Cemetery with crosses - legends lost but remembered

This page is our personal hall of faml'e. 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 last name: 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

• UBALDI, Marzia - 6/2/1938, Milan, Lombardy, Italy - 10/20/2023, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian actress and voice dubber Marzia Ubaldi died on October 20th. She was 85. Born in Milan, Italy on June 2, 1938, and began her career as a theater actress in the 1960s at the Piccolo Teatro. She also had a brief career as a singer. In addition, she was voice dubber for many famous foreign actresses, such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Anne Bancroft, Gena Rowlands, Vanessa Redgrave, Jeanne Moreau, she has also starred in several films, such as The Women's Doctor (1962), or Controsesso (1964), by Marco Ferreri. Between 1960 and 1967 she was married to actor Gastone Moschin, with whom she had a daughter, Emanuela. Together with Moschin they founded the Mumos Academy of theatrical, television and film acting, based in Terni. Marzia was the Italian voice of Rosalba Neri in 1969’s “El Puro” and Virna Lisi in 1974’s “Challenge to White Fang”.

• YOUNG, Burt (Gerald Tommaso De Louise) - 4/30/1940, Queens, New York, U.S.A. - 10/8/2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

American tough guy actor Burt Young known for his role as Paulie Pennino, the brother-in-law of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film series, died on October 8, 2023. He was 83. Born Gerald Tommaso De Louise in Queens, New York on April 30, 1940. Burt was trained as a boxer in the U.S. Marine Corps where he had a 32-2 record. After the service he became a pro and went 17-0. He became an actor and appeared in such films as “Chinatown”, “Convoy”, “Back to School”, “The Pope of Greenwich Village” and “Once Upon a Time in America”. Burt appeared in two Eur-westerns as Andrews in 1989's "Blood Red" directed by Peter Masterson and starring Giancarlo Giannini and Dennis Hopper an as Reno in 1995’s “North Star” directed by Nils Gaup and starring James Caan and Christopher Lambert.

• DESIDERI, Osvaldo - 2/16/1939, Borgo Pio, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 10/18/2023, Italy.

Academy Award winning Italian set designer and dresser Osvaldo Desideri died on October 18, 2023. He was 84. Desideri was born in the Rome suburb of Borgo Pio on February 16, 1939. He began as an assistant set designer then met Ferdinando Scarfiotti with whom he had the opportunity to work with Luchino Visconti, on “Death in Venice” and with Billy Wilder on “Avanti!” He then met Bernardo Bertolucci and Vittorio Storaro and brought his talent to over 120 films, including Antonioni's “Professione: reporter”, Pasolini's “Salò”, Fellini's” The City of Women”, Liliana Cavani's “The Night Porter” and Sergio Leone's “Once Upon a Time in America.” In 1988 he was awarded the Oscar, the Davide di Donatello and the Ciak d'oro for the best set design of “The Last Emperor”. Osvaldo was the set designer and dresser for one Spaghetti western 1981’s “Buddy Goes West” directed by Michele Lupo and starring Bud Spencer, Amidou and Joe Bugner.

• GUZMAN, Jesús (Jesús Guzmán Gareta) - 6/15/1926, Madrid, Madrid, Spain – 10/16/2023, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Legendary Spanish actor Jesús Guzman died on October 16, 2023 he was 97. Born Jesús Guzmán Gareta. Guzman was the great-grandson of the actor Antonio Guzmán. Jesús was born an actor as a newborn with his parents and travelled all over the world with theatre troupes. He made his film debut in in 1956’s “Manolo guardia urbano” directed by Rafael J. Salvia and starring Pedro Masó and Salvia. Guzman played the role of Sr. Jiménez. He’s go on to appear in over 130 films and television appearances. He’s best remembered for his moment of greatest popularity when he appeared on Spanish television as Braulio the postman in the series 'Crónicas de un pueblo' (1971). Although he never completely left the theatre, with the success of the series, he returned to form a company and toured Spain from town to town. Guzman was married to actress Elena Graci [1927- ] in 1951 and they had four daughters. Jesús appeared in 11 Spaghetti westerns but is probably best remembered as the peddler on the train who tells Colonel Douglas Mortimer, “This train doesn’t stop in Tucumcari.”

