Great Names From Spaghetti-Western - The First 50.

1. Enzo Barboni

Director | I due superpiedi quasi piatti

Enzo Barboni (nick name E.B. Clucher) is one of the most representative filmmakers of the last line of the western to Italian thanks to the parodistic and trumpet-like series of Trinity. Born in 1922, Enzo Barboni began operating as a car operator in 1942, only twenty years later, and in 1961 ...

'They call me Trinity' 'I Crudeli'.

2. William Berger

Actor | Hercules

William Berger was born on June 20, 1928 in Innsbruck, Austria. He was an actor, known for Hercules (1983), Keoma (1976) and Devil Fish (1984). He was married to Hanja Kochansky, Carol Lobravico and Dörte Völz-Mammarella. He died on October 2, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

'Una Colt in Mano al Diavolo' 'California'

3. Sal Borgese

Actor | Johnny Stecchino

Sal Borgese was born on March 5, 1937 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for Johnny Stecchino (1991), ... If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death. (1968) and The Black Corsair (1976).

Another support actor that made many classics as 'Il Dollaro Bucato', 'Sono Sartana il Vostro Bechino', 'La più Grande Rapina del West'.

4. Jack Betts

Actor | Spider-Man

Jack Betts was born on April 11, 1929 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor, known for Spider-Man (2002), Falling Down (1993) and 8MM (1999).

'Sugar Colt' 'Dead Men Don't Make Shadows'.

5. Charles Bronson

Actor | Death Wish

The archetypal screen tough guy with weatherbeaten features--one film critic described his rugged looks as "a Clark Gable who had been left out in the sun too long"--Charles Bronson was born Charles Buchinsky, one of 15 children of struggling parents in Pennsylvania. His mother, Mary (Valinsky), ...

'Once Upon a Time in West' 'Red Sun'.

6. Roberto Camardiel

Actor | Piedra de toque

Roberto Camardiel was born on November 29, 1917 in Alagón, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. He was an actor, known for Piedra de toque (1963), Ensayo general para la muerte (1963) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). He died on November 7, 1986 in Madrid, Spain.

'Shoshena' 'Un Treno per Durango'.

7. Jeff Cameron

Actor | Anche per Django le carogne hanno un prezzo

Jeff Cameron was born Giovanni Goffredo Scarciofolo in Rome, Italy. He died in 1985, aged 51, exact date unknown. In a recent broadcast on his Once Upon A Time In Spaghetti Westerns podcast dedicated to Jeff, Tom Betts revealed these details as confirmed by Jeff's nephew, also informing us that ...

'La Colt era il suo Dio' 'Straniero...fatti il Signo della Croce!'.

8. Claudia Cardinale

Actress | C'era una volta il West

Like many other female Italian film stars, Claudia Cardinale's entry into the business was by way of a beauty pageant. She was 17 years old and studying at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome when she entered a beauty contest, which resulted in her getting a succession of small film roles. Her earthy ...

'Once Upon a Time in West'.

9. Giuliano Carnimeo

Director | Simone e Matteo: Un gioco da ragazzi

Giuliano Carnimeo was born on July 4, 1932 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He was a director and assistant director, known for Convoy Buddies (1975), The Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983) and Find a Place to Die (1968). He died on September 10, 2016 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

One of the most important directors in Italian Western, Carmineo (aka Anthony Ascott) directed some classics as 'C'e Sartana...vendi la pistola e comprati la barra' (Fistful of Lead) -1970 and 'Sono Sartana il Vostro Becchino) -1969.

10. James Coburn

Actor | The Great Escape

Lanky, charismatic and versatile actor with an amazing grin that put everyone at ease, James Coburn studied acting at UCLA, and then moved to New York to study under noted acting coach Stella Adler. After being noticed in several stage productions, Coburn appeared in a handful of minor westerns ...

11. Sergio Corbucci

Writer | Django

Sergio Corbucci was born on December 6, 1926, in Rome, Italy. He entered grade school with thoughts of becoming a businessman, but after earning a college degree in economics he took an abrupt detour into the world of cinema. Corbucci began his career as a film critic, first for the Italian film ...

12. Mark Damon

Actor | The Fall of the House of Usher

Mark Damon was born on April 22, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for House of Usher (1960), Monster (2003) and 11:14 (2003). He has been married to Margaret Markov since October 1976. They have two children. He was previously married to Barbara Frey.

