RIP Franco Daddi

 

Franco Daddi, stuntman and master of arms, has died: a life in the most risky roles

Born and bred in Ostia, Franco Daddi had chased in vain the project of a stunt school to be born on the Roman coast

Canale Dieci

By Giulio Mancini

August 12, 2024

 

Franco Daddi, stuntman and master of arms who passed away tonight at the age of 89, had been ill for some time. The almanacs of cinema attribute to him no less than 80 films as an actor and stuntman: among the roles covered there is also that of stunt double for Kirk Douglas, Steward Granger, Ricardo Montalban and Lex Barker, the first Tarzan of cinema.

Born and bred in Ostia, Franco Daddi had chased in vain the project of a stunt school to be born on the Roman coast

Franco (born Virgilio) Daddi was a great character in the world of cinema of the furious Sixties, those of the so-called peplum films (including action roles in the various Goliaths, Hercules and Macistes), pirates (including Sandokan) and spaghetti westerns. Born in 1935 in Rome, in 1956 Franco Daddi and his family moved to live in Ostia. Son of Asvero, chief machinist at Cinecittà, Franco began chewing bread and celluloid at the age of 13 with an appearance in the film "Il ponte di Bassano".

Gifted with an imposing physique, Franco Daddi grew up in sport, specializing mainly in fencing and horseback riding. The international film bible IMDB credits him with 89 films as a stuntman. Her last appearances were in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" (2002), in the TV series "Elisa di Rivombrosa" (2003) and in the series "The Borgia" (2006).

Franco Daddi worked for a long time alongside Giuliano Gemma, with whom he became a great friend, and with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer (Otherwise they angry us, 1974; They Call Me Bulldozer, 1979). By virtue of his physique and his mastery in the most dangerous scenes, he has been a stunt double for actors such as Kirk Douglas, Steward Granger, John Ericson, Ricardo Montalban and Lex Barker.

As the book "Ostia natural set" points out, his most reckless stage performances saw him engaged in a dive from a height of 17 meters into the sea from the cliff of Circeo and the launch into the void from the second arch of the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla.

In his mature years he dedicated himself to instructing legions of successful actors such as Linda Turner, Alain Delon, Lola Falana, Kaspar Capparoni, Vittoria Puccini and Alessandro Preziosi in the use of bladed weapons and horseback riding.

His unfulfilled dream

In the first decade of the 2000s, Franco Daddi worked on the construction of a stunt school in Ostia. The project was to obtain from the local administration a plot of land where to welcome the aspiring cashiers and compare them with the greatest interpreters of this noble cinematographic art to learn every secret. The initiative was presented at a press conference hosted at the Town Hall, at the Governorate Palace, but was not put into practice.

The funeral of Franco Daddi

Franco Daddi's funeral will be held on Tuesday 13 August at the church of Santa Monica in Ostia at 9.30 am.

Franco Daddi’s westerns – stuntman, stunt coordinator, actor:

The Return of Clay Stone – 1964 (gambler)

Three Dollars of Lead – 1964 (Jerry) [as Virgilio Daddi]

Johnny West – 1965 (Jefferson henchman)

A Stranger in Sacramento – 1965 (Barnett henchman) [Franco Daddys]

The Big Gundown – 1966 (cantina brawler)

Seven Dollars to Kill – 1966 (outlaw)

$20,000 on Number 7 – 1966 (attempted rapist)

Black Tigress – 1967 (Paco) [as Franco Dady] [master of arms]

Kill the Wicked! – 1967

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968

Heads or Tails – 1968 (Rhett/Red)

Tequila Joe – 1968 (Crawford brother)

Two Pistols and a Coward – 1968 (brawler)

Zorro the Rebel – 1968 (policeman)

Boot Hill – 1969 (brawler)

Twice a Judas – 1969 (saloon brawler)

The Ballad of Ben and Charlie – 1971 (brawler)

Django’s Cut Rate Corpses – 1971 (Ramon’s brother)

A Man Called Django! – 1971 (Carranza henchman)

Paid in Blood – 1971 (Ringo Brown #1)

The Price of Death – 1971 (saloon patron)

Trinity is STILL My Name – 1971 (Parker henchman) [stunts]

Vengeance Trail – 1971 (Perkins’ henchman)

God is My Colt .45 – 1972 (hired killer)

Man of the East – 1972 (saloon patron)

They Call Me Providence – 1972 (gambler)

Trinity & Sartana Those Sons of Bitches – 1972 (Bill)

General Cagoso/Colonel Hotshot henchman – 1972 (Capone henchman)

Eh? Who’s Afraid of Zorro! – 1975 (Zorro)

The Grandson of Zorro – 1975 (Ruarte soldier)

America in Rome – 1998 [himself]

The Last Hour – 2009 [master of arms]