Frank Wolff started his career by acting in several Roger Corman films. However, Wolff had to travel to Europe to be successful. He was finally able to become a well known actor in Italy and Europe with his performance in Salvatore Giuliano (1962) and had roles in many European film productions. Moreover, Wolff became a major star in Spaghetti ...
He provided the role of The Stranger to actor Tony Anthony and played the villain in The Stranger's first movie A Stranger in Town (1967) as a favor for Anthony. The part became Anthony's most famous role besides his Blindman (1971) and he repeated it three times. Several months before Frank Wolff's death, according to Anthony himself, Frank Wolff asked him for a similar favor, wanting the role in Blindman (1971), which was finally taken by Ringo Starr. It was kind of deal between them, Anthony would provide him role, because Wolff had done him a favor earlier. But the producers wanted Ringo Starr for the role - Wolff was dropped and had a falling out with Anthony. About one year later Frank Wolff killed himself. There have always been rumors, one reason for the suicide was, he saw his career at an end/thought he couldn't get the roles he wanted anymore.
3
According to quite a lot of his colleagues, he was very friendly and helpful. Moreover it has been reported, he proverbially always had a smile on his face and seemed to be very lucky. Among movie people he was also kept for one of the best actors in the Italian cinema era, he was part of. Only few colleagues claim, they recognized psychological problems, he could have had, for example actor Robert Hoffmann and a former companion from his UCLA time, who wrote an article about him.
4
Actor Brett Halsey wrote a book, called 'The Magnificent Strangers', which includes a lot of characters based on Halsey's real movie business colleagues and is kind of autobiographic in a way. The character Frank Ward, who's suicide is thematized in the book, is said to have been written with Frank Wolff in mind.
Was offered the role of the villain in Sergio Leone's legendary A Fistful of Dollars (1964), but dropped it more or less for artistic reasons.
7
Actor Robert Hoffmann, who starred in Alberto De Martino's Carnal Circuit (1969), co-starring Frank Wolff, settled in his Hilton Hotel apartment in Rome after his suicide, because they had the same agent (Michele Pietravalle) at this time. Hoffmann, searching immediately for a roof over the head, didn't care much about the fact his predecessor had been found dead in the bath tub.
8
His last agent was Michele Pietravalle in Rome.
9
Won two times the UCLA best actor award: for "Macbeth" (1951), playing the title role, and "The Lower Depths" (1952), playing Satin.
10
Went to Italy in the early 1960s for making movies there on the advice of director Roger Corman. He had starred in two Corman movies (Ski Troop Attack (1960) and Atlas (1961)) and had also appeared in a fistful of other Corman works shortly before traveling to Italy.
11
His parents were politically active and more or less left oriented. They supported corresponding theatre projects at the UCLA, when Frank Wolff studied there in the 1950s.
12
His parents helped set up the bookings for an anti-war play at the UCLA titled "The time is tomorrow" in the early 1950s. Frank Wolff appeared in the tour version of this UCLA production.
13
His father was a Bay Area doctor.
14
He became quite good friends with director Monte Hellman when they studied and worked together at the UCLA in the 1950s. As a result, one of his first movies was Hellman's Beast from Haunted Cave (1959).
15
Directed two original one acts for the advanced direction class at the UCLA: "The woman in Strindberg's room" and "The lucky guy".
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
When Women Lost Their Tails
1972
Grr
Caliber 9
1972
Commissioner
La morte cammina con i tacchi alti
1971
Dr. Robert Matthews
Gli occhi freddi della paura
1971
Arthur Welt
The Beloved
1971
Hector
Trasplante de un cerebro
1970
Dr. Chambers
When Women Had Tails
1970
Grr
The Lickerish Quartet
1970
Castle owner
Corbari
1970
Ulianov
La morte risale a ieri sera
1970
Duca Lamberti
Metello
1970
Betto
Lo stato d'assedio
1969
Vallauri
La battaglia del deserto
1969
Red Wiley
L'amica
1969
Guido Nervi
Sartana the Gravedigger
1969
Buddy Ben
Barbagia (La società del malessere)
1969
Spina
Carnal Circuit
1969
Frank Donovan
I dannati della Terra
1969
Fausto
Eat It
1968
Commendatore / Mister Eat it
Ecce Homo
1968
Quentin
Kill Them All and Come Back Alone
1968
Captain Lynch
The Libertine
1968
Dr. Giulio, the dentist
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968
Brett McBain
The Great Silence
1968
Sheriff Gideon Burnett
I tre che sconvolsero il West (Vado, vedo e sparo)
1968
Edwin Kean
Villa Rides
1968
Ramirez
Sequestro di persona
1968
Osilo
Le dolci signore
1968
Cesare, Paola's husband
God Forgives... I Don't!
1967
Bill San Antonio
The Stranger Returns
1967
El Plein (English version, voice, uncredited)
Last of the Badmen
1967
Joshua Tracy
The Million Dollar Countdown
1967
Paul Lefèvre
Ringo; Face of Revenge
1967
Trikie Ferguson
A Stranger in Town
1967
Aguilar (as Frank Wolf)
Make Love, Not War
1966
Charlie Morgan
The Treasure of San Gennaro
1966
Joe
A Few Dollars for Django
1966
Jim / Trevor Norton
Agent 3S3, Massacre in the Sun
1966
Ivan Mikhailovic
The Baron
1966
TV Series
Frank Martin / Miros
Court Martial
1966
TV Series
Giolitti
Judith
1966
Eli
The Man in a Looking Glass
1965
TV Movie
Frank Martin
Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious
1965
Quartermaster Sergeant
Once Upon a Tractor
1965
Short
Truck Driver
The Saint
1965
TV Series
Jim Reston
Amori pericolosi
1964
Il marito (segments "Il passo" and "La ronda")
Via Veneto
1964
Un commerce tranquille
1964
Ginger
America America
1963
Vartan Damadian
Il demonio
1963
Antonio
Il processo di Verona
1963
Count Galeazzo Ciano
The Four Days of Naples
1962
Salvatore (uncredited)
Salvatore Giuliano
1962
Gaspare Pisciotta
Atlas
1961
Proximates the Tyrant
The Runaway
1961
Wetback Vagrant (uncredited)
The Subterraneans
1960
Bearded Man (uncredited)
The Twilight Zone
1960
TV Series
Baron
Ski Troop Attack
1960
Sgt. Potter
Wagon Train
1960
TV Series
Slim
Rawhide
1960
TV Series
Ernie Holzman
The Lawless Years
1960
TV Series
Mike Dameri
The Untouchables
1960
TV Series
Tony Rio
Beast from Haunted Cave
1959
Alexander Ward
The Wasp Woman
1959
First Delivery Man
Five Fingers
1959
TV Series
Rudi
The Wild and the Innocent
1959
Henchman
I Mobster
1959
Man (uncredited)
Jefferson Drum
1958
TV Series
Sam Creighton
Sea Hunt
1958
TV Series
1st Policeman
Kathy O'
1958
Man (uncredited)
General Electric Theater
1957
TV Series
Cab Driver
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Western, Italian Style
1968
TV Short documentary
Commentary / Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Bud's Best - Die Welt des Bud Spencer
2012
TV Movie documentary
Bill San Antonio
Known for movies
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as Brett McBain
America America (1963) as Vartan Damadian
The Great Silence (1968) as Sheriff Gideon Burnett
$850,000
