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 and had some success on Broadway in the 1950s.
His film career also kicked off in the 1950s, when he starred in a variety of mysteries and, more particularly, westerns, where he was used both in villanous and heroic roles.
He initially moved to Rome after receiving a major part in Martin Ritt’s 5 Branded Women, a US / Italian co-production based on a script by Ugo Pirro and featuring fellow ex-pats Steve Forrest, Van Heflin and Richard Basehart. He also had smaller parts in the likes of Carlo Lizzani’s Il gobbo and Duilio Coletti’s Sotto dieci bandiere.
In 1961 he also starred in and directed Then There Were Three, another US / Italian co-production, and the first of a handful of European westerns, Tierra Brutal, aka Savage Guns, directed by former Hammer main man Micheal Carreras and shot in Spain. After a short break back in the US, in which he occupied himself appearing in TV series like The Twilight Zone and Dr. Kildare, he returned to Italy in 1963 for Mario Camerini’s now forgotten comedy Via Margutta. Three more westerns came the following year, all of which were shot in Spain, none of which were particurly memorable. After this, though, he pretty much disappeared from the screen until the early seventies, when he popped up in a variety of B-Movies and TV series.
He died in 2001, aged 85.
The Italian films of Alex Nicol
1960
- 5 Branded Women
- Il gobbo
- Sotto dieci bandiere aka Under Ten Flags
- Tutti a casa aka Everybody Go Home
1961
- Then There Were Three
- Tierra brutal aka The Savage Guns
1963
- Via Margutta