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

• LANDGARD, JANET (Janet Alice Landgard) - 12/2/1947, Pasadena, California, U.S.A. - 11/6/2023, Papago Springs, Colorado, U.S.A.

American actress Janet Alice Landgard died of brain cancer at her Papago Springs, Colorado home on November 6th. She was 75. Landgard was born in Pasadena, California on December 2, 1947, and worked for the William Adrian Modeling Agency. While still at Pasadena High, she made her onscreen debut in 1963 on ‘The Donna Reed Show’, playing a girl named Sabrina on a fifth-season episode. She also appeared on ABC’s ‘My Three Sons’ that year. She would go on to star with Burt Lancaster in the 1968 film “The Swimmer” written by Eleanor Perry and directed by Frank Perry. Landgard appeared in one Spaghetti western as Kate Mayfield in 1969’s “Land Raiders” with Telly Savalas and George Maharis.

• PIGNATELLI, Micaela (Micaela Pignatelli Cendali) - 3/11/1945, Naples, Campania, Italy - 10/30/2023, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian film, TV and dubbing actress Micaela Pignatelli died in Rome, Italy on Octboer 30th. She was 78. Born Micaela Pignatelli Cendali in Naples, Campania, Italy on March 11, 1945, she entered films in the early 1960s and appeared in over 40 films and TV appearances. She also dubbed Jamie Lee Curtin in “Halloween” and Daryl Hannah in “Wall Street” along with several others. She was married to was at one time married to actor Flavio Bucci [1947-2020] and was the mother of their two children. Micaela appeared in only one Spaghetti western as Margaret in 1968’s “Piluk, the Timid One” directed by Guido Celano with Edmund Purdon.

• FOCAS, Spiros (Spyridon Michael Androutsopoulos) - 8/17/1937, Patras, Achaea, West Greece, Greece - 11/10/2023, Eleusis, Greece

Greek actor Spiros Focás’ died in Eleusis, Greece on November 10th. He was 86. Focás born on August 17, 1937, in Patras, Greece and was one of Greece's most respected and well-known actors. He was discovered by legendary Italian director Luchino Visconti and cast in a lead role in the classic “Rocco and His Brothers” (1960). He went on to star in many Greek and Italian films throughout the 1960s and 1970s, working with such famous directors as Vincente Minnelli and Ferdinando Baldi. His work in Hollywood includes the hit films “The Jewel of the Nile” (1985) and “Rambo III” (1988). His most recent work includes the role of Uncle Telly in “3 Nights in Nisyros” (2009). Focas appeared in on Spaghetti western as Ken Dakota in 1968’s “Hate Thy Neighbor” and starred as Pedro Suarez/Zorro in the 1969 semi-western “Zorro in the Court of England”. He was scheduled to play the role of Pancho in an upcoming American western entitled “Showdown in Durango”.

• ERLER, Rainer (Horst Rainer Erler) - 8/26/1933, Munich, Bavaria, Germany - 11/8/2023, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

German director Rainer Erler died in his adopted home in Perth, Australia. He was 90. Born Horst Rainer Erler the writer, director and producer was born in Munich, Germany on August 26, 1933. Erler is credited as the best maker of Dutch science-fiction films for Kino and for Fearnsehn, an as the director of that science-thriller, in that brisk commercial, political a wetland theme with plenty of excitement. Rainer was married to the co-producer of his films, Renate Erler. He also has two children with her, daughter Tatjana, and son Tobias. Erler was assistant director on the 1953 German western “Johnny Saves Nebrador” which starred Hans Albers.

• YABBAROV, Anatoli (Anatoli Akhmdovitch Yabbarov) - 8/24/1937, Bakov, Russia, U.S.S.R. - 11/6/2023, Moscow, Russia

Russian theater and film actor Soviet Anatoly Yabbarov, known for the film "Gentlemen of Fortune", died at the age of 86. Anatoly Akhmdovitch Yabbarov was born on August 24, 1937. Since 1996 he has worked at the State Theatre of Film Actor. In the same year he received the title of Honored Artist of Russia. The actor also starred in the film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment in 1969, the series Furtseva (2011). Anatoli appeared as Groboshchik in 1973’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

