Sunday, July 25, 2010

AS SEEN ON TV: ANOTHER HAT SQUAD TRIBUTE

Probably most of the Inner Toob visitors are unfamiliar with the name Bekim Fehmiu. But if you watched "Spaghetti Westerns"*, you saw his work as an actor....

Bekim Fehmiu, who has died aged 74, was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War, appearing in over 40 films alongside cinematic legends such as Dirk Bogarde, Ava Gardner, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Shaw and Olivia de Havilland.

He also starred on his own side of the Iron Curtain, where he was later respected as one of the few public figures to resist the nationalism that preceded the ethnic wars of the 1990s in the Balkans. As such his death prompted a common outpouring of grief and nostalgia among the peoples of former Yugoslavia, who were united in mourning one of the last icons of their formerly mutual homeland.

He left a note apologizing to his family after shooting himself in the head in his Belgrade apartment on June 15. Formerly in athletic good health, he had suffered a stroke earlier this year that had left him almost paralyzed.

(from the Telegraph in London)

In his memory, and as it is a Sunday, today's "As Seen On TV" spotlight also serves as a "Hat Squad" tribute.....

JOSEPH

AS SEEN IN:
'Un Bambino Di Nome Gesu'

AS PLAYED BY:
Bekim Fehmiu

BCnU!


* I figure Sean Lee knows who he is.....

1 comment:

Sean Levin said...

Actually, Toby, I wasn't familiar with the gentleman, though looking at his IMDB page, I certainly see a few titles I at least recognize.

Thanks for the shout-out!