1. Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Best known to fans under the pseudonym John Morghen, Giovanni Lombardo Radice - or GLR as I will refer to him from on - is the King of Euro Horror movie actors. He starred in so many seminal Euro Horror Classics, he deserves the top spot. He has been dubbed 'The Perennial Victim' due to the fact that his characters inevitably meet a grim and bloody demise. GLR assumed the identity of John Morghen in order to save his upper class family's blushes about what he did for a living. When they found out what he was up to, they disowned him. GLR starred in so many good Euro Horror flicks, it's somewhat incredible. He was subject to many gruesome deaths in these movies but one thing he despised was the Italian penchant for using real-life animal snuff in low-budget cinema. He has been very vocal in condemning it. GLR is maybe most famous for his role as Mike in Cannibal Ferox. He plays a right a**hole who treats the natives like dirt until they get ahold of him and cut off his penis, his hand and - in the most famous scene in the movie - he has his cranium sliced open whilst the natives feast on his brain. In fact, violent deaths seemed to be GLR's speciality. In Cannibal Apocalypse, he plays a cannibalistic Vietnam vet called Charlie Bukowski who runs around taking bites out of people. In a final stand off with the police in the sewer, he takes a massive shotgun blast to the abdomen which the viewer can actually see through. Further roles include a stint as horror legend David Hess's dim-witted sidekick in the nasty and gruelling House at the Edge of the Park. He also starred as another sick puppy in City of the Living Dead - he lives with a blow-up doll and a maggot-infested baby corpse. In Stage Fright, one of the greatest slashers ever made, he is fodder for an owl masked killing-machine. He also starred in one of my favourite Gialli - Phantom of Death: Off Balance by Ruggero Deodato and had an appearance in a further Michele Soavi film, The Church. With such a glittering rostrum of Euro Horror films under his belt, it is easy to see how GLR is a fan favourite of the genre. His presence always meant good acting and gory deaths