American actor Richard Harrison has died. He passed away last Friday in Los Angeles from natural causes at the age of 90. His death was confirmed by producer and longtime friend Joan Borsten to The Hollywood Reporter.
For decades, Harrison was one of the defining figures of European genre cinema. He regularly appeared in leading roles, particularly in Spaghetti Westerns and “sandal films.” In total, he appeared in more than 100 European and Asian productions and remained in front of the camera well into the 1990s.
Richard Harrison Started Out With Small Roles in Hollywood
His career began in Hollywood in the 1950s. He started out in minor roles before appearing in the 1958 musical film 'South Pacific'. In the early 1960s, he moved to Italy, where he quickly became a sought-after leading man.
He landed his first major European role in 'The Invincible Gladiator'. The film helped establish him as a star of the “sandal films” that were popular at the time. He continued to work steadily in Europe, building a long career outside the traditional Hollywood system.
With 'Duel in Texas,' He Made the Switch to Italo-Westerns
After appearing in gladiator films, Harrison increasingly turned to the Spaghetti Western genre. In 1963, he played the lead role in 'Duel in Texas', an early entry in the genre, with music by Ennio Morricone.
This was followed by films such as 100,000 Dollars for Ringo and Vengeance. In addition to Westerns, he also starred in adventure, spy, and crime films. Later, he appeared in numerous low-budget action and ninja films.
As a result, Harrison remained a fixture of European genre cinema for many years and continued to work regularly on international productions well into the later stages of his career.
He Turned Down Sergio Leone’s Western
One of the most famous episodes of Harrison’s career involves a film in which he did not actually appear. Harrison was considered for the lead role in Sergio Leone’s 'A Fistful of Dollars', but he turned down the part. According to his own later account, he instead recommended Clint Eastwood, who was best known at the time for the TV series 'Rawhide', for the role.
Eastwood ultimately took on the part of the unn'med gunslinger. The film made him an international star and marked the beginning of Leone’s 'Dollars Trilogy,” which helped establish the Spaghetti Western as an influential international film genre.
