Acting
Aug 21, 1936
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Tony Kendall
Acting
Biography
Tony Kendall (22 August 1936 – 28 November 2009) was an Italian model turned film actor with over 50 film credits that reflect the trends of popular European cinema in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Born as Luciano Stella, Kendall was formerly a model for Italian Fumetti, comics done in photographs. He changed his name to Tony Kendall at the suggestion of Vittorio De Sica in the fashion of many Italian actors whose films were shown in countries outside of Italy in the days when European films proliferated. Stella made his film debut in Femmine Tre Volte in 1959 but didn't make another appearance until he used his new name of Tony Kendall in Brennus, Enemy of Rome (1963) one of the sword and sandal craze of films popular in the early 1960s. Kendall is most famous for his various teamings with Brad Harris, with the two predating Terence Hill and Bud Spencer as a popular and prolific action team. In the derivative world of the European cinema of the 1960s, Kendall and Harris first teamed up in two sauerkraut western films "inspired" by the successful German Karl May Winnetou series with Harris as a Lex Barker clone and Kendall as a Native American "Chief Black Eagle" in The Pirates of the Mississippi (1963) and Black Eagle of Santa Fe (1965). With the international success of the James Bond films and the German Jerry Cotton series, Kendall became best known for his role as private detective Joe Walker in the seven films of the Eurospy Kommissar X series where he played opposite Brad Harris in the role of New York Police Captain Tom Rowland. The popularity of Batman (TV series) led to Harris and Kendall appearing in The Three Fantastic Supermen (1967) the first in a long series that had stunt work performed by a young Jackie Chan (“The Three Fantastic Supermen in the Orient”). Kendall has prominently appeared in other varieties of European cinema in the 1960s and 1970s such as Giallo horror (The Whip and the Body, 1963), spaghetti westerns (as Django in Django Against Sartana, 1970, and Gunman of 100 Crosses, 1971), crime movies such as Machine Gun McCain (1969), and adventure films such as Oil! (1977). He also appeared in European versions of women in prison (The Big Bust Out, 1972), zombie horror (Return of the Blind Dead, 1973), and films inspired by The Godfather (Corleone, 1978). Aside from an appearance in Alex l'ariete (2000), Kendall's last film role was in On the Dark Continent in 1993. Source: Article "Tony Kendall (actor)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Feature Films (57)
Two rivals are out to recover a cache of stolen jewels. The thief who originally stole them has just gotten out of prison, however, and he is looking for his twin brother, who knows where the jewels are hidden. Complications ensue.
Kill, Panther, Kill!
A scientist invents a filter that can increase the power of a laser beam, turning it into a death ray! A dangerous crime organization wants the device and will stop at nothing to get it, while murder and violence follow Joe and Tom to Singapore as they try to foil the evil plans.
So Darling, So Deadly
Tony and Brad investigate the murders of politicians and scientists. They soon face off against a team of super hit women with their usual flair.
Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill
One of Tony and Brad's best with the boys on the hunt for a treasure of missing LSD that has been stolen by a criminal organization. Their quest eventually leads the boys to far-off desert oil ruins where much of the film's best action occurs.
Kill Me Gently
Female American tourists are being kidnapped by a crime ring headed by a beautiful Asian woman. They're drugged and then sent to an island where they are kept as sex slaves to be used by wealthy tourists. Two agents are dispatched to rescue the women and put an end to this operation.
Island of Lost Girls
Television & Series (1)
A series of crime dramas starring Giuliano Gemma as the captain of the Carabinieri Malfai, specializing in recovering stolen works of art, begins airing on Rai Uno. Seven episodes are scheduled, with Duccio Tesseri, Tonino Valeri, and Sergio Martino co-starring. In addition to Gemma, Caterina Borano, Patrizia Pellegrino, Fiorenza Marcheggimi, Isabel Russinovi, and Anna Melato will also make appearances, while Vanni Corbellini will be a regular cast member as Brigadier Plenizio, the protagonist's right-hand man. The Carabinieri also collaborated on the series with the Special Unit for the Protection of Artistic Heritage. Gemma plays the unit's commander, who faces a variety of adventures, all centered on thefts or news stories that highlight the dangers to artistic heritage.
