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 (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

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'' (, (''For a Fistful of Dollars'')) is a 1964 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Si ...

''.Barnum, Michael ''Tony Russel Our Man On Gamma 1 -The Wild Wild Interview'' ''Video Watchdog'' No. 128 Dec/Feb 2007

Biography

Born in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

, from Italian immigrants, Russel 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He 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, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Russel founded the English Languages Dubbers Association of Rome (ELDA) in 1954, providing

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

services for films and becoming the leading English dubbing group in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He was responsible for uniting all of the rival organizations operating in the city, and served as president until 1966, when he was succeeded by Roger Browne. After making Burt Topper's '' War is Hell'' (1963), he went to Italy first appearing in the title role of ''La leggenda di Fra Diavolo''. He then appeared in several sword and sandal and Eurospy films, including '' Secret of the Sphinx'' (1964) and '' Gladiators Seven'' (1964). Russel played

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

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, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's ''

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

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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'' (1971) and '' Soul Hustler'' (1973). He died on March 18, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, aged 91, and is buried in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery under his birth name, Antonio P. Russo.

Selected filmography

* ''

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

'' (1952, dir. Kurt Neumann) (uncredited) * '' The Silver Chalice'' (1954, dir. Victor Saville) as Sicarii (uncredited) * '' Jump Into Hell'' (1955, dir. David Butler) as Radio Operator (uncredited) * ''Highway Patrol'' (1955) as Patrolman * '' Anything Goes'' (1958, dir. Robert Lewis) as French Sailor (uncredited) * ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, 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, W ...

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

Leopoldo Savona Leopoldo Savona (1922–2000) was an Italian actor, film director, 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, La ...

) 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'' () 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 time of 93 minutes.Della Casa, S ...

'' (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 o ...

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

) as Rocco Vardarelli * '' Gladiators Seven'' (1964, dir.

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

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film 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 ...

) as Thomas * '' Behind the Mask of Zorro'' (1965, dir. Ricardo Blasco) 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 Italians, Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different film ...

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

) as Cmdr. Mike Halstead * '' Target Goldseven'' (1966, dir. Alberto Leonardi) as Alan Milner * '' Honeymoon, Italian Style'' (1966, dir.

) as Barone Frescobaldi * '' The Hard Ride'' (1971, dir. Burt Topper) as Big Red * ''Un ufficiale non si arrende mai nemmeno di fronte all'evidenza, firmato Colonnello Buttiglione'' (1973, dir. Mino Guerrini) * '' Soul Hustler'' (1973, dir. Burt Topper) as Evin Calder * '' The Vegas Strip War'' (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. Hi ...

) 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 Members of the English Language Dubbers Association of Rome