13. George Eastman

Actor | I nuovi barbari

Born Luigi Montefiori in 1942 near Genoa, Italy, the future actor provided artwork for various advertising agencies in Genoa before moving to Rome in 1966. Though he intended to further his art career, he became involved with a crowd of film people who urged him to put his good looks to advantage ...

'Ben and Charlie' 'Preparati La Bara'.

14. Clint Eastwood

Actor | Million Dollar Baby

Clinton Eastwood Jr. was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margaret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took ...

'For a Few Dollars More' 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'.

15. Eduardo Fajardo

Actor | Django

Eduardo Fajardo was born on August 14, 1924 in Meis, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain. He was an actor, known for Django (1966), The Murder Mansion (1972) and Ace of Hearts (1975). He was married to Carmelita González. He died on July 4, 2019 in Mexico.

'Il Tempo Degli Avvoltoi' 'La Grande Notte di Ringo'.

16. Ida Galli

Actress | Sette note in nero

Ida Galli was born on October 8, 1939 in Sestola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She is an actress, known for The Psychic (1977), La Dolce Vita (1960) and The Leopard (1963).

She was better known at the times of Italian Westerns as 'Evelyn Stewart'. Reaaly gorgeous! She was the sweetheart of Giuliano Gemma in 'Il Dollaro Buccato' and she worked with my friend Robert Woods in 'Quel Caldo Maledetto Giorno di Fuoco' - (Gatlin Gun, The) and with my friend George Hilton in 'Lo Chiamavano Tresette...Giocava Sempre col Morto'.

17. Gianni Garko

Actor | Shark: Rosso nell'oceano

Gianni Garko was born on July 15, 1935 in Zara, Dalmatia, Italy [now Zadar, Croatia]. He is an actor, known for Devil Fish (1984), ... If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death. (1968) and Waterloo (1970).

Gianni Garko is 'Sartana' one of the most important characters in all Italian westerns. A great actor with intense but otherwise a bit sarcastic performance.

18. Giuliano Gemma

Actor | Il gattopardo

Giuliano Gemma was born in Rome on 2 September 1938, grew up in Reggio Emilia but returned to Rome with his parents in 1944. While he was playing on the grass he found a WW II bomb that exploded and today the signs of injury are still visible on his face. He played many sports in his life including...

'Arizona Colt' 'Wanted'

19. Brett Halsey

Actor | The Godfather Part III

Internationally-known actor Brett Halsey, one of Hollywood's busiest and handsomest actors of the mid-to-late '50s and early '60s, was born Charles Oliver Hand to a builder/contractor in Santa Ana, California on June 20, 1933. Interested in performing from childhood (he appeared in local community ...

'Uccidete Johnny Ringo' 'L'ira di Dio'.

20. Ty Hardin

Actor | PT 109

Though born in New York City, Ty was raised in Texas and, after military service during the Korean War, took some classes at Texas A&M. He then moved west to California and won some minor roles in B movies. When TV's Clint Walker insisted on improvements in his Cheyenne (1955) contract, Warner ...

21. Richard Harrison

Actor | Ninja Dragon

The mighty, musclebound actor Richard Harrison was one of a slew of handsome American pectoral hunks whose 1950's career in Hollywood amounted to little more than brawny bits but, after, being lured to Italy, became a popular sword-and-sandal star of the early 1960's. Unlike many others, Harrison ...

'Roko' 'Sheriff of Rockspring'.

22. Craig Hill

Actor | I!

Craig Hill is known for I! (2008).

'7 Pistole per un Massacro' 'Per il Gusto di Uccidere'

23. Terence Hill

Actor | ...altrimenti ci arrabbiamo!

Terence Hill was born as Mario Girotti on March 29, 1939 in Venice, Italy to a chemist. His mother was German, and as a child the family lived near Dresden, Saxony, Germany where they survived the Allied bombings of World War II. Italian film-maker Dino Risi discovered him at a swimming meet and he...

'They Call me Trinity', 'My Name is Nobody'.

24. George Hilton

Actor | C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara!

George Hilton was born on July 16, 1934 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was an actor, known for Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970), The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971) and Massacre Time (1966). He died on July 28, 2019 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

'Vado...l'ammazzo e Torno' 'Tempo di Massacro'

25. Cris Huerta

Actor | La cité des enfants perdus

Cris Huerta started with a small part in a mythological "peplum" made in Italy, and went on doing typically fat, dirty, bad guys in "spaghetti westerns", up to Alfredo Mayo's Sabata the Killer (1970). He can be seen in the unforgettable French western by Christian-Jaque, The Legend of Frenchie King...

