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Sergio Leone
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Sergio Leone

Sergio Leone (January 3, 1921 or 1929 - April 30, 1989) was a Italian Film director. Born in Rome he was the son of the cinema pioneer Vincenzo Leone and the actress Francesca Bertini. With this background he started working in film in his teens.

He began writing screenplays in the 1950s and made his solo directoral debut in 1960. He did not invent the Spaghetti Western genre but he created some of its most memorable films, overblown CinemaScope excesses that pushed the relative unknown Clint Eastwood into stardom.

Using the leverage of his successes he directed what he hoped would be his masterwork, C'Era una Volta il West, in 1967 for Paramount. Cruelly edited down the film flopped. He directed a quick, money-making project starring James Coburn and turned down the opportunity to direct The Godfather, building up instead to another epic work, this time centred on American gangsters. At his death he was part way through planning yet another epic, this time on the WW II battle for Leningrad.

Partial filmography: Il Colosso di Rodi (1960), A Fistful of Dollars or Per un Pugno di Dollari (1964), For a Few Dollars More or Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu (1965), The Good, the Bad and he Ugly or Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Caltivo (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West or C'Era una Volta il West (1968), A Fistful of Dynamite or Giu' la Testa (1971), Once Upon a Time in America (1984).


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Sergio Leone Facts

OccupationDirector
BirthdayJanuary 3, 1929
SignCapricorn
BirthplaceRome, Italy
Date of deathApril 30, 1989 (age 60)

Selected Filmography

Not available.