Tony Russel (born Antonio Pietro Russo, and sometimes credited as Tony Russo or Tony Russell; November 23, 1925 – March 18, 2017) was an American film, stage, and television

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He was noted for having worked extensively in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

film industry in the mid-1960s, and for his work as a

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

where he was the founder and president of the English Language Dubbers Association (ELDA) in Italy. He was one of several American actors who turned down the lead of ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, from Italian immigrants, Russo served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Russel then studied at

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

. After making

Burt Topper Burt Topper (July 31, 1928 – April 3, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter best known for cult films aimed at teenagers. Biography Born in Coney Island, New York City, Topper moved to Los Angeles at the age of 8, and served i ...

's '' War is Hell'' (1963), he went to Italy first appearing in the title role of ''La leggenda di

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

''. He then appeared in several

sword and sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (pepla plural), is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budge ...

and

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James ...

films, including ''

Secret of the Sphinx ''Secret of the Sphinx'' ( it, La sfinge sorride prima di morire - Stop Londra) is a 1964 film, directed by Duccio Tessari, which stars Tony Russel, Salah Zulfikar, Maria Perschy, Ivan Desny, and Manuela Kent. Plot The story unfurls like an Ita ...

'' (1964) and ''

Gladiators Seven ''Gladiators Seven'' ( it, La rivolta dei sette, also known as ''The Revolt of the Seven'', ''The Spartan Gladiator'' and ''The Spartan Gladiators'') is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Tony Russel.Michele G ...

'' (1964). Russel played

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

in '' Behind the Mask of Zorro'' (1965); he had originally tested for the role of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's ''

'' but lost out to Guy Williams. Among Russel's starring roles are parts in the

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

epics '' Wild, Wild Planet'' (1965) and its

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, '' War of the Planets'' filmed concurrently. He left Italy for America in 1967, and later appeared in such films as ''

The Hard Ride ''The Hard Ride'' is a 1971 action film about a U.S. Marine who promises to take care of a dead friend's motorcycle and is threatened by a rival Motorcycle club, biker gang in the process. The film was written and directed by Burt Topper and star ...

'' (1971) and ''

Soul Hustler ''Soul Hustler'', also known as ''The Day the Lord Got Busted'', is a 1973 American feature film starring Fabian as a preacher. Plot Singer Matthew Crowe (Fabian Forte) teams up with a tent show preacher (Tony Russel Tony Russel (born Antonio ...

'' (1973). In 1969, Russel played the rustler Mike Cassidy in the episode "Drop Out" of the syndicated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', hosted by Robert Taylor, not long before Taylor's own death. In the story line, the rebellious George Leroy Parker, played by

Michael Margotta Michael Margotta (born September 1, 1946) is an American actor. Career Margotta appeared in the film that was Jack Nicholson's directorial debut, ''Drive, He Said'' (1971). In the year of its release, the film caused a stir because of Margotta ap ...

, takes the name Butch Cassidy in honor of his acquaintance. The episode aired the same year as the film, '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. He died on March 18, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, aged 91.

Selected filmography

* ''

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...

'' (1952, dir. Kurt Neumann) (uncredited) * ''

The Silver Chalice ''The Silver Chalice'' is a 1952 English language historical novel by Thomas B. Costain. It is the fictional story of the making of a silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail (itself here conflated with the Holy Chalice) and includes 1st century b ...

'' (1954, dir. Victor Saville) as Sicarii (uncredited) * ''

Jump Into Hell ''Jump into Hell'' is a 1955 war film directed by David Butler. The film stars Jacques Sernas and Kurt Kasznar. As the first Hollywood film based on the war in French Indochina, the story is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Dien Bien Ph ...

'' (1955, dir. David Butler) as Radio Operator (uncredited) * ''Highway Patrol'' (1955) as Patrolman * ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' (1958, dir. Robert Lewis) as French Sailor (uncredited) * ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

'' (1958, dir. Michael Curtiz) as Chico (uncredited) * '' Don't Give Up the Ship'' (1959, dir. Norman Taurog) as Lieutenant, s.g. (uncredited) * '' Last Train from Gun Hill'' (1959, dir. John Sturges) as Pinto (uncredited) * '' War Is Hell'' (1961, dir.

) as Sgt. Keefer * '' La leggenda di Fra Diavolo'' (1962, dir.

Leopoldo Savona Leopoldo Savona (1922–2000) was an Italian actor, director, choreographer, and screenwriter. He directed 18 films between 1954 and 1976. He was sometimes credited as Leo Colman or Leo Coleman. Life and career Born in Lenola, Latina, he sta ...

) as Fra Diavolo * '' Il terrore dei mantelli rossi'' (1963, dir. Mario Costa) as Paolo * ' (1963, dir.

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

) as Leslio * ''

The Thief of Damascus ''The Thief of Damascus'' (Italian: ''Il ladro di Damasco'') is a 1964 Italian adventure film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Tony Russel, Luciana Gilli and Gianni Solaro. It was released in the US as ''Sword of Damascus'' at a running ti ...

'' (1964, dir.

Mario Amendola Mario Natalino Concetto Amendola (8 December 1910 – 22 December 1993) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and dramatist. Biography Amendola was born in Recco, which is located in Genova to parents from Rome. He began his career on ...

) as Jesen * '' L'ultima carica'' (1964, dir.

) as Rocco Vardarelli * ''

'' (1964, dir.

) as Keros * ''Hercules Against the Moon Men'' (1964, dir. Giacomo Gentilomo) as Tirteo (English version, voice) * ''

'' (1964, dir.

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of pe ...

) as Thomas * '' Behind the Mask of Zorro'' (1965, dir.

Ricardo Blasco Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name * Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portug ...

) as Patriciao / Alfonso / Zorro * '' Three Weeks of Love'' (1965, dir. William E. Brusseau) as Bud * '' Wild, Wild Planet'' (1966, dir.

Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in th ...

) as Cmdr. Mike Halstead * '' War of the Planets'' (1966, dir.

) as Cmdr. Mike Halstead * '' Target Goldseven'' (1966, dir.

Alberto Leonardi Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...

) as Alan Milner * ''

Honeymoon, Italian Style ''Honeymoon, Italian Style'' (Italian: ''Viaggio di nozze all'italiana'') is a 1966 Italian-Spanish comedy film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Tony Russel, Concha Velasco and Ferruccio Amendola.Small p.108 The film's sets were designed b ...

'' (1966, dir.

) as Barone Frescobaldi * ''

'' (1971, dir.

) as Big Red * ''Un ufficiale non si arrende mai nemmeno di fronte all'evidenza, firmato Colonnello Buttiglione'' (1973, dir. Mino Guerrini) * ''

'' (1973, dir.

) as Evin Calder * ''

The Vegas Strip War ''The Vegas Strip Wars'' (also called ''The Las Vegas Strip Wars'') is a 1984 American TV movie directed by George Englund and starred Rock Hudson (his final television film), Sharon Stone, James Earl Jones and Pat Morita. Plot The plot involves ...

'' (1984, TV Movie, dir.

George Englund George Englund (June 22, 1926 – September 14, 2017) was an American film editor, director, producer, and actor. Biography Englund was born George Howe Ripley in Washington, D.C., the son of actress Mabel Albertson and Harold Austin Ripley. H ...

) as Morgan Steinman

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russel, Tony 1925 births 2017 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Wisconsin Actors from Kenosha, Wisconsin United States Army Air Forces soldiers Military personnel from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni