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

• LECHTENBRINK, Volker - 8/18/1944, Cranz, East Prussia, Germany - 11/22/2021, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

German actor, singer, general manager and director Volker Lechtenbrink has died in Hamburg, Germany on November 22, 2021, at the age of 77 as a result of a serious illness. Lechtenbrink, first appeared on stage at the Hamburger Schauspielhaus at the age of ten. He became famous in 1959 at the age of 14 with the role of schoolboy Klaus Hager in Bernhard Wicki’s famous anti-war film “Die Brücke”. In addition to his work at the theater and as a musician, the all-rounder with the smoky, memorable voice and the almost insatiable longing for life was regularly in front of the camera for television films and series (for example in “Derrick” and “Ein Fall für Zwei”). Volker appeared as Diener Jürgen in the German Euro-western TV mini-series “By Way of the Stars” in 1992.

• VERSINI, Marie (Marie Claude Versini) - 8/10/1940, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 11/22/2021, Guingamp,, Côtes-d'Armor, France

French actress Marie Versini died November 22, 2021 in Guingamp,, Côtes-d'Armor, France at age 81. Marie was born on August 10, 1940 in Paris. She was very talented, gifted and worked very hard and it paid off since she became the youngest ever member of the famous Comedie Francaisse in 1957. She got a chance at tender age of 16 and her first film was called “Mitsou” (1956). Her second film “A Tale of Two Cities” where she had big part with main start Dick Bogarde. In other films she starred with t\he likes of J. P. Belmondo, Paul Newman, Louis Armstrong, Alain Delon, Lex Barker, J. L. Trintignant and Pierre Brice. The mega successful Winnetou series made her a star. She was fluent in English, French, German and Italian. This also enabled her to play in various European films with great success. In 1974 she married director Pierre Vialett who died in 2013 and played mainly in his films. Versini appeared as Nscho-tschi, Winnetou’s sister in 1963’s “Apache Gold” and “Thunder at the Border”. She had a cameo appearance as an elderly woman in the 2016 German TV film ‘Winnetou - Der letzte Kampf'.

• GATLIN, Jerry (Gerald Joseph Gatlin) - 11/15/1933, Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A. - 3/4/2021. Sheridan, Wyoming, U.S.A.

American actor, stuntman and stunt coordinator Jerry Gatlin died in Sheridan, Wyoming on March 4, 2021. He 87. Born Gerald Gatlin in Colorado Springs, Colorado on November 15, 1933. One of the premier Hollywood stuntmen who started in films in the mid-1950s and continued, also becoming and actor until the late 1990s. Sometimes credited as Gerry Gatlin his primary work was in westerns and was seen in several John Wayne films. Sad to say no obituary has been written and I just found out about his passing today on what would have been his 88th birthday. He appeared in two Euro-westerns: “Triumphs of a Man Called Horse” (1982) as Winslow) and as stunt coordinator on 1989’s “Blood Red”.

• FOX, David - 3/24/1941, Swasticka, Ontario, Canada - 11/13/2021, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Stage and screen actor David Fox, revered for his commitment to bringing Canadian stories to life in the theatre, has died. Fox died of cancer in Toronto, Canada on November 13, 2021. Born in Swasticka, Ontario on March 24, 1941, he rose to prominence for his naturalistic performances in the early days of Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, originating roles in such seminal productions as The Farm Show, and 1837: The Farmer's Revolt. Fox was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2018 for his contributions as a champion of Canadian theatre.David appeared in two Euro-western TV series: ‘The Campbells’ (1989-1990) as Alistari MacDonald; ‘By Way of the Stars’ (1992-1993) and one Euro-western film “Grey Owl” (1999) as Jim Wood.

• ZIESCHE, Peter - 5/5/1955, East Berlin, German Democratic Republic - 11/3/2021. Berlin, Berlin, Germany

German cinematographer and cameraman Peter Ziesche died in Berlin, Germany on November 3, 2021. He was 65. Ziesche was born in East Berlin on May 5, 1955. He worked with knowledgeable directors such as Frank Beyer, Roland Gräf, Siegfried Kühn and Lothar Warneke. After working for DEFA process, he was a free-creative worker and became a wanted cameraman in the German film and television business. For his work in Bernd Sahlings' successful youth film DIE BLINDGANGER (2004) he was nominated for the German Camera Award. Ziesche was the cinematographer on the 2014 TV modern day Euro-western “Winnetou’s Weiber” (Winnetou’s Women).

• LAURENZI, Silvio - 5/20/1936, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 11/5/2021, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian costume designer and actor Silvio Laurenzi died in Rom, Italy on November 5, 2021. He was 85. Born in Rome on May 20, 1926, Silvio began his career in cinema in the first half of the 1960s as an actor, an activity that around the first half of the following decade began to alternate with that of stage costume designer - which over time became his actual profession, especially in the vein of comedies. In 2009 he won the gold medal at the A life for cinema event Laurenzi worked on two Spaghetti westerns: Dead Men Ride – 1971 [assistant costume designer]; The White, the Yellow and the Black – 1975 [costume designer]

• PIQUER Concha Márquez - 12/31/1945, Buenos Aires, Argentina - 10/18/2021, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Argentina born singer and actress Concha Márquez Piquer died in Madrid, Spain on October 18, 2021. She was 75. Born on December 31, 1946 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was the daughter of the renowned bullfighting figure Antonio Márquez and the famous singer Concha Piquer. She was hired by Columbia records with which she recorded several albums. The following year, 1971, she wanted to present herself as an actress and for this she chooses a book about La Bella Otero, written by the author Joaquín Calvo Sotelo, its title: One million roses. It is a musical comedy, which it is presented at the Maravillas Theater in Madrid, remaining on the bill for more than six months. During the next four decades she focused her career as a singer touring Europe and Mexico but she never reached the popularity of her mother. Concha appeared in one Euro-western “Yellow Hair and Fortress of Gold” (1984) as (the gambling woman).

• COGGIO. Antonio - 5/16/1939, Savona, Liguria, Italy - 10/19/2021, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian composer, arranger and record producer Antonio ‘Tonino’ Coggio died in Rome, Italy on October 19, 2021. He was 82. After starting to study piano, he completed his studies at the Niccolò Paganini Conservatory in Genoa; here comes into contact with some exponents of the Genoese school, becoming in 1964 the keyboardist of the group accompanying Gino Paoli; when the singer-songwriter signed to RCA Italian, he moved to Rome, and had the first recording studio experience with the album Gino Paoli at Studio A. Coggio is then hired at RCA as a musical assistant, on the initiative of Ennio Melis, but continues his live activity as keyboardist of Domenico Modugno, whose recordings the singer-songwriter makes at the end of the 1960s for RCA follows. In 1980 he founded, together with Roberto Davini, the production company Calycantus, which collaborates both with the Italian RCA and with CBS, working in the following years with musicians such as Luca Barbarossa , Mario Castelnuovo, Fiorella Mannoia (for which he writes Caffè nero bollente ), Mimmo Cavallo, Massimo Bizzarri and Mariella Nava. Coggio was a musical technician on 1967’s “Day of Anger”.

• BRYER, Denise - 1/15/1928, Kensington, London, England, U.K. - 10/16/2021, England, U.K.

British Actress and voice artist Denise Bryer has died, aged 93.Bryer passed away peacefully at her home in England on Saturday 16th October 16, 2021. Born on January 5, 1928, Bryer made her film debut aged just 9-years-old, going on to train at RADA and becoming a regular voice on British radio from the mid-1940s onwards. With a career that spanned an incredible 75 years, Bryer was perhaps best known for her work alongside legendary TV producer and Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson – in particular for her voice work on the series Terrahawks (1983-1986), terrorizing a generation with her performance as the villainous Zelda. Born on 5th January 1928, Bryer made her film debut aged just 9-years-old, going on to train at RADA and becoming a regular voice on British radio from the mid-1940s onwards. Bryer was the voice of of Ma Jones, Little Jake, Makooya on the Euro-western 1960 TV series ‘Four Feather Falls.”