Carlo Simi (7 November 1924 – 26 November 2000) was an Italian architect,

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

, who worked frequently with

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

and

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

, giving their

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

s a unique look. Most famous for his costume and set designs for ''

Once Upon a Time in the West ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...

'' Simi also built the town of 'El Paso' in the

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

desert for Leone's second Western, ''

For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in più) is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor K ...

''. Built around a massive bank, with vistas of the

Tabernas Desert The Tabernas Desert ( es, Desierto de Tabernas) is one of Spain's semi-arid deserts, located within Spain's south-eastern province of Almería. It is in the interior, about north of the provincial capital Almería, in the Tabernas municipalit ...

visible between buildings, the set still exists, as a tourist attraction called "

Mini Hollywood Oasys (formerly known as Mini Hollywood) is a Spanish Western-styled theme park, located off the 364 km mark of the N-340 road, near the town of Tabernas in the province of Almería, Andalusia. Originally known as Yucca City, the set was desi ...

". Simi played the bank manager in that film: it was his only acting role. He also designed the

Sad Hill Cemetery Sad Hill Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de Sad Hill; it, Cimitero di Sad Hill) is a tourism site and former film location designed by Carlo Simi in 1966, and built by the Spanish Army. Significance It was where the last sequence of the film ''The ...

for the last scene of ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

''. Simi died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 2000. Some of his costumes and set designs were exhibited at the Autry National Center's Museum of the American West in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 2005. In 2018 he posthumously received the 'Leone in Memoriam' award by the Almería Western Film Festival for the 50 anniversary of ''

''.

Filmography

As actor

*''

'' (1965) - El Paso Bank Manager (uncredited)

As costume designer

* ''Two Gangsters in the Wild West'' (1964) * ''

Bullets Don't Argue ''Bullets Don't Argue'' (Italian title: ''Le pistole non discutono'', also known as ''Guns Don't Talk'' and ''Pistols Don't Argue'') is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Mario Caiano. The film was produced by Jolly Film, back to back ...

'' (1964) * '' Minnesota Clay'' (1964) * ''One Hundred Thousand Dollars for Lassiter'' (1966) * '' Django'' (1966) * ''

Ringo and His Golden Pistol ''Ringo and His Golden Pistol'' ( it, Johnny Oro) is a 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Mark Damon. Synopsis Renamed to cash in on the success of Duccio Tessari’s Ringo movies, ''Ringo and His Golden ...

'' (1966) * ''

Texas, Adios ''Texas, Adios'' (Italian: ''Texas, addio'') is a 1966 Italian/Spanish international co-production Spaghetti Western film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and starring Franco Nero. It is often referenced in connection with '' Django'', also starrin ...

'' (1966) * ''El halcón y la presa'' (1966) * ''

'' (1966) * '' Face to Face'' (1967) * ''

Day of Anger ''Day of Anger'' ( it, I giorni dell'ira, lit. "The Days of Wrath") is a 1967 Spaghetti Western film directed and co-written by Tonino Valerii and starring Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma, and features a musical score by Riz Ortolani. The film ...

'' (1967) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

Oro sangriento ''Sabata'' ( it, Ehi amico ... c'è Sabata. Hai chiuso!, lit. "Hey friend ... that's Sabata. You're finished!"), is a 1969 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the first film in ''The Sabata Trilogy'' by Parolini, and ...

'' (1969) * '' Blood in the Streets'' (1973) * '' Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket'' (1975) * ''

Keoma Keoma is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. Keoma is located approximately 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Downtown Calgary, on Highway 566, 2.0 km (1.2 mi) east of Highway 9 and 19 km (12 mi) north of the ...

'' (1976) * ''Le llamaban California'' (1977) * '' Silver Saddle'' (1978) * ''Spaghetti'' (1980)

As production designer

* ''

The Shortest Day ''The Shortest Day'' ( it, Il giorno più corto) is a 1963 Italian comedy film. It is a parody of the war movie '' The Longest Day'' and stars the popular duo Franco and Ciccio in the leading roles. Dozens of other well-known actors, from both Eu ...

'' (1963) * '' Cazador de recompensas'' (1966) * ''El genio'' (1975) * '' Bianco, rosso e Verdone'' (1981) * ''

They Call Me Renegade ''They Call Me Renegade'' is a 1987 road movie directed by E.B. Clucher and starring Terence Hill and his adoptive son Ross. Plot summary "Renegade" Luke (Hill), a drifter and petty con artist, lives a free and easy life with no responsibility tr ...

'' (1987) * ''Where the Night Begins'' (1991)

References

External links

* * 1924 births 2000 deaths Italian production designers Italian costume designers David di Donatello winners Ciak d'oro winners 20th-century Italian architects Male Spaghetti Western actors {{Italy-film-bio-stub