George Eastman (actor)

George Eastman (born Luigi Montefiori; August 16, 1942) is an Italian actor and screenwriter well known for his frequent collaborations with notorious director Joe D'Amato. He is most famous for his role as the insane, cannibalistic serial killer Klaus Wortmann in the gory 1980 horror film Antropophagus (aka The Grim Reaper). He also played a similar role in its 1981 follow-up, Absurd. Both films were directed by D'Amato and written by Eastman.

George Eastman
Eastman in Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)
Born
Luigi Montefiori

(1942-08-16) August 16, 1942
Genoa, Italy
OccupationActor
Years active1966–present
Height6 ft 9 in (206 cm)

Career

Eastman was born in 1942 in Genoa, Italy and studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome and at the Drama School held of Alessandro Fersen.[1] He took his Americanized alias "George Eastman" when he was cast as a "heavy" in many Spaghetti Westerns made in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1972 he played the villain in The Call of the Wild which starred Charlton Heston and was directed by Ken Annakin.

Eastman later became a regular performer in many movies directed by Joe D'Amato, for whom he also wrote many screenplays. Their first work together was Cormack of the Mounties (aka Giubbe rosse) in 1975.[1]

He was a very familiar face in Italian B-cinema in the early 1980s, being generally cast as a villain, thanks to his towering 6'9" height, and his dark and menacing looks. He co-starred in many Italian science fiction films such as Bronx Warriors, The New Barbarians, Endgame, Ironmaster, 2020 Texas Gladiators and After the Fall of New York. His most famous movie is the gory horror film Anthropophagous, directed by Joe D'Amato in 1980, in which he played the monster. He also starred in D'Amato's Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, Porno Holocaust and Absurd (aka Anthropophagous 2).

Two of his greatest major villain roles were in Rabid Dogs (aka Kidnapped, 1974) and Blastfighter (1984). He appeared in Paramount's 1985 biblical film King David playing Goliath in David's childhood flashback scene. In 1986, he performed as Stefano in the movie Regalo di Natale, directed by Pupi Avati. He also wrote and directed the science fiction film Metamorphosis/ DNA Formula Lethal[2] (produced by Joe D'Amato) in 1990, after which he quit acting to concentrate on his screenwriting. He is now a well regarded author in Italian television and only acts occasionally. (In 2003, he returned to acting in La rivincita di Natale, a film directed by Pupi Avati.)

Partial filmography
Title Year Credited as Role Notes Refs.
Actor Screenwriter Story author
Django Shoots First 1966 Yes Jesse Kluster [3][4]
My Name Is Pecos 1966 Yes Member of Kline's group [5][6]
Django Kills Softly 1967 Yes Bill [7][8]
The Last Killer Yes Ramon/Chico [7][9]
Poker with Pistols Yes Lucas [10][11]
Django, Prepare a Coffin 1968 Yes Lucas [12][13]
Bootleggers 1969 Yes McGowan "The Irish" [14]
Fellini Satyricon Yes The Minotaur [15]
Bastard, Go and Kill 1971 Yes — [3]
Ben and Charlie 1972 Yes Charlie [16]
The Call of the Wild Yes Black Burton [17]
Baba Yaga 1973 Yes Charlie [18]
Scalawag Yes Don Aragon [19]
A forza di sberle 1974 Yes
Cormack of the Mounties 1975 Yes [20]
Blood and Bullets 1976 Yes Dan Caputo, "Knell" [21]
Keoma Yes Yes [22][23]
Canne mozze 1977 Yes [24]
Sesso nero 1980 Yes Yes Yes Voyakis [25]
Antropophagus Yes Yes Nikos Karamanlis Also producer [26][27][28]
Porno Holocaust 1981 Yes Professor Lemoine [29][30]
1990: The Bronx Warriors 1983 Yes — [31][32]
Ironmaster Yes Vood [33][34]
The New Barbarians Yes One [35][36]
2019, After the Fall of New York Yes Big Ape [37]
Blastfighter 1984 Yes Tom [38][39]
Delirium 1987 Yes Alex [40][41]
The Barbarians Yes Jacko [42]
Il deserto del fuoco 1997 Yes Television film [43]
Rabid Dogs 1974 Yes Trentadue / Thirty-two [44]
2020 Texas Gladiators 1983 Yes Yes [45][46]
Emanuelle's Revenge — Yes Carlo [47][48]
The Cobra — Yes Crane [49]
Emanuelle Around the World — Yes [50]
L'Inspettore Giusti — Yes [51]
Master Stroke — Yes Western actor [52]

