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 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
Actor Leslie Nielsen, best known for his film roles in "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" series, died Sunday November 28 of complications from pneumonia, his family said. Nielsen, 84, died in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by his wife and friends. Leslie William Nielsen was born on February 11, 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canad and grew up 200 miles from the Arctic Circle in Fort Norman where his father was officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was often beaten by his father and when he turned 17 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. After World War II he became a disc jockey then trained at a Toronto radio school operated by Lorne Greene. A scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse brought him to New York where he began his career in television. He made over 150 TV appearances. His first film role was in “Forbidden Planet” and his best dramatic roles was as the captain of the ocean liner in “The Poseidan Adventure” (1972), but he’s best remembered for his role in “Airplane” and “Naked Gun”. Nielsen appeared in one Euro-western “Four Rode Out” (1970) with Sue Lyons and Pernell Roberts.
Rosemary Dexter passed away this past September 8, 2010. She was only 66. Rosemary was born on July 19, 1944 in Quetta, Pakistan to British parents. She moved to Italy in the late 1950s and decided to become an actress. Her first film was 1963's “Omicron” in 1968 she appeared in “Romeo and Juliet” directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Rosemary appeared in three Euro-westerns: “For a Few Dollars More” (1964) as Col. Mortimer’s sister seen in the flashback scene with Peter Lee Lawrence and Gian Maria Volonte. In 1967 she appeared as Katy in “The Dirty Outlaws” with Chip Corman (Andrea Giordana) and in 1969 “In the Name of the Father” as Miss Baxter, directed by Ruggero Deodato and starring Paolo Villaggio. In all she appeared in over 30 films as well as in a 1975 Playboy layout. She retired from the film industry in the mid-‘70s. Being a friend of Count Vanni and his family she moved to Via Leopardi in Recanati, Italy. She had been suffering from a long term illness.
Actor Roberto Risso died November 16 in Milan, Italy six days short of his 85th birthday. He studied architecture before appearing in a number of 1950s films usually playing boyfriends and other lightweight roles. He appeared with such actresses as Gina Lollobrigida and Pier Angeli. He appeared with Gordon Scott in "Zorro and the Three Musketeers" and made his last film appearance in the western "Hate Thy Neighbor" as Duke using the pseudonym Robert Rice. He then turned to appearing in soap operas and fashion design.
Roberto Pregadio died this morning after a brief illness. The announcment was made by members of his family. Born in Catania December 6, 1928, he was a musician, conductor and composer. After graduating from the Conservatorio di Napoli (piano), the pianist became a member of the Light Music Orchestra of the RAI in 1960. Roberto accompanied Claudio Villa in a famous concert at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1961. In the late 1960's he encounter with a friend, Conrad. Whom he owes hiss fame for his role as a conductor for the the Bulls, first, to Conrad and then, Gerry Scotti. After abandoning a controversial program of Channel 5, which took place in 2009 due to disagreements with its production, he joined the cast of the Recommended Rai1. Next to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" his score for "The Forgotten Pistoler" is probably heard more than any other Spaghetti western score. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMS0hbX9_tg
Dino De Laurentiis, the legendary Italian producer of such films as “King Kong,” “Barbarella” and “Dune,” has died. He was 91. De Laurentiis began his career in his native Italy, and produced dozens of films there, including the Fellini classic, “La Strada.” He brought many American stars, including Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda, to Rome to do films. In the ’60s and ’70s, De Laurentiis crossed the pond himself and made inroads into Hollywood. He became known as much for his films as for his perilous finances, riding high for periods before succumbing to money problems and shuttering his production companies, then charging back again. One of his last credits was as producer of “Hannibal Rising,” a prequel to “The Silence of the Lambs.” De Laurentis produced five Spaghetti westerns: "Navajo Joe", "The Hills Run Red", "A Man Called Sledge", "The Deserter" and "Chino". |
