Tony Russel

One of several handsome American actors who migrated to Europe in the early 60s when their careers in the States weren't progressing as well as they wanted, Antonio Pietro Russo, aka Tony Russel (or Tony Russell), was born on November 23, 1925 in Wisconsin, the son of Italian immigrants. Brought up with a strong religious foundation, he developed an interest in acting at a relatively young age and, following his honorable discharge with the Air Force, took up languages, speech and drama at the University of Michigan. After training at the Pasadena Playhouse, Tony began to find uncredited ethnic roles in such 1950's films as Hiawatha (1952), The Silver Chalice (1954), Jump Into Hell (1955), Anything Goes (1956), King Creole (1958), Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) and Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). He also found work in a few popular shows including "The Lone Wolf," "Highway Patrol," "Broken Arrow," "Peter Gunn" and "Zorro." His first prime movie role came with the low-budget Korean War