A prominent figure in both Spaghetti Westerns and horror cinema, George Eastman, the stage name of Luigi Montefiori, passed away last night in Rome at the age of 83 at the “Gemelli Curae” clinic.
Actor, screenwriter, director, and producer, Eastman became one of the most recognizable faces of Italian genre cinema, especially beloved by horror and exploitation fans for his work throughout the 1970s and '80s.
His contribution to a unique and unforgettable era of genre filmmaking leaves behind a legacy that continues to resonate with cult cinema audiences around the world.
George Eastman built a career spanning Westerns, horror, crime films, thrillers, and cannibal movies, eventually becoming an iconic face of Italian genre cinema.
With his imposing physical presence and harsh features, Eastman often stood out in antagonist roles, most notably in Mario Bava's cult road thriller Rabid Dogs (1974). Over the years, he also became one of Joe D'Amato's closest collaborators, working both as an actor and screenwriter on numerous Italian exploitation productions.
His name remains especially tied to horror thanks to cult performances as the monstrous leads in Joe D'Amato's Antropophagus (1980) and Absurd (1981), two of the most respected titles in Italian horror cinema.
At the same time, he was also part of D'Amato's sexploitation period, appearing in films such as Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980), Porno Holocaust (1981), and Black Sex (1980), productions that further cemented his cult status within European genre cinema.
After co-directing the post-apocalyptic film 2020: Texas Gladiators (1983) with Joe D’Amato, he made his directorial debut with the sci-fi horror movie Metamorphosis (1990), which earned him the top prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.
From the 1990s onward, he worked mainly in television as a screenwriter.
