Cemetery with crosses - legends lost but remembered

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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

  • HEERMANN, Christian - 9/11/1936, Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany

Died: 11/27/2017, German

The respected Karl May researcher Christian Heermann, born September, 11, 1936 in Chemnitz, died on November 27, 2017. Heermann was from 1993 to 2013 Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board Karl May House Hohenstein Ernstthal and for many years Chairman of the Karl May Circle of Friends Leipzig. Even in GDR times, he published the Karl May biography "The Man Who was Old Shatterhand", updated in 2002 under the title " Winnetous Blutsbruder" (Karl-May-Verlag). A settlement with the GDR authorities appeared in 1995 under the title "Old Shatterhand Rode Not on Behalf of the Working Class".


  • COLNAGHI, Ignazio - 6/16/1924, Milan, Lombardy, Italy - 11/25/2017, Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Italian actor, writer and voice dubber Ignazio Colnaghi died in Milan, Italy on November 25th. He was 83. Colnaghi was born on June 16, 1924, Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Known by the stage name of Ignatius Colnigee he began his career at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan with Dario Fo and Franco Parenti, then followed them into variety shows on radio, but he preferred to devote himself early into voice dubbing. He was the voice of the cartoon characters Calimero, the black chick protagonist of the lucky carousels and the caterpillar John Little the friend of Rat Gigio. Ignazio was also the Italian voice of Fernandel in his early films and Pierre Brasseur. With Angio Zane he wrote the screenplay of the 1964 Euro-western “Okay, Sheriff” which starred Frank Senis.


  • HOWARD, Rance (Harold Rance Beckenholdt) - 11/17/1928, Oklahoma, - 11/25/2017, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Actor Rance Howard, father of director Ron Howard and Clint Howard, died on Saturday November 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. He was 89. Born in Oklahoma on November 17, 1928, Howard’s acting career spanned several decades. His film credits include “Chinatown” and Alexander Payne’s 2013 drama “Nebraska.” On the small screen, he appeared in several TV shows like “Seinfeld,” “Murder, She Wrote” and Ron Howard’s “Happy Days.” He appeared in only one Euro-western; 1977’s “Another Man, Another Chance” as the wagon master.


  • BERLING, Peter - 3/20/1934, Obrawalde, Meseritz, West Prussia - 11/20/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Peter Berling, a husky German character actor best known for his many collaborations with Werner Herzog, who also appeared in Hollywood films such as Gangs of New York and The Name of the Rose, has died. He was 83. Berling died on Monday in Rome, his agency confirmed. Berling was born on March 20, 1934 in Obrawalde, Meseritz, West Prussia. He was also a successful film producer and accomplished novelist and had lived in the Italian capital since the late 1960s.Berling acted in more than 130 films in his decades-long career but his best-known work was for Werner Herzog, who cast him in several of his early films, including Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972), Fritzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). Berling also worked for Herzog's contemporary, legendary German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In addition to walk on roles in numerous Fassbinder films, Berling produced the director's 1971 drama Beware of a Holy Whore. His Euro-western films include: Whity – 1971 (hefty bartender,)Return of Halleluja - 1972 (Lt. Schultz, The Three Musketeers of the West - 1973 (Hans,Tex and the Lord of the Deep - 1985 (El Morisco) and Texas - Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem - 1993 (Hank Snyder)


  • BACALOV, Luis (Luis Enriquez Bacalov) - 8/30/1933, San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina - 11/15/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Argentine composer Luis Enriquez Bacalov died at San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome today November 15th. He was 84. He had been hospitalized in recent days due to an ischemia. In the 1960s he worked as arranger for Claudio Villa and Milva, as well as for Nico Fidenco, Rita Pavone, Umberto Bindi and Gianni Morandi. He formed a compositional association with Sergio Endrigo who lasted for twenty years. Bacalov composed soundtracks for several westerns and police films including “A Bullet for the General”, “Django” and“The Price of Power”. He worked for Fellini, Pasolini, Damiani, Scola, Rosi. Quentin Tarantino re-used his music for Kill Bill and Django unchained. Bacalov won an Academy Award for ‘Il Postino” in 1996.


  • GAMBI, Quinto - 1939, Tor Marancia, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 11/13/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian actor, stuntman and double for Tomas Milian died in Italy on November 13th. He was 78. Marco Giusti announced the passing on his Facebook page November 14th. Quinto worked in a fish market before being discovered for his resemblance to Cuban actor Tomas Milian. Milian and Quinto became great friends and Gambi studied all of Milian’s nuances until he could pass for Milian and double him in most of his crime films. Gambi can also be seen in “Viva Cangaceiro” (1970) as Pedro and “Another Try, Eh Providence?” (1973) as a bank client.


  • de la CALZADA, Chiquito (Gregorio Esteban Sánchez Fernández) - 5/28//1932, Málaga, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain - 11/11/2017, Málaga, Málaga Spain

Spanish flamenco singer, actor and comedian Chiquito de la Calzada died in Málaga Spain on November 11, 2017. He was 85. Calzada became very popular in Spanish TV shows during the mid-nineties due to his unique style, strongly based on a surreal approach to jokes and language and constant movement while telling his jokes, putting his hands in his waist as if he was in pain. On October 14th he fell in his home, and was rescued by firemen and hospitalized in Malaga where he recuperated favorably. On October 31st he returned to the Hospital Carlos Haya of Málaga, with chest pains and underwent blood tests. Finally his condition stabilized. On November 10th his health worsened and he was induced into a coma and was hospitalized at the intensive care unit. There he passed away on November 11th due to cardiac catheterization. Chiquito’s lone Euro-western was in 1996 as Condemor in Here Comes Condemor (The Sinner of the Plains).


