Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Eugène Bréon

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Eugène Bréon was a French silent film actor who appeared in only one film as far as I can determine and that was a Joe Hamman western in the role of one of the suitors of the heroin Berthe Dagmar in 1912’s “Le révolver matrimonial” (Marriage with a Revolver). Most likely Bréon was a stage actor.

No biographical information about him can be found.

BREON, Eugène (Eugène Bréon) [18??, France – 19??] – film actor.

Marriage with a Revolver – 1912 (suitor)

Voices of the Spaghetti Western “A Golden Sheriff”

As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to be paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.

I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe these actors are as well-known as the actors they voiced.

Today we’ll cover “A Golden Sheriff”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English]

Arizona Roy - Luigi Giuliani (I) Adalberto Maria Merli, (G) Rainer Brandt

Jane - Caterina Trentini (I) Mirella Pace, (G) ?

Jeff Randall - Jacques Berthier (I) Silvano Tranquilli, (G) Arnold Marquis

Kent – Roberto Messina (I) Mario Bardella, (G) ?

Vargas - Fortunato Arena (I) Fortunato Arena, (G) ?

Tiger – Ivan Scratuglia (I) Ivan Scratuglia, (G) ?

Jack – Luciano Rossi (I) Luciano Rossi, (G) Claus Jurichs

Special Birthdays

Leslie French (actror) would have been 120 today but died in 1999.

Ivor Montagu (writer) would have been 120 today but died in 1984.

Jozef Adamovic (actor) would have been 85 today but died in 2013.

Franca De Stratis (actress) would have been 85 today but died in 2021.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Augusto Brenna

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Augusto Brenna was an Italian fotoromanzi and film actor. Searching Ancestry.com I come up with a Augusto Prieto Brenna born on May 7, 1896 in Como, Lombardy, Italy. All the Brenna’s come from Como. This would but our actor in his late 60s during his Spaghetti western career which fits the profile. He was also sometimes credited as August Bren. I cannot find a date of death but speculate it was probably in the late 1970s.

Brenna’s first accredited film that I can find reference to was in 1962’s “Il tiranno di Siracusa” (Damon and Pythias) where he plays a Roman in an angry mob. He’d go on to appear in some 50 films ending in in an appearance in 1975’s “Fantozzi” as a client in a clinic.

Augusto appeared in six Spaghetti westerns usually in background scenes such as: a saloon patron in 1963’s “Zorro contro Maciste” (Samson and the Slave Queen); a jury member in 1964’s “Desafío en Río Bravo” (Gunmen of the Rio Grande); a bank customer in 1966’s “Django spara per primo” (Django Shoots First); a saloon patron in 1966’s “Johnny Yuma); a guest at a fashion show in 1967’s “Il magnifico Texano” (The Magnificent Texan) and as a butler in 1969’s “Zorro marchese di Navarra” (Zorro, the Navarra Marquis).

BRENNA, Augusto (aka August Bren) (Augusto Prieto Brenna) [5/7/1896, Como, Lombardy, Italy – 19??, Italy] – fotoromanzi, film actor.

Samson and the Slave Queen – 1963 (saloon patron)

Gunmen of the Rio Grande – 1964 (jury member)

Django Shoots First -1966 (bank customer)

Johnny Yuma – 1966 (saloon patron)

The Magnificent Texan – 1967 (guest at fashion show)

Zorro, the Navarra Marquis – 1969 (Don Ignacio's butler)

RIP Josef Laufer

 

Czechoslovakian actor and singer Josef Laufer died in Prauge of cardiac arrect on April 20th, after four years in an induced coma following heart valve surgery in March 2020. Laufer was born Don José José Francisco Pérez Rodriguez de Montagnes de Laufer on August 11 1939 in Sables d'Ollone, Vendée, France to a father of Jewish origin and native Spaniards. His parents met in Spain during the Civil War, where Dr. Maximilián Laufer worked as an interbrigadist in the lazareth. During his military service he began acting and directing amateur theater. After returning from the war, he made guest appearances at the ABC Theater and prepared for exams at the theater faculty, where he was recruited. In addition to acting, he also sang and recorded several records. Laufer appeared as the sheriff in the 1969 Czech TV movie ‘Starosta má starosti’.

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now ~ “100 Rifles”, “A Man Called Sledge”

Here’s two photos from two different films “100 Rifles” (1969) and “A Man Called Sledge” (1970) shot in the same location and almost identical camera angles.

Both films used the location Plaza Antonio Lázaro in Polopos, Almería, Spain. The same location as seen today.

22 European Western Comic Books -Avventure Mondiali (Buffalo Bill - Il Capitan Fracassa - Sitting Bull - Vari)

World Adventures (Buffalo Bill, Captain Smashes, Sitting Bull, various)

This comic book series featured both stories and real life and fictional characters such as (Buffalo Bill, Captain Crashes and Sitting Bull) created mainly by French authors such as Pellos and Pascal. The covers, in watercolor, are by Franco Donatelli. Announced, but not found, the #7 entitled “Les Misérables”. Images were done by Antonio Farina.

The series was published in 1955 with #1 released in January and ended in June of 1955. It was published by GVA in Milan, Italy under the direction of Giusto Vaglieri. Each issue contained 48 black and white pages with color covers.

 

Titles

01 (00.01.55) - “Buffalo Bill” (Buffalo Bill)

02 (00.02.55) - “Il mistero dell’atollo” (The Mystery of the Atoll)

03 (00.03.55) - “L’uccisore di daini” (The Deer Killer)

04 (00.04.55) - “Il Capitan Fracassa” (Captain Fracassa)

05 (00.05.55) - “Il pirata” (The Pirate)

06 (00.06.55) - “Sitting Bull (Toro Seduto)" (Sitting Bull)