Screenplays
  • Giubbe rosse (1974) aka Red Coats, aka Cormack of the Mounties, directed by Joe D'Amato
  • Candido Erotico (1978)[53]
  • La Ragazza del Vagone Letto (1979)[54]
  • The Great Alligator River (1979) directed by Sergio Martino (Eastman got plot credit only)
  • Sesso nero/ Black Sex (1980) directed by Joe D'Amato
  • Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980) directed by Joe D'Amato (Eastman also co-starred in this film)
  • Absurd/Rosso sangue (1981) directed by Joe D'Amato (Eastman co-starred in this film as the monster)
  • Caligula: The Untold Story (1982) directed by Joe D'Amato
  • Endgame (1983) directed by Joe D'Amato (Eastman co-starred in this film as well)
  • Stage Fright (1987 film) (1987) a.k.a. Deliria, directed by Michele Soavi (Eastman has an uncredited role in this film, playing the masked killer)
  • Metamorphosis/Regenerator (1990) a.k.a. DNA Formula Lethal (Eastman directed this film, and had a cameo role in it as well[55])
  • Il Principe del Deserto (TV serial)[56]
  • The Son of Sandokan (1998) Made-for-TV movie

References

Footnotes
  1. Roberto Poppi (2002). I registi: dal 1930 ai giorni nostri. Gremese Editore, 2002. ISBN 8884401712.
  2. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 110.ISBN 0963498274.
  3. Grant 2011, p. 440.
  4. "Django spara per primo (1966)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  5. "Due once di piombo (1966)" (in Italian). Archivio del cinema italiano.it. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  6. Grant 2011, p. 442.
  7. Grant 2011, p. 445.
  8. "Bill il taciturno (1967)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  9. "L'ultimo killer (1967)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  10. Grant 2011, p. 446.
  11. "Un poker di pistole (1967)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  12. "Preparati la Bara!". AllMovie. June 30, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  13. "Preparati la bara! (1968)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  14. Curti 2013, p. 24.
  15. "Fellini Satyricon (1969)" (in French). Bifi.fr. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  16. Erickson, Hal. "Ben e Charlie on AllMovie". Archived from the original on 25 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  17. "Ruf der Wildnis". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  18. Curti 2013, p. 126.
  19. "Scalawag". American Film Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  20. Bruckner, Ulrich P. (2002). Für ein paar Leichen mehr: der Italo-Western von seinen Anfängen bis heute (in German). Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. p. 428.
  21. Curti 2013, p. 161.
  22. Pahlow, Colin (1977). "Keoma". Monthly Film Bulletin. London. 44 (516): 235. ISSN 0027-0407.
  23. Green 2009, p. 124.
  24. Curti 2013, p. 208.
  25. Grattarola & Napoli 2014, p. 405.
  26. Shipka 2011, p. 133.
  27. Ray, Forest. "Antropophagus". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  28. "Antropophagus". AllMovie. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  29. Beldin, Fred. "Porno Holocaust". Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  30. "Porno Holocaust". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  31. "1990 - I guerrieri del Bronx (1982)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  32. Newman, Kim (1983). "Bronx Warriors "(1990 I Guerrieri del Bronx)"". Monthly Film Bulletin. London: British Film Institute. 50 (588): 191–192.
  33. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 203.
  34. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 204.
  35. Mannikka, Eleanor. "The New Barbarians". Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  36. Taylor, Paul (1983). "New Barbarians, The "(I nuovi barbari)"". Monthly Film Bulletin. British Film Institute. 50 (588): 219–220.
  37. Paul 2005, p. 296.
  38. "Blastfighter on AllMovie". Archived from the original on 5 July 2016.
  39. Binion, Cavett. "Blastfighter on AllMovie". Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.
  40. Firsching, Robert. "Delirium". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  41. "Le foto di Gioia (1987)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian).
  42. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 199.
  43. "Prinzessin Amina - Das Geheimnis einer Liebe". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  44. Curti 2013, p. 115.
  45. Paul 2005, p. 199.
  46. "Texas 2000 (1984)" (in Italian). Archivo del Cinema Italiano. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  47. "Emanuelle e Françoise, le sorelline (1975)". Archivo del cinema Italiano. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  48. Badder, David (1977). "Emanuelle and Francoise "(Emanuelle e Françoise le sorelline)"". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 44, no. 516. British Film Institute. p. 232.
  49. "Il Cobra". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  50. Paul 2005, p. 202.
  51. Paul 2005, p. 297.
  52. "Colpo maestro al servizio di Sua Maestà Britannica" (in Italian). Archivio del cinema italiano.it. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  53. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 111.ISBN 0963498274.
  54. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 111.ISBN 0963498274.
  55. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 111.ISBN 0963498274.
  56. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 111.ISBN 0963498274.

Sources
  • Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786469765.
  • Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1-936168-60-6.
  • Grattarola, Franco; Napoli, Andrea (2014). Luce Rossa. La nascita e le prime fasi del cinema pornografico in Italia. Roma: Iacobelli Editore. ISBN 9788862522137.
  • Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN 9781903254615.
  • Green, Paul (2009). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786458004.
  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
  • Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.
  • Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4888-3.


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