Giovanni Cianfriglia

Actor and stuntman Giovanni Cianfriglia died on October 30. He was 89 years old. The fit man worked mainly as a stuntman/body double at the beginning of his career and quickly moved on to acting. He appeared in too many movies to list here. Just to give you an idea, according to IMDb, he worked as a stuntman in 173 productions and 134 as an actor (which was often with his stunt work). Dude was in demand because he was so amazing in his stunt work. He's listed under some titles even though I can't find him in the movie itself which is why making a complete overview of his career is impossible. For instance, Giovanni is listed for HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) but Reeves' stuntman was actually Alan Steel, who acts in the movie. I'll just highlight his most famous titles. 

He's also  listed under the Heroes & Beefcake permanent page. R.I.P..

Giovanni as a stunt man, presumably to Steve Reeves, in THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959). Below: Giovanni with Steve and director Jacques Tourneur.

Giovanni with Steve Reeves in MORGAN THE PIRATE (1960)

Giovanni stands-in for Steve Reeves with Edy Vessel on the set of THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD (1961)

Giovanni is the second Goliath, fighting with Goliath (Gordon Scott) in the climax of GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961). Rumours said it was Steve but Steve didn't do these elaborate stunts because of an injury. I posted about this on the blog back in 2012, the first one to speculate about Giovanni being the second Goliath.

Giovanni appears in a brief moment at the beginning of DUEL OF THE TITANS (1962) along with Virna Lisi.

Giovanni in THE SON OF SPARTACUS (1962) with Gianna Maria Canale and Ombretta Colli. Giovanni was also the stuntman/body double to Steve Reeves in action scenes like the one below from SON OF SPARTACUS.

Giovanni acted along with Steve Reeves (and Genevieve Grad) in SANDOKAN THE GREAT (1963). You can see the size difference between the two men.

In HERCULES AND THE BLACK PIRATE (1964), Giovanni has a small role. He fights, for amusement, with Alan Steel (below). Both actors were stuntmen/body doubles to Steve Reeves.

 

Giovanni was the stuntman/body double to Mark Forest in THE LION OF THEBES (1964). His work in this movie is exceptional. His body type, though, was different than Mark's. 

Giovanni was part of the supporting cast in REVENGE OF THE GLADIATORS (1964) starring Mickey Hargitay and Jose Greci.

Giovanni would finally get a lead role in HERCULES THE AVENGER (1965) playing Antaeus who pretends to be Hercules. The fight between Antaeus and Hercules (below with Reg Park) is a stand-out. In fact, he's a stand-out throughout this movie. With Gia Sandri.

I could go on but that's enough. Giovanni continued stunt work and acting well into the 1980s. 

Giovanni in IRONMASTER (1983) with Sam Pasco. He was still in great shape.

Then & Now: Giovanni in IRONMASTER; A recent photo before he passed away.