Francesco DeMasi. Alessandro played multiple instruments, including the guitar, mandolin, mandolincello, sitar, banjo, accordion, and piano, and composed over 40 film scores and countless library music.  
The great Italian maestro Alessandro Alessandroni, the famous whistler and guitar player of the Spaghetti westerns died March 26, 2017 in Rome, Italy. He was 92 years-old. Along with his choral group “I Cantoi Moderni” he was a major influence on the genre from the outset. I was his whistling we heard on the opening credit sequence of “Fistful of Dollars”. His whistling and guitar work were used in numerous westerns as he worked with many of the composers of the day including most often Ennio Morricone and Francesco DeMasi. Alessandro played multiple instruments, including the guitar, mandolin, mandolincello, sitar, banjo, accordion, and piano, and composed over 40 film scores and countless library music.  

Revision as of 08:24, 27 March 2017

KÜLOWThis page is our personal hall of fame. A reminder to us all that even though considered a B-genre, Spaghetti Westerns were full of great characters, played by great people. Many have passed away, and while we are young growing up re-watching all these classics, many more will probably leave us. May they be remembered. What follows, is a work-in-progress, a growing list of legends who have passed away...

sorted by their last names:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z|}

FRESH GRAVES

  • ALESSANDRONI, Alessandro - 3/16/1925, Soriano, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 3/26/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The great Italian maestro Alessandro Alessandroni, the famous whistler and guitar player of the Spaghetti westerns died March 26, 2017 in Rome, Italy. He was 92 years-old. Along with his choral group “I Cantoi Moderni” he was a major influence on the genre from the outset. I was his whistling we heard on the opening credit sequence of “Fistful of Dollars”. His whistling and guitar work were used in numerous westerns as he worked with many of the composers of the day including most often Ennio Morricone and Francesco DeMasi. Alessandro played multiple instruments, including the guitar, mandolin, mandolincello, sitar, banjo, accordion, and piano, and composed over 40 film scores and countless library music.


  • CAPITANI, Giorgio - 12/29/1927, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 3/25/2017, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Veteran Italian film director Giorgio Capitani passed away at the Belcolle Hospital in Viterbo, Italy on March 25th he was 89. Capitani was born in Paris, France on December 29, 1927. He directed 40 films between 1954 and 2012 and also wrote screenplays for 12 films. His lone Euro-western was “The Ruthless Four” (1968) starring Van Heflin, Gilbert Roland, George Hilton and Klaus Kinski.


  • MILIAN, Tomas (Tomás Quintin Rodriguez Milian) - 3/3/1933, Cutono, Cuba - 3/22/2017, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

Tomás Milian (Tomás Quintin Rodriguez Milian) died at his Miami, Florida home on March 22nd. He was born on the 3rd of March 1933 in Cutono, Cuba near Havana. His father was Tomas Rodriguez, a general serving the dictatorship of Gerardo. After having problems in his childhood and having been the eyewitness of his father’s suicide, he decided in 1955 to leave Cuba to become an actor in America. Arriving in Miami, he began a score of small jobs (dishwasher, valet attendant, etc),which might have proved good inspiration for his latter working class heroes and ever-changing, on-screen personas. After spending a few months in the Navy, to get his American citizenship, he passed an audition at Elia Kazan's Actor's Studio, where he was taught the seminal "Stanislavskij method" of acting. He acted in a Broadway piece that had been written just for him, Maidens and Mistresses and At Home at the Zoo by Meade Roberts. He then wanted to play bigger roles so he left the U.S.A. to go to Italy. Soon he worked with Italian arthouse film-directors and played in several Italian productions. His first big roles in Spaghetti Westerns were in Sergio Sollima's “The Big Gundown” (1967) and in Giulio Questi's infamous “Django Kill!” (1967). After the Spaghetti Western era, his career slowed down. He moved back to America, where he pursued a low-key career as a character actor. You can see him in Stephen Soderberghs's “Traffic” (2001) and Oliver Stone's “JFK” (1991). Having an amazing, more than thirty year-long acting career, there seemed to be no end to the talents of this Cuban chameleon - swdb.


