While his real name was Luigi Montefiori, most everyone knew him as George Eastman. Or maybe his huge screen presence, no matter if it was a horror film, action, western, or even post-apocalyptic film, when he came onscreen, you recognized him. Eastman started in the film industry as an actor in the mid ’60s, appearing in 60 productions, in about every genre from westerns including a few Django films, the giallo, post-apocalyptic features, and of course, horror. It wasn’t too long in his career before he added screenwriter to his list of credits, writing over 50 features, including The Great Alligator (1979), Antrophophagus (1980), and Michele Soavi’s StageFright (1987). He worked a lot with cult director Joe D’Amato aka Aristide Massaccesi, writing for him, as well as acting in a bunch of his titles. He would even step behind the camera to director 2 features, Metamorphosis (1980) & 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983).
But it came out a few days ago that we had lost this massive talent, who passed away back in March, at the age of 83. And when I say “massive”, I mean the fact that he was 6′ 9″ feet tall! But his contribution to the horror / cult / western genre is just as massive. While nobody is going to claim his work was Oscar worthy, most of what he was involved with was entertaining, and memorable. And at the end of the day, that is what it is all about, isn’t it?
Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. Rest in peace, Luigi. You will always be remembered.
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