Anthony Steffen
| Anthony Steffen | |
|---|---|
Steffen in Gunman Sent by God (1968)
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| Born |
Antônio Luis de Teffé von Hoonholtz July 21, 1930 Rome, Italy |
| Died | June 4, 2004 (aged 73) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Occupation | Actor, screenwriter, film producer |
Anthony Steffen (July 21, 1930 – June 4, 2004), born Antônio Luiz de Teffé von Hoonholtz, was a Brazilian film actor, screenwriter and film producer who achieved fame as a leading man in Spaghetti Western features. He was also known as Antonio del Teffe.
Born Antonio Luiz de Teffé von Hoonholtz at the Brazilian embassy in Rome, in the Pamphilj Palace, his family had noble blood of a long lineage of Count (von Hoonholtz) originally from Prussia. His great grandfather was the Great Baron of Tefé. First born among Manoel de Teffe' von Hoonholtz children (Federico de Teffe' and Melissa de Teffe'), a Formula One racing champion and Brazilian Ambassador and his grandaunt was Nair de Tefé von Hoonholtz, wife of Brazilian President Hermes Fonseca, and first caricaturist of Brazil. While still a teenager, Antonio fought in World War II along the partisans against the Nazis.
Under the name Antonio de Teffé, he worked behind the scenes in several Italian productions in the early 50's and later acted in several movies, but never really achieving stardom. In 1962, he had a bit part in Sodom and Gomorrah.
An early appearance of his was in the 1955 Gli Sbandati.
From 1965 to 1975, the newly named Anthony Steffen achieved considerable fame in Europe, amassing cult status, starring in 27 Spaghetti Westerns. Considered to be an "Italian Clint Eastwood", he was sometimes unfairly criticized for being a stiff or wooden actor. Several of his movies were sizeable box office hits in Europe.
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