26. John Ireland

Actor | All the King's Men

Born in Canada, John Ireland was raised in New York. Performing as a swimmer in a water carnival, he moved into the legitimate theater, often appearing in minor roles in Broadway plays. His first big break in pictures came in 1945 when he appeared as Windy the introspective letter-writing G.I. in ...

'Odio per Odio' 'T'ammazzo...Raccomandanti a Dio'.

27. Vassili Karis

Actor | Pretty Smart

Vassili Karis was born on September 22, 1938 in Patras, Greece. He is an actor and production manager, known for Pretty Smart (1987), He Was Called the Holy Ghost (1971) and Spirito Santo e le 5 magnifiche canaglie (1972).

28. Klaus Kinski

Actor | Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht

Klaus Kinski was born as Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski in Zoppot, Free City of Danzig (now Sopot, Poland), to Susanne (Lutze), a nurse, and Bruno Nakszynski, a pharmacist. He grew up in Berlin, was drafted into the German army in 1944 and captured by British forces in Holland. After the war he began...

29. Peter Lee Lawrence

Actor | El hombre que mató a Billy el Niño

Blond German youth Peter Lee Lawrence, who made his uncredited debut in Sergio Leone "For A Few Dollars More" (1965), was the hero in many Spaghetti Westerns. His short cinematographic history can be enclosed in nine years of Italo-Spain co-productions. His recent films include thriller-drama "...

'Viva Sabata' 'Sando Kid'.

30. Sergio Leone

Writer | Once Upon a Time in America

Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in ...

'Once Upon a Time in West' 'For a Few Dollars More'.

31. Guy Madison

Actor | The Beast of Hollow Mountain

Handsome American leading man Guy Madison stumbled into a film career and became a television star and hero to the Baby Boom generation. As a young man he worked as a telephone lineman, but entered the Coast Guard at the beginning of the Second World War. While on liberty one weekend in Hollywood, ...

'Reverendo Colt' 'Il Figlio di Django'.

32. Jorge Martín

Actor | Escalofrío diabólico

Jorge Martín was born on September 18, 1937 in Barcelona, Spain. He was an actor and writer, known for Escalofrío diabólico (1972), Los hijos de Scaramouche (1975) and The Magnificent Robin Hood (1970). He died on September 1, 2021 in Miami, Florida, USA.

'Clint El Solitario' 'Nevada Joe'.

33. Tomas Milian

Actor | Traffic

Tomas Milian, an American actor born in Cuba; was trained at the Actors Studio. He appeared in a few plays on Broadway, as well as in a show by Jean Cocteau in Spoleto. Mauro Bolognini noticed him and that was the starting point of a rich cinematographic career in Italy, where he played in all ...

'Faccia a Faccia' 'Se sei Vivo Spara'.

34. Gordon Mitchell

Actor | Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi

Tall, massively built, imposing-looking blond Gordon Mitchell (early on dubbed the "The Bronze Giant") was one of those perfectly developed bodybuilders who jumped on the Steve Reeves bandwagon and hightailed it to Italy to seek movie stardom as a Herculean strongman. Born Charles Allen Pendleton ...

35. Franco Nero

Actor | John Wick: Chapter 2

Blue-eyed and well-built Italian actor in international cinema, Franco Nero, was a painting photographer when he was discovered as an actor by director John Huston. He has since appeared in more than 200 movies around the world, working with Europe's top directors, such as Luis Buñuel, Rainer ...

'Django' 'Keoma'.

36. Loredana Nusciak

Actress | Django

Loredana Nusciak was born on May 3, 1942 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. She was an actress, known for Django (1966), No Way Out (1973) and Gladiators 7 (1962). She was married to Gianni Medici. She died on July 12, 2006 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

'Django' '7 Dollari sul Rosso'.

37. Donald O'Brien

Actor | Der Name der Rose

Though best known to cult film fans for his roles in Italian B-movies, Donald O'Brien hailed from Pau, in the Pyrenees mountains of France. His Irish father was a former US Army Calvary officer who fought in the Spanish-American war, and his mother was an English governess. When World War II broke ...

'Jesse and Lester' 'Kung Fu nel Pazzo West'.

38. Jack Palance

Actor | City Slickers

Jack Palance quite often exemplified evil incarnate on film, portraying some of the most intensely feral villains witnessed in 1950s westerns and melodrama. Enhanced by his tall, powerful build, icy voice, and piercing eyes, he earned two "Best Supporting Actor" nominations early in his career. It ...