  • RUSSEL, Tony (Antonio Pietro Russo) - 11/23/1925, Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.A. - 3/18/2017, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

Tony Russel passed away March 18, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born Nov. 23, 1925, in Kenosha, Wisconsin and was a former film, stage and television actor. He was noted for having worked in the Italian film industry in the mid-1960s and for his work as a voice actor where he was founder and president of English language Dubbers association (ELDA). Tony Russel lost out to Guy Williams as the star of Disney’s 1957 Zorro TV series but did play the legendary character in his only Euro-western “Behind the Mask of Zorro” (1965). I was lucky enough to interview Tony years ago and he was a delightful man and full of information on film acting in Italy and his participation in founding the Voice Actors Union. This union provided English speaking actors for dubbing Italian films and tried to keep the same English voice used for the Italian starring roles so they would always sound the same.


  • LERI, Piero (Pietro Leri) - 8/4/1939, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 3/1/2017, Italy

Italian film, TV and voice actor Piero Leri (aka Peter Larry) died in Italy on March 1st. Leri’s career started during the first half of the 1960s in roles as a supporting actor. Despite his good dialect and preparation for his roles and a vague resemblance to his more well-known colleague Giuliano Gemma, he was relegated to that large group of character actors in supporting roles. Beginning in the first half of the 1980s he dedicated his career to occasional dubbing activity. Lieri appeared in three Euro-westerns: “The Man of the Cursed Valley” - 1964 (Torito) [as Peter Larry], “Rick and John, Conquerors of the West” – 1967 (accomplice with Barbara) and “California” – 1977


  • LEONE, Carla (Carla Ranalli) - 11/14/1931, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 3/20/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The wife of Sergio Leone passed away on March 20th after suffering from dementia. Born Carla Ranalli, she married Sergio in 1960 and they remained a couple until his death in 1989. She was the mother of Rafaella, Francesca and Andera Leone. Although she never appeared in a Euro-western she did offer her support to her husband during his career and appeared in several documentaries and recorded interviews for many years. Thanks to Toscano for contacting me with the sad news.


  • WILKES, Kenneth (Kenneth Edward Wilkes) - 10/9/1923, Buckinghamshire, England, U.K. - 3/12/2017, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Kenneth Wilkes was born in Buckinghamshire, England on October 9, 1923, and raised in London. He served in the British Army in Italy and Iraq during the Second World War and was the proud recipient of three military service medals. After graduating from theatre school and performing in London-area theatres, he moved to Canada in 1957. Within one year he received the Best Actor Award at the Dominion Drama Festival for his performance as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot. The curtain had been raised on a distinguished career in theatre, film, radio drama and television that would span half a century. Kenny died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of cancer on March 12, 2017. He appeared as Curry in the Euro-western TV series ‘The Campbells’ in 1986.


  • TADEJ, Vladimir - 5/9/1925, Novska, Croatia, Yugoslavia - 3/1/2017

Production designer and art director Vladimir Tadej has died at the age of 92. Vlad worked on most of the Winnetou films as a production designer and art director. He also was a screen writer on 1957’s “Cowboy Jimmy” and appeared as himself in the 2004 television documentary ‘Auf den Spuren Winnetous’.


  • GIOMINI, Romano - 1936, Italy - 3/1/2017, Italy

Italian supporting and character actor Romano Giomini died on March 2, 2017. He was 80. Born in Italy in 1936 Giomini appeared in over two dozen films from 1961-1967. He was a film and television editor after his film career ended. Giomini appeared in several films billed as Gordon Steve. Romano appeared in action films such as sword and sandal and crime and western films. Romano appeared in three Euro-westerns: “Stranger in Scramento” and “A Fistful of Knuckles” (both 1965) and $5.00 for Ringo” in 1966.


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