Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns.[1]
Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of peplum films. In 1964 he co-wrote Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, one year later he gained an impressive commercial success and launched the Giuliano Gemma's career with A Pistol for Ringo and its immediate sequel, The Return of Ringo.[1]
In 1975, Tessari launched the most popular and successful European depiction of Zorro, when he directed Zorro starring Alain Delon as the titular masked hero. The movie was a smash hit in Europe, Russia, Japan and China.
He later touched different genres and worked in RAI, directing some successful TV-series. He died of cancer in Rome, at 67.[2] He was married to actress Lorella De Luca.[1][2]
Filmography
Note: The films listed as N/A are not necessarily chronological.
Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN978-0786469765.
Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN978-1-936168-60-6.
Curti, Roberto (2017). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN978-1476628387.
Curti, Roberto (2018). Mavericks of Italian Cinema. McFarland. ISBN978-1-4766-7242-7.
Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN9781903254615.
Hughes, Howard (2006). Once Upon a Time in the Italian West. I B Tauris. ISBN0857730452.