• MILO, Jean-Roger - 6/5/1957, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 10/15/2023, France

Jean-Roger Milo died on October 15, 2023, at the age of 66. Born in Paris on June 5, 1957, he began his film career in the early 1980s. He played villains in crime films, including “Mass Shooting” and “A Cop’s Sunday”. He then starred in “Sarraounia” where he played the character of Paul Voulet. Among the most important roles of his career, we also note that of Chaval in Claude Berri’s “Germinal”, which earned him a César nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Milo appeared in one Euro-western 1991’a “Terre Rouge” in the role of Robert.

• GLADKOV, Gennady (Gennady Igorevich Gladkov) - 2/18/1935, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R. - 10/16/2023, Moscow, Russia

Famous Soviet-Russian composer Gennady Gladkov passed away in the Russian capital on Monday aged 88, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Gladkov was known for composing music for over 100 Soviet and Russian films, cartoons and theatrical plays. Among the other famous Soviet films featuring Gladkov’s music are "Gentlemen of Fortune," "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Dog in the Manger." During his life, Gladkov was named a People's Artist of the Russian Federation, the country's highest artistic honor, and received the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, Fourth Class. Gladkov composed the score for the 1987 Euro-western “A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines”.

• LOCHTOVE, Klaus - 12/6/1953, Germany - 8/17/2023, Germany

German voice actor and dubber Klaus Lochtove died in Germany on August 17, 2023. He was 69 years old. Born in Germany on December 6, 1953, he was an accomplished voice actor an extended series of films and TV dubbing. He also did quite a few of incidental characters in franchises like ‘Law & Order’, and he's also been active with various DC Comics projects and the Detective Conan franchise. He also voiced Fitor in “Challenge of the GoBots”. He was the German voice of Bo Greigh in the 1990 Terence Hill film “Lucky Luke” and lent his voice of William P. Yazzie and Dough Molitor the following year in the TV series of the same name. In the 1991 Euro-western ‘The New Zorro’ starring Duncan Regehr he was the German voice of Jacobo Sanchez.

• BURR, Jeff (Jeffrey Burr) - 7/18/1963, Aurora, Ohio, U.S.A. - 10/11/2023, Dalton, Georgia, U.S.A.

American director, writer Jeff Burr, the horror specialist who directed Vincent Price in one of his last movies and entries in the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre II”, “Puppet Master”, “Pumpkinhead” and the ‘Stepfather’ franchises, has died. He was 60. Burr died October 10, 2023 in his sleep in Dalton, Georgia, of apparent complications from a stroke. Jeffrey Burr was born in Aurora, Ohio, on July 18, 1963, and raised in Dalton, Georgia where he became a fan of movie monsters and made his own Super-8 pictures while in junior high school. He attended USC but left after three years to finish a short film, “Divided We Fall” (1982), about two brothers on opposing sides of the Civil War who meet on the battlefield. Jeff directed one Euro-western, 1999’s “Phantom Town” starring Taylor Locke, John Patrick White and Lauren Summers. The movie was filmed in Romania.

• LUNOE, Lars - 4/19/1936, Copenhagen, Denmark - 10/9/1923, Copenhagen, Denmark

Danish actor, and director Lars Lunøe died in Copenhagen, Denmark on October, 9, 2023. He was 87. Born on April 19, 1936 in Copenhagen, he wasthe son of High Court lawyer Erik Martin Lunøe and his wife Agnete von Bülow. Lars was educated at Aarhus Theatre's student school from 1960 to 1962 after first studying at law school for 2 years. He made his debut as an actor in the TV program " Retten er sat” (The Court is Set) in 1959. He went on to study acting in Berlin, Munich and Paris in 1964 and London in 1972. Lars Lunøe had his breakthrough in 1964 in his performance in "Gigi". In the late 60s, he left Aarhus Theatre for a freelance career - and later played on all the regional stages and in all the Copenhagen theatres. Lars Lunøe participated in a large number of plays, where he interpreted everything from Shakespeare to Ibsen and Holberg. He appeared in over 30 films and 20 TV series. Among the films were two Euro-westerns as Slim O’Hara in 1970’s “Tough Guys of the Prairie” and the sequel “Gold for the Tough Guys of the Prairie” in 1971.

• BUTKUS, Dick (Richard Marvin Burkus) - 12/9/1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. - 10/5/2023, Malibu, California, U.S.A.]

Legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus died in his sleep at his Malibu, California home on October 5, 2023. He was 80. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was named the second greatest player in Bears’ history in 2019, the same year that he made the league’s 100th anniversary all-time team. Butkus’ No. 51 was retired on Oct. 31, 1994. Retiring in the spring of 1974, Butkus was a pitchman for a number of products while also acting in film and television. He also had a run as an NFL radio and television analyst, including the WGN-AM calls of Bears’ games during the 1985 Super Bowl championship season. Dick Butkus appeared in only one Spaghetti western “Cipolla Colt” (Cry Onion aka Spaghetti Western) in 1974 directed by Enzo Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Sterling Hayden.

