Cemetery with crosses - legends lost but remembered

This 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 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

• MOSCOSO, Gerardo (Xerardo Moscoso Caamano) - 2/24/1945, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico - 5/23/2021, Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico

Mexican actor, producer, and director Gerardo Moscoso died Sunday morning May 23, 2021 in a private hospital in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. His death was due to several health complications that he had already suffered, and was unrelated to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gerardo Moscoso was born in Mexico City on February 24, 1945. He was the son of Galician immigrants and a doctor from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Compostela. Moscoso had a long and fruitful career in the field of national cinema and theater, where he had the opportunity to work with the best actors of his generation and with directors such as Ludwick Margulles, Raúl Quintanilla and Luis de Tavira, among many others. Gerardo appeared in one Euro-western as Sergeant Miller in the 1980 television series “My Friend Winnetou”.

• SCHNEIDERMAN, Wally (Walter Schneiderman) - 8/27/1922, Mareylebone, London, England, U.K. - 4/8/2021, England, U.K.

British make up artist Wally Schneiderman passed away on April 8, 2021. He was 99. Walter Schneiderman was a celebrated make-up artist to Hollywood stars such as Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren, Clark Gable, Kirk Douglas and Denzel Washington, he worked worldwide with leading directors and cinematographers on some of the greatest films made, achieving international recognition for his work. With this incredible wealth of experience Walter to set up his company, MAKE-UP INTERNATIONAL, in 1980s, developing and supplying cosmetics to meet the ever-exacting standards of the professional media industries. Wally worked on such noted films as “Chaplin”, “The Elephant Man”, “Mary Queen of Scots” and “The Dirty Dozen”. Wally was make-up artist on 1974's Euro-western "Billy Two Hats".

• DICHISEANU, Ion - 10/20/1933, Adjud, Vrancea, Romania - 5/20/2021, Bucharest, Romania

Romanian actor Ion Dichiseanu died on Thursday Mat 20, 2021 at the Floreasca hospital in Bucharest, Romania. The artist had been hospitalized for several months with a lung infection. In 1959, he graduated from the Institute of Theater and Cinematography, and later left with the full promotion at the Theater in Botosani, which had recently been established and was looking for actors. In 1960, he made his film debut in "Darclée", directed by Mihai Iacob, where he starred alongside Silvia Popovici and Victor Rebengiuc. The film was part of the official selection of the Cannes International Film Festival in 1961. He appeared in theater performances on the stages of theaters in Botosani and Galati, then came to Bucharest where he played on the stage in Nottara. Here he appeared in many plays, one of the most successful shows being "Little Hell", in which he played with Silvia Dumitrescu Timică, Lucia Mureşan and Ştefan Radof and in radio plays. He was married to singer Simona Florescu with whom he has a daughter, Ioana Georgiana, born in 1987 and also a granddaughter, Anastasia. Ion appeared in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Death of Injun Joe" both 1967, "The Leatherstocking Tales" (TV) – 1969 as Mathoree and "Severino" 1977 as as the ghost rider.

• O'BRIEN, Donal (Donal Timothee O’Brien) - 9/15/1930, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France - 4/23/2018, Andernos-les-Baines, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

I received an e-mail today from Philippe Rege with a copy of the official announcement of the passing of actor Donal O’Brien back in April, 2018.

O’Brien was born Donal Timothee O’Brien on September 15,1930 in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France and died on April 23, 2018 in Andernos-les-Baines, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. He appeared in 19 Euro-westerns starting with a small role in 1960’s “Dynamite Jack” starring Fernandel and ending in 1982 with “2020 Texas Gladiators”. He was a leading actor in the genre and starred in “Run, Man, Run” (1967) as Daniel/Nathaniel Cassidy with Tomas Milian; “Finders Killers” (1971) as Jack Forrest/Dan with Gordon Mitchell; “Jesse and Lester, Two Brothers in a Place Called Trinity” (1972) with Richard Harrison; “The Judgment of God” (1972) as ‘The Ace of Hearts’; “4 of the Apocalypse” (1974) as Sheriff of Salt Flat with Fabio Testi and Tomas Milian; “Keoma” (1975) as Caldwell with Franco Nero; “A Man Called Blade” (1977) as Burt Craven with Maurizio Merli and John Steiner and “Silver Saddle” (1978) as Fletcher with Giuliano Gemma.

In 1980 Donal slipped in the bathroom of a Parisian hotel and hit his head. He was in a coma for three days and discovered half of his body was paralyzed shortly after waking up. It took him nearly four years to recover from his injuries though he would have limited mobility for the rest of his life. This would also reduce the range of roles he could play. His last film was “Honey Sweet Love”, in 1999.

• GESCHER, Norbert (Norbert Gescher-Ringelnatz) - 12/14/ 1939, Berlin, Berlin, Germany - 4/30/2021, Germany

German actor and voice dubber Norbert Gescher died on April 30, 2021. He was 81. Born in Berlin, German on December 14, 1939 as Norbert Gescher-Ringelnatz, he was is a German voice actor. Gescher was well known for being the German voiceover of Steve Martin, Richard Dreyfuss, and Beau Bridges. Gescher is the son of German translator Muschelkalk Ringelnatz, who was also the widow of German author, painter and cabaret artist Joachim Ringelnatz. Gescher managed his legacy until his recent passing and was responsible for exhibitions. His voice was heard in three Euro-westerns: “His Name was Holy Ghost” (1972) [German voice of a soldier]; “Lucky Luke” (TV 1984) [German voice of Augustus Oyster] and in Bandidas (2006) [German voice of Jose Maria Negri],

• DOUGLAS, Anne (Hannelore Marx) - 4/23/1919, Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany - 4/29/2021, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.

Film producer Anne Douglas, philanthropist and widow of Kirk Douglas, Died at her Beverly Hills, California home at 102. She was born Hannelore Marx on April 23, 1991 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. She worked for director John Huston as a location scout and assistant on Moulin Rouge (1952), then began a three-year stint in 1953 as head of protocol at the Cannes Film Festival, scheduling parties and making sure they were filled with celebrities and media. She later became a casting director and a film producer after marrying Kirk Douglas in 1954. Anne was a producer on the 1973 Euro-semi-western “Scalawag”.