Category Archives: Americans in Cinecitta

This category is dedicated to all the American actoprs who plied their trade in Cinecitta

Who was… Bill Vanders

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Matt Blake

Bill Vanders was one of the most prolific of the American actors who worked in Rome during the golden age of Italian exploitation cinema, yet almost nothing is known about him. Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Who was… Frank Colson

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Matt Blake

Here’s another in our list of American actors who ended up making films in Italy. Now, I’m guessing you’ve never heard of Frank Colson? Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta | Tagged | 1 Comment

Peter Dane

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Matt Blake

I’ve noticed the name Peter Dane crop up in a couple of Italian films that I’ve watched now, so it seems like a good opportunity to revive my ‘Americans in Cinecitta’ posts. Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta | Tagged | 2 Comments

Daniel Jones

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Matt Blake

Another in our on off guide to black actors in Italian cinema, this time it’s the turn of: Daniel Jones. Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta, Black Actors in Italy | Tagged , | Leave a comment

John Kitzmiller

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Matt Blake

John Kitzmiller was one of the most prominent Afro-American actors to work in Italy during the post war period.  Born in Michigan in 1913, he first came to Europe as a soldier during the liberation of Italy, winning a Victory … Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta, Black Actors in Italy | Tagged | 6 Comments

Robert Woods interview

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Matt Blake

Just found a Robert Woods interview I hadn’t read before on a website called www.glasshousepresents.com Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta, Performers & directors | Tagged | Leave a comment

Alex Nicol

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Matt Blake

Alex Nicol was born in 1916 in New York. A prolific stage actor of the 1930s, where he was part of Maurice Evans’s Shakesperean company, he later spent time studying under Lee Strasberg, served as a Sergeant in the war … Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jim Granite

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Matt Blake

Here’s an obscure performer who, I’d guess, must be an American: the marvellously named Jim Granite!

Who was he? Well, as far as I can tell he only appeared in one film, Carlo Lizzani’s Il gobbo (1960). He plays a young American soldier who comes to the assistance of Anna Maria Ferrero, only to be chased off by Pier Paolo Pasolini (who plays an angry, one armed, ex-partisan). He has a total of about two minutes of screentime, but it’s not an unimportant role and he has a good few lines of dialogue (spoken in English). Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jeff Blynn today…

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Matt Blake

Hey, looks like Jeff Blynn didn’t simply disappear after making a bunch of cop films in the seventies and eighties: he opened his own restaurant, and now it’s something of an institution: here’s the link on tripadvisor

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta, Performers & directors | Leave a comment

Hazel Rogers

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Matt Blake

Here’s a name that was unfamiliar to me until watching the 1959 Alberto Sordi vehicle, Il moralista, directed by Giorgio Bianchi.  Hazel Rogers has a small part as one of a trio of dancers Sordi – playing a public censor … Continue reading →

Posted in Americans in Cinecitta, Black Actors in Italy | Tagged | 1 Comment