Tony Kendall(1936-2009)
- Actor
The handsome and charismatic Tony Kendall was born Luciano Stella on
August 22, 1936 in Rome, Italy. Kendall started his career in show
business as a model for Italian Fumetti, which are comics done in
photographs. Tony made his film debut using his birth name in 1957. He
subsequently changed his name to Tony Kendall after Vittorio De Sica
suggested that he do so. Best known for his recurring lead role as
dashing private eye Jo Louis Walker in the "Kommissar X" series,
Kendall appeared in well over 40 motion pictures in such genres as
giallo, spaghetti Westerns (he played infamous roving gunslinger Django
in both "Django Defies Sartana" and "Gunman of 100 Crosses"), horror
(he's hunky macho hunter hero Sirgurd in the immensely enjoyable fright
feature "When the Screaming Stops"), and crime thrillers (he was
especially memorable as sly hit-man Peter Zacari in the excellent
"Machine Gun McCain"). Moreover, Tony acted alongside Brad Harris in a
handful of movies. Kendall died at age 73 from cancer on November 28,
2009 in Rome, Italy.