• CICOGNA, Marina - 5/29/1934, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 11/4/2023, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian photographer, film producer Marina Cicogni died in Rome on November 4, 2023. Cicogna grew up in Milan, Venice, and Cortina. She was the daughter of a banker, and her grandfather was Giuseppe Volpi, an influential figure in Italy's history; one of the country's richest men, he held many government posts and founded the Venice Film Festival. Cicogna attended Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, staying less than a year. While there, she befriended the daughter of Jack L. Warner; this connection facilitated Cicogna's introduction to other actors in Hollywood. She studied photography at another school in the United States, and took pictures of Hollywood friends, including Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo. At the age of 32, Cicogna decided to pursue a career in the film industry. Her mother bought a share in a film distribution company, and Cicogna suggested films for the business to purchase. She distributed the West German film Helga, which she described as the first time a birth was shown on screen. She publicized it by placing "ambulances at the exit of the film, saying that people would faint when they saw that". Marina and her brother Bino (Giuseppe Ascanio Cicogna Mozzoni) [1935-1971] were owners of San Marco Productions and produced several Spaghetti westerns including “Ace High” (1967), “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968) and “Boot Hill” (1969).

• WEPPER, Elmar - 4/16/1944, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany - 10/30/2023, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

German voice actor and dubber Elmar Wepper died in Munich, Germany on October 30th from heart failure. He was 79. Wepper was a titan of the silver screen, with a career that spanned over six decades. He lit up living rooms across the globe with his portrayal of Inspector Harry Klein in the popular TV series ‘Der Kommissar’, which aired from 1969 to 1976. His performance as the dedicated and intelligent police inspector became an iconic benchmark in the annals of television history. Elmar was born in Augsburg on April 16, 1944, and grew up in Munich. He studied German language and literature and theatre studies. He was also known for dubbing Mel Gibson's voice since the 1980s. Wepper was the German voice of Paul Hover in 1969’s “The Leatherstocking Tales” (Adventures in Ontario), Alberto Dell’Acqua’s voice in “Trinity & Sartana Those Sons of Bitches” and Robert Woods’ voice on 1975’s “White Fang and the Hunter”.

• MOLL, Richard (Charles Richard Moll) - 1/13/1943, Pasadena, California, U.S.A. - 10/26/2023, Big Bear, California, U.S.A.

Richard Moll, who portrayed the towering and tenderhearted bailiff Aristotle Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon on all nine seasons of the popular NBC sitcom Night Court during its original run, has died. He was 80. Moll died in Big Bear, California on October 26th. He was 80. Born Charles Richard Moll in Pasadena, California the 6-foot 8-inch actor played an abominable snowman alongside Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach in the comedy feature “Caveman” (1981), and he was a scary, decomposing Vietnam veteran in the horror film “House” (1986). Moll also did lots of voiceover work, with a regular gig as the immortal bodyguard Norman on the syndicated series Mighty Max and turns as Harvey Dent/Two-Face for three Batman cartoons. Moll appeared in two Euro-westerns. He acted in an uncredited role in the TV min-series ‘The Adventures of Smoke Bellew’ in 1995 and provided additional voices for the animated 1997 TV series ‘The Legend of Calamity Jane’.

• KANDEL, Stephen - 4/30/1927, New York City, New York, U.S.A. - 10/21/2023, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Prolific American writer Stephen Kandel died in Boston, Massachusetts on October 21st. He was 96. Born in New York City on April 30, 1927. He began his career in Hollywood in 1958, writing for the TV series ‘Sea Hunt’ with Lloyd Bridges. His vast filmography includes series such as ‘Star Trek’, ‘MacGyver’, ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Batman’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Hart to Hart’, ‘Iron Horse, ‘Six Million Dollar Man’, ‘Barnaby Jones’, ‘Mannix’, and many others. He also wrote the feature Euro-western film “Cannon For Cordoba” and “The Battle of The Coral Sea” and won the Humanitas Award for his television movie ‘Sonrise’. As mentioned above Kandel was a writer in the 1970 Euro-western “Cannon for Cordoba”.

• ROUNDTREE, Richard (Richard Arnold Roundtree) 7/9/1942, New Rochelle, New York, U.S.A. - 10/24/2023, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Richard Roundtree, who broke ground with his signature role in the Shaft movie franchise, passed away on October 24, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81. Born on July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, New York, Roundtree’s career spanned five decades and included everything from his most popular blaxploitation role to a very early appearance on ‘As the World Turns’ in 1956. Decades later, the actor reprised his role in the 2000 John Singleton movie “Shaft” starring Samuel L. Jackson and the 2019 Tim Story-directed sequel “Shaft”. Richard was married twice and had five children. Roundtree appeared in one Spaghetti Western 1972’s “Charley-One-Eye as ‘The Black Man’ with co-star Roy Thinnes.

• UBALDI, Marzia - 6/2/1938, Milan, Lombardy, Italy - 10/20/2023, Narni, Umbria, 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”.

• 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.