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IMDbPro

Sergio Leone(1929-1989)

  • Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
  • Writer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Sergio Leone in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Watch Sad Hill Unearthed
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Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in Italy (usually making Biblical and Roman epics, much in vogue at the time). Towards the end of the 1950s he started writing screenplays, and began directing after taking over The Last Days of Pompeii (1959) in mid-shoot after its original director fell ill. His first solo feature, The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), was a routine Roman epic, but his second feature, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), a shameless remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), caused a revolution. Although it wasn't the first spaghetti Western, it was far and away the most successful, and shot former T.V. cowboy Clint Eastwood to stardom (Leone wanted Henry Fonda or Charles Bronson but couldn't afford them). The two sequels, For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), were shot on much higher budgets and were even more successful, though his masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), in which Leone finally worked with Fonda and Bronson, was mutilated by Paramount Pictures and flopped at the U.S. box office. He directed Duck, You Sucker! (1971) reluctantly, and turned down offers to direct The Godfather (1972) in favor of his dream project, which became Once Upon a Time in America (1984). He died in 1989 after preparing an even more expensive Soviet coproduction on the World War II siege of Leningrad.
BornJanuary 3, 1929
DiedApril 30, 1989(60)
BornJanuary 3, 1929
DiedApril 30, 1989(60)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award

Photos24

Sergio Leone and Stéphan Bureau in Téléjeans (1978)
Sergio Leone in Téléjeans (1978)
Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, and Mireille Mathieu
Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, and Mireille Mathieu
Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, and Mireille Mathieu
Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, and Mireille Mathieu
Sergio Leone, Ennio Morricone, and Mireille Mathieu
Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone
Sergio Leone in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, Tonino Delli Colli, and Serena Canevari in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Known for

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Once Upon a Time in America
8.3
  • Writer
  • 1984
James Coburn and Rod Steiger in Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
Duck, You Sucker!
7.6
  • Writer
  • 1971
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
8.8
  • Writer
  • 1966
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West
8.5
  • Writer
  • 1968

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Second Unit or Assistant Director

  • Un genio, due compari, un pollo (1975)
    Un genio, due compari, un pollo
    • (uncredited)
  • My Name Is Nobody (1973)
    My Name Is Nobody
    • (uncredited)
  • Cemetery Without Crosses (1969)
    Cemetery Without Crosses
    • (uncredited)
  • Gino Cervi and Fernandel in The Changing of the Guard (1962)
    The Changing of the Guard
    • (uncredited)
  • Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)
    Sodom and Gomorrah
    • (uncredited)
  • Ben-Hur (1959)
    Ben-Hur
    • (uncredited)
  • Christine Kaufmann and Steve Reeves in The Last Days of Pompeii (1959)
    The Last Days of Pompeii
  • Son of the Red Corsair (1959)
    Son of the Red Corsair
  • The Nun's Story (1959)
    The Nun's Story
    • (uncredited)
  • Sign of the Gladiator (1959)
    Sign of the Gladiator
    • (uncredited)
  • Quai des illusions (1959)
    Quai des illusions
  • Aphrodite, Goddess of Love (1958)
    Aphrodite, Goddess of Love
  • The Teacher and the Miracle (1957)
    The Teacher and the Miracle
  • Aldo Fabrizi and Alberto Sordi in Mi permette babbo! (1956)
    Mi permette babbo!
  • Helen of Troy (1956)
    Helen of Troy
    • (uncredited)

Writer

  • Colt
    • Pre-production
  • Troppo forte (1986)
    Troppo forte
  • Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Once Upon a Time in America
  • Un genio, due compari, un pollo (1975)
    Un genio, due compari, un pollo
    • (uncredited)
  • My Name Is Nobody (1973)
    My Name Is Nobody
  • James Coburn and Rod Steiger in Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
    Duck, You Sucker!
  • Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Once Upon a Time in the West
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  • Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More (1965)
    For a Few Dollars More
  • A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
    A Fistful of Dollars
  • Le verdi bandiere di Allah (1963)
    Le verdi bandiere di Allah
  • Duel of the Titans (1961)
    Duel of the Titans
    • (story)
  • The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)
    The Colossus of Rhodes
  • The Seven Revenges (1961)
    The Seven Revenges
  • Christine Kaufmann and Steve Reeves in The Last Days of Pompeii (1959)
    The Last Days of Pompeii
  • Sign of the Gladiator (1959)
    Sign of the Gladiator

Director

  • The King of Ads (1991)
    The King of Ads
    • (segments Renault 18, " "Renault 19, , Glaces Gervais)
  • Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Once Upon a Time in America
  • James Coburn and Rod Steiger in Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
    Duck, You Sucker!
  • Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
    Once Upon a Time in the West
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  • Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More (1965)
    For a Few Dollars More
  • A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
    A Fistful of Dollars
    • (as Bob Robertson)
  • Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)
    Sodom and Gomorrah
    • (uncredited)
  • The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)
    The Colossus of Rhodes

Videos3

"The Mandalorian" Takes Star Wars to Wild West of Space
Clip 4:02
"The Mandalorian" Takes Star Wars to Wild West of Space
Sad Hill Unearthed
Trailer 2:59
Sad Hill Unearthed
Films That Surprisingly Never Won Oscars
Video 3:57
Films That Surprisingly Never Won Oscars

Personal details

Edit
    • January 3, 1929
    • Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • April 30, 1989
    • Rome, Lazio, Italy(heart attack)
    • Carla Leone1960 - April 30, 1989 (his death, 3 children)
    • Francesca Leone
    • Roberto Roberti
    • Miriam Leone(Not Related)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 12 Print Biographies
    • 2 Interviews
    • 16 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Although they did not work together until 1964, as children Leone and composer Ennio Morricone were classmates.
  • Quotes
    [on Henry Fonda] I have never known an actor with such craft, with such professional seriousness; such a pleasant man, full of humor, so reserved and so keenly quick-witted.
    • Frequently worked with Tonino Delli Colli and Ennio Morricone
    • For a Few Dollars More
      (1965)
      $350,000 + 60% of profits

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