Gordon Mitchell doesn’t care for Robert Mark’s interference in KILL OR BE KILLED.
after she saw the first cut. She agreed that, even for Italian cinema, it looked and sounded dread- ful. She and I both had pushed for poor Ringo to at least be allowed some dignity and play the gui- tar... maybe even a harmonica... but a violin... God! At any rate, this was what Maestro Tanio Boccia wanted, and they were paying me well enough, so I finally said, “Oh, what the hell!”
I had just left med school and didn’t really have a great love for the world of Italian cinema. This was just the rainbow I was pursuing at the mo- ment, to make a living and finance my playboy lifestyle. I wasn’t into making this my life’s work. In fact, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I suppose that’s why the accident occurred in Spain. I needed a new direction.
You have a impressive, well-choreographed fight scene with Gordon Mitchell in KILL OR BE KILLED. It is a wonder you both weren’t injured. Was it difficult to rehearse and film such a scene? As a matter of fact, Gordo and I put that scene together in one morning. He arrived in Manziana, where we filmed the bit on a ranch at 7:00 that morning. We choreographed it in less than an hour,
34
began filming at 9:00 and were finished before lunch. Gordo was a dream to work with, a real first-class pro. We were both athletes and had both been boxers, so this fight scene was really a fun walk in the park. He was not only a pro, but also a gentleman. Everyone who knew and worked with Gordon Mitchell loved and respected him. I’ll bet you didn’t know that he had been a biology professor in California before he got into acting!
Why the name change to Robert Mark? That is an amusing story. When I did OPERA-
TION WHITE SHARK under the name Rodd Dana, the film was a cult hit with the Italians. When the producer and director of Sicario 77, vivo o morto saw it, they decided they wanted me for their flick. But when I went in for a chat, they asked me if I would be willing to change my name. They said that Rodd Dana not only sounded like an Ital- ian name, but the local gentry pronounced it “Rodanna,” which had the ring of a woman’s name. I said, “Look, you guys...”—in my best Italian, of course—“for what you’re paying me, you can call me Chuck Wagon for all I care!” So, after going
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