• DANNEBERG, Thomas - 6/2/1942, Berlin, Germany - 9/30/2023, Wannsee, Berlin, Germany

Germany’s most famous dubbing voice Thomas Danneberg died from a stroke at his home in Wannsee, Berlin, Germany. He was 81. Danneberg was born on June 2, 1942, and was a German actor and voice actor who made a significant impact in the film industry. He was best recognized for his role as Charles Emerson in the 1967 Edgar Wallace film “The Blue Hand”. However, his voice was his passport to fame, dubbing over actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terence Hill, Franco Nero, Sylvester Stallone, John Cleese, Dan Aykroyd, Adriano Celentano, Nick Nolte, John Travolta, Michael York, Rutger Hauer, and Dennis Quaid. His contribution to the German trance/techno-band E Nomine further expanded his repertoire, marking him as a versatile artist.

Thomas Danneberg’s Euro-westerns – voice actor: Frontier Hellcat – 1964 [German voice of Mirko Kraljev], The Desperado Trail – 1965 [German voice of Ivan Novak], Duel at Sundown – 1965 [German voice of Terence Hill], The Tramplers – 1965 [German voice of Franco Nero], The Hellbenders – 1966 [German voice of Julian Mateos], Kill or Be Killed – 1966 [German voice of Fabrizio Maroni], The Ugly Ones – 1966 [German voice of Tomas Milian]. Winnetou and Old Firehand – 1966 [German voice of Pierre Brice]. For a Few Bullets More – 1967 [German voice of Peter Lee Lawrence], Gentleman Killer – 1967 [German voice of Joaquin Blanco] Kill and Pray – 1967 [German voice of Lou Castel], A Man, a Colt – 1967 [German voice of Diego henchman], The Man from Canyon City – 1967 [German voice of Antonio Almoros], My Name is Pecos – 1967 [German voice of Carlo Gaddi], Ace High – 1968 [German voice of Terence Hill], Day of Anger – 1968 [German voice of Giuliano Gemma], God Forgives… I Don’t – 1968 [German voice of Terence Hill], If You Want to Live… Shoot! – 1968 [German voice of poker player], Stranger in Paso Bravo – 1968 [German voice of Anthony Steffen], To Hell and Back – 1968 [German voice of George Hilton], Viva Django – 1968 [German voice of Terence Hill], The Wild and the Dirty – 1968 [German additional voice], Boot Hill – 1969 [German voice of Terence Hill], True Grit – 1969 [German voice of Glen Campbell], The Unholy Four – 1969 [German voice of Leonard Mann], Doc – 1970 [German voice of Denver John Collins], El Topo – 1970 [German voice of Juan José Gurrola], Have a Good Funeral – 1970 [German voice of killer #2], Santana Kills Them All – 1970 [German voice of Alvaro de Luna], Catlow – 1971 [German voice of Michale Delano], Companeros – 1971 [German voice Franco Nero], His Name was Pot They Called Him Joy – 1971 [German voice of Peter Martell], Lawman – 1971 [German voice of Richad Jordan], Valdez is Coming – 1971 [German voice of Richard Jordan], Call of the Wild – 1972 [German voice of Horst Heuck], Pancho Villa – 1972 [German voice of Angel del Pozo], Tedeum – 1972 [German voice of Giancarlo Prete], They Call Me Providence – 1972 [German voice of Horst Janson], Trinity is STILL My Name – 1972 [German voice of Terence Hill], My Name is Nobody – 1973 [German voice of Terence Hill], The Crazy Bunch – 1974 [German voice of George Hilton], White Fang to the Rescue – 1974 [German voice of Maurizio Merli] , The Genius – 1975 [German voice of Giuliano Gemma], The White, the Yellow, the Black – 1975 [Giuliano Gemma], Spaghetti Western – 1976 [German voice of Franco Nero], Garden of Venus – 1981 [German voice of Jorge Rivero], Django Strikes Again – 1987 [German voice of Franco Nero], They Call Me Renegade – 1987 [German voice of Terence Hill], Lucky Luke – 1990 German voice of Terence Hill], Troublemakers – 1994 [German voice of Terence Hill], Doc West – 2008 [German voice of Terence Hill], Triggerman – 2008 [German voice of Terence Hill]