39. Gilbert Roland

Actor | The Bad and the Beautiful

Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso, later known as Gilbert Roland, was born in 1905 in Mexico. Following his parents to the USA, he did not become the bullfighter he had dreamed of being but became an actor instead. His Mexican roots, his half macho half romantic ways, his handsome virile figure helped ...

'Ognuno per Sè' 'Johnny Hamlet'.

40. Antonio Sabato

Actor | Grand Prix

Rugged Sicilian-born actor who came to international notice after playing Ferrari racing ace Nino Barlini in John Frankenheimer's high octane blockbuster Grand Prix (1966). His charismatic performance saw Sabato nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Most Promising Newcomer. During the 1970s, he ...

'Odio per Odio' 'Al di là della Legge'.

41. Fernando Sancho

Actor | El hijo del capitán Blood

Fernando Sancho was born on January 7, 1916 in Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Son of Captain Blood (1962), La guerrilla (1973) and The Boldest Job in the West (1972). He was married to Maite Pardo. He died on July 31, 1990 in Madrid, Spain.

'Se Incontri Sartana, Prega per la tua Morte' 'Killer Kid' and so many others. Always in a support role, always a villain, Sancho and his 'sombrero' is one of the trademarks of Italian Western.

42. Telly Savalas

Actor | Kojak

Of Greek descent on both sides, the son of immigrants, Savalas was a soldier during World War II, although most of his enlistment records were destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973. He later studied psychology at Columbia University under the ...

'Pancho Villa' 'A reason to Live, A Reason to Die'.

43. Bud Spencer

Actor | ...altrimenti ci arrabbiamo!

Bud Spencer, the popular Italian actor who starred in innumerable spaghetti Westerns and action-packed potboilers during the 1960s and 1970s, was born Carlo Pedersoli on October 31, 1929, in Naples. The first Italian to swim the 100-meter freestyle in less than a minute, Spencer competed as a ...

'They Call me Trinity' 'Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die'.

44. Anthony Steffen

Actor | Django il bastardo

Born in Rome, on 21st July of 1930, at the Brazilian embassy, son of Formula 1 champion and then ambassador Manoel de Teffe; he was named Antonio Luiz and became the Baron de Teffe. The de Teffe family had a noble origin but during Second World War, teenage Antonio left home to join the partisans ...

'Shoshena', 'A Man Called Django'.

45. Woody Strode

Actor | Spartacus

An athlete turned actor, Strode was a top-notch decathlete and a football star at UCLA. He became part of Hollywood lore after meeting director John Ford and becoming a part of the Ford "family," appearing in four Ford motion pictures. Strode also played the powerful gladiator who does battle with ...

'Ciakmull' 'Boot Hill'.

46. Lee Van Cleef

Actor | Escape from New York

One of the great movie villains, Clarence Leroy Van Cleef, Jr. was born in Somerville, New Jersey, to Marion Lavinia (Van Fleet) and Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef, Sr. His parents were of Dutch ancestry. Van Cleef started out as an accountant. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard minesweepers and sub ...

'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' 'Il Giorno Dell'ira'

47. Simonetta Vitelli

Actress | Karzan, il favoloso uomo della jungla

Simonetta Vitelli was born on June 16, 1950 in Rome, Italy. She is an actress, known for Karzan, il favoloso uomo della jungla (1972), The Electric Chair (1969) and Passa Sartana... è l'ombra della tua morte (1969).

'Prega a Dio...e scavati la Fossa' 'Giù le Mani...Carogna!'.

48. Gian Maria Volontè

Actor | Per un pugno di dollari

Born in Milan in 1933, Gian Maria Volontè studied in Rome at the National Dramatic Arts Academy, where he obtained his degree in 1957. He began working in theatre and television, where he was soon noticed as one of the most promising actors of his generation. After several supporting appearances in...

'Faccia a Faccia' 'For a Few Dollars More'.

49. Eli Wallach

Actor | Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

One of Hollywood's finest character / "Method" actors, Eli Wallach was in demand for over 60 years (first film/TV role was 1949) on stage and screen, and has worked alongside the world's biggest stars, including Clark Gable, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, Peter O'Toole,...

'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' 'Ace High'

50. Robert Woods

Actor | 2 once di piombo

Robert Woods was born on July 19, 1936 in Colorado, USA. He is an actor and executive, known for My Name Is Pecos (1966), 7 pistole per i MacGregor (1966) and Black Jack (1968).

'Blackjack' 'La Sfida del McKeena'