  • LOVELOCK, Raymond - 6/19/1950, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 11/10/2017, Trevi, Umbria, Italy

Italian actor Raymond Lovelock died from a brain tumor in Trevi, Lombardy, Italy today at the age of 67. Lovelock was born to an Italian mother and a British father who met during WWII. Ray’s career spanned over 90 films and TV appearances from 1965-2016. He was discovered by an acting agent while performing in the Roman nightclub the Piper in a rock band with longtime friend and fellow thespian Tomas Milian. This lead to his first role in the spaghetti Western Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967). He would also appear in the Euro-western “The Return of El Coyote” in 1998. He is best remembered for his roles in Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Almost Human (1974), Violent City (1975), The Cassandra Crossing (1976) and the TV series Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976). He is survived by his wife Gioia, their daughter Francesca Lovelock Romana and his brothers Michael and Andrea.


  • DOR, Karin (Kätherose Derr) - 2/22/1938, Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany - 11/6/2017, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

German actress Karin Dor died on November 6, 2017 in a Munich nursing home. She was 79. Dor had been in ill health since suffering a bad fall last year. Karin Dor, who starred in the 1967 Bond film “You Only Live Twice” alongside Sean Connery also portrayed Juanita de Cordoba in Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 thriller “Topaz” and starred in six Karl May ‘Winnetou’ films: The Treasure of the Silver Lake - 1962 (Ellen Patterson), Last of the Renegades - 1964 (Ribanna), The Last Tomahawk – 1964 (Cora Munroe), The Desperado Trail – 1965, The Last Tomahawk – 1965 (Cora Munroe), The Valley of Death - 1968 (Mabel Kingsley). Born in Wiesbaden, Germany on February 22, 1938, Karin is survived by her only child, a son named Andreas Renell. She was married to actor George Robotham from 1988 until his death in 2007.


  • HARRIS, Brad (Brad Jan Harris) - 7/16/1933, St. Anthony, Idaho, U.S.A. - 11/7/2017, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.

Brad Harris, best known for his work in sword-and-sandal movies, died Tuesday November 7th. He was 84. Born in St. Anthony, Idaho on July 16, 1933, Harris later moved to California and attended UCLA on an athletic scholarship where he studied economics. After sustaining injuries from football, he was advised to take up weightlifting, which then sparked an interest in bodybuilding. The actor and stuntman followed his friends Steve Reeves, Gordon Mitchell and Gordon Scott to Europe for the majority of his career. Harris appeared in over 50 spy films and spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s, including “The Fury of Hercules,” “River Pirates of the Mississippi,” “Black Eagle of Santa Fe,” “Kiss, Kiss, Kill, Kill,” “Spy Today, Die Tomorrow,” “Death Trip,” “The Mad Butcher” and “Supermen.” Harris married actress Olga Schoberova in 1967. They had a daughter, Sabrina, before they divorced in 1969. In 1971, Schoberova remarried studio executive and producer John Calley, who adopted Sabrina. Later in his career, he served as an executive producer on several of his films including “King of Kong Island” and “The Mutations.”


  • BALDAN, Alberto (Alberto Baldan Benbo) - 194?, Milan, Lombardy, Italy - 11/5/2017, Italy

Alberto Baldan died in Italy on November 5th after a long illness. His younger brother and fellow composer Dario posted on his Facebook page. The two often performed together in various clubs in the late 1960s. Born in Milan in the mid 1940 Alberto first worked with the Clan Celentano then composed music for the movie “Io e Mara” in 1969. In 1971 he became the keyboardist for Il Dio Serpente with the music soundtrack composed by Augusto Martelli. The same year he worked with Lucio Battisti for “Amore Non Amore”. In 1974 he creates The Soul Of "Alì" Ben Djamballa and composed his only Euro-western score for “Tiger from the River Kwai as Albert Baldan. He worked with Mia Martini (Donna Sola, Piccolo Uomo, Minuetto) before his debut as a singer in 1975 with Aria and sold 25 million records across Europe.


  • SIMPSON, Dudley (Dudley George Simpson) - 10/4/1922, Malvern East, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - 11/4/2017, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Composer Dudley Simpson has died at the age of 95. He died in Australia on November 4th. Simpson was best remembered for his work on the Dr. Who TV series. Dudley worked on at least 290 episodes, writing the score to over 60 stories. His music provided the soundtrack to the majority of the adventures of the first four Doctors as well as contributing some of the most iconic TV Theme tunes, writing the title music for Blake's 7 and The Tomorrow People. He also wrote the music for two classic British TV western films “The Last of the Mohicans” (1971) and “Hawkeye”, the Pathfinder (1973). Simpson retired in the 1990's and returned to his native Australia. He returned to the UK in 2013 to help celebrate Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary


  • PETRAZZI, Gianluca - 9/3/1966, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 11/1/2017, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Gianluca Petrazzi died in Rome on November 1st. He was among the most prominent stunt men and stunt coordinators in Italy and abroad. Born in Rome, Italy on September 3, 1966 he was only 51 years old. Petrazzi appeared in one Euro-western: “Buck and the Magic Bracelet” (1996) in the role of Ezechiele. He was the son of assistant director, actor Riccardo Petrazzi [1938-2003] and brother of actor, stuntman Francesco Petrazzi. As the son of trapeze artists and other descendants of a circus family, he began his stunt career at the age of 9. He participated in more than 100 films, as a stuntman and stunt coordinator, he lead the action unit on countless films. As director he made several short films and in 2013 directed his first feature film "Criminal Rome". His lone Euro-western was as Ezechiele in 1996's "Buck and the Magic Bracelet"


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