Cemetery with crosses - legends lost but remembered

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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

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FRESH GRAVES

  • BEINIX, Jean-Jacques - 10/8/1946, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 1/13/2022, Paris, Île-de-France, France

French film director Jean-Jacques Beineix died on Thursday January 13, 2022. at the age of 75, his family told Agence France Presse on Friday. Beineix came to prominence with his first film, “Diva”, in 1980, and achieved wider international fame in 1986 with the movie “Betty Blue”, starring Jean-Hugues Anglade and Beatrice Dalle. Beineix was the executive producer of the 2006 Euro-western “Requiem for Billy the Kid”.


  • WILKINSON, Marc (Marc Lancelott Wilkinson) - 7/27/1929, Paris, Île-de-France, France - 1/8/2022, Orsay, Essone, Île-de-France, France

RIP Marc Wilkinson. Composer, conductor, arranger Marc Wilkinson died in Orsay, France on January 8, 2022. He was 92. Wilkinson was born in Paris on July 27, 1929 and was best known for his film scores, including “The Blood on Satan's Claw”, and incidental music for the theatre, most notably for Peter Shaffer's “The Royal Hunt of the Sun”. His compositional approach combined traditional techniques with elements of the avant-garde. For most of his life he resided resident in the UK, he retired from composition and lived in France until his passing. Wilkinson was the composer and conductor for the 1979 Euro-western “Eagle’s Wing” starring Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston and Harvey Keitel.


  • Christy (Maria Cristina Brancucci) - 4/20/1940, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 1/11/2022, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The Italian dubbing website “Il Mondo dei Doppiatori” is reporting that Christy (Maria Cristina Brancucci) died January 11, 2022 in Rome. She was 81. He was the daughter of the composer Italo Brancucci [1904-1958], sister of the singer, lyricist and voice actor Ernesto Brancucci [1947-2021]. As a singer she was active in the 1960s and 70s using the pseudonyms Christy and Cristy. She began his career as a singer at the beginning of the 1960s , singing on various soundtracks made for the Italian RCA by xomposers such as Ennio Morricone and Luis Bacalov, often collaborating with Alessandroni's "Modern Cantori". In 1968 he dubbed Barbra Streisand in the sung parts of the film Funny Girl. She continued her dubbing career usually in animated features. She sang the title songs in two Euro-westerns: “The Big Gundown” (1966) and “Tepepa” (aka Nlood and Guns) 1969.


  • LAURENTI, Mariano - 4/15/1929, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 1/6/2022, Gubbio, Umbria, Italy

Italian director, writer Mariano Laurenti died in Gubbio, Umbria, Italy on January 6, 2022. He was 92. Born in Rome on April 15, 1929. He started as a script supervisor and later became an assistant director for, among others, Mauro Bolognini and Stefano Vanzina. He directed 50 films between 1966 and 1999, being mainly active in the "sexy comedies” genre of Italian films. Laurenti was the assistant director on 1962’s “Terrible Sheriff”, a writer as Francesco Martino on 1968’s “A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof” and directed Franco Franchi in 1975’s “The Grandson of Zorro”.


  • LANFRANCHI, Mario - 6/30/1927, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy - 1/3/2022 Valparma di Langhirano, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Italian producer, director, screenwriter and actor Mario Lanfranchi died in Valparma di Langhirano, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy on January 3, 2022. He was 94. Born in Parma on June 30, 1927, after graduating from the Accademia dei Filodrammatici in Milan, in 1952 Lanfranchi was called by Sergio Pugliese, director of television programs, to collaborate with the nascent Rai. He was the first to bring opera to the small screen, in 1956, with Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", which brought attention to the general public of Anna Moffo, then an unknown young American soprano, who became his wife the following year. Lanfranchi was also an owner of horses and greyhounds. He directed the 1968 Euro-western “Death Sentence” starring Tomas Milian.


  • CHILCOTT, Barbara (Barbara Chilcott Davis) - 9/10/1922, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada - 1/1/2022, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Canadian actress Barbara Chilcott died at her home in Toronto, Canada on New Year’s Day 2022. She was 99. A fixture of the Crest Theatre in Toronto and frequent player at the Stratford Festival in its early years, Chilcott moved between Canada and England during a prolific career on the stage, said William Scoular, a former colleague and acclaimed director. A fixture of the Crest Theatre in Toronto and frequent player at the Stratford Festival in its early years, Chilcott moved between Canada and England during a prolific career on the stage, said William Scoular, a former colleague and acclaimed director. She returned to Canada in 1950 and performed on CBC Radio before joining her brothers Murray Davis and Donald Davis in their summer theatre company, Straw Hat Players. Chilcott survived her husband Harry Somers, a renowned Canadian composer who passed away in 1999. She had no children. Chilcott appeared in one Euro-western, 1966’s ‘The Trap’ as trader’s wife. The British/Canadian co-production starred Oliver Reed and Rita Tushingham.


  • SCARPA, Renato - 9/14/1939, Milan, Lombardy, Italy - 12/30/2021, Monteverde, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Italian supporting and character actor Renato Scarpa died at his Rome, Italy home on December 30, 2021. He was 82. Born in Rome on September 14, 1939, Scarpa began his career in the early 1970s and went on to appear in over 160 films. He appeared in two Euro-westerns “Buddy Goes West” (1981) as Logan and “The Sons of Trinity” (1995) as Pablo.


  • COMAS, Jaime (Jaime Comas Gil) - 1936 Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain - 12/21/2021, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Spanish producer, screenwriter Jaime Comas died in Madrid, Spain on December 21, 2021. He was 85. Jaime Comas Gil was born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain in 1936. It was in 1964 when, hired by Ocean Films, he began writing and co-writing screenplays for international co-productions, most of them with Italy. Thus came the opportunity to embark on the script for "For a Fistful of Dollars," the first film in the Dollar Trilogy, followed by "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, the best-known title in his filmography and starring Clint Eastwood. The film which laid the groundwork for the “Spaghetti Western” as a film subgenre and brought fame to Clint Eastwood and director Sergio Leone, also focused on the Spanish screenwriter, who worked alongside other directors, A Bonzzoni and Victor Andres Catena in his writing. Comas founded Arcos Films in 1968, Alas Films in 1973, and New World Films International in 1998. He was a production manager, and screenwriter on “Fistful of Dollars” (1964) and associate producer on 1999’s “One Man’s Hero”.


  • CONWAY, Richard (Richard Stanley Palmer Conway) - 1/15/1942, Essex, England, U.K. - 12/22/2021, U.S.A.

British born Special Effects Supervisor Richard Coway died on December 22, 2021. H e was 79. Born Richard Stanley Palmer Conway, on January 15, 1942 in Essex, England. Conway began working in television in the 1960s, where he began his career working alongside Gerry Anderson. He worked on shows such as “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet” and “Joe 90”. While there, Conway met fellow visual effects pioneer George Gibbs and together they would go on to work on the 1969 classic “The Battle of Britain.” From there, Conway segued into film work. He was a senior effects supervisor on Dino De Laurentiis’, “Flash Gordon.” It was Conway who created the unforgettable multi-colored skies around Mongo and its neighboring planets. Conway was SFX Supervisor on the 1996 Euro-western “North Star” starring James Caan and Christopher Lambert.

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