We are saddened to learn this morning that actor and screenwriter George Eastman, the Italian horror giant best known to fans for his role as the cannibalistic beast in Anthropophagus, has passed away at the age of 83.
la Repubblica reports that Eastman passed away after a brief stay at the Gemelli Curae clinic in Rome following deteriorating health.
Eastman, born in Genoa on August 16, 1942, as Luigi Montefiori, was a former rugby player turned actor and screenwriter who, looking to break into film, chose an American stage name after the originator of photographic film and founder of the Kodak Company.
His hulking 6’9″ frame and menacing exterior made him a regular in spaghetti westerns as the Heavy and a formidable villain in horror. Eastman’s career spanned everything from westerns, horror, thrillers, post-apocalyptic science fiction, erotica, and television.
While Eastman notably terrorized as one of the villains in Mario Bava‘s sadistic road thriller Rabid Dogs, it was the actor’s close friendship with Italian horror filmmaker Joe D’Amato that is most notable for horror fans. His frequent collaborations with D’Amato yielded both acting and screenwriting credits: Absurd (1981), Red Blood (1981), and sexploitation films like Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980) and Porno Holocaust (1981).
That creative partnership would lead Eastman to helm his own feature to date, 1990’s sci-fi horror movie Metamorphosis, under the pseudonym G. L. Eastman.
George Eastman’s storied career spans all genres and paired the filmmaker with Italy’s most prominent filmmakers, from Mario Bava to Sergio Martino to Enzo G. Castellari and Lamberto Bava.
We send our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of George Eastman.
