George Eastman Biography

Born Luigi Montefiori in 1942 near Genoa, Italy, the future actorprovided artwork for various advertising agencies in Genoa before moving toRome in 1966. Though he intended to further his art career, he becameinvolved with a crowd of film people who urged him to put his good looks toadvantage in the movies. Parts in Italian westerns soon followed, usuallyunder the pseudonym "George Eastman". (He once reportedly missed out on arole in a Franco Nero western because his height made Franco Nero look tooshort.) Never quite "typed", the actor soon moved into other film genresplaying good guys, bad guys, and good-bad guys. These parts often exploitedhis athletic physique by having him remove his shirt, perhaps most memorablyin Lina Wertmüller's _Belle Starr (1968) where he suffered through amemorable torture scene involving a boot-spur. However, a few parts inEnglish-language films, such as Charlton Heston's _Call of the Wild, The(1972)_ failed to significantly broaden his appeal. He also began to writeor collaborate on scripts and in 1989 he directed his first movie: _DNAFormula Letale (1989)_. Details on his private life are sketchy but somesources indicate that he's the father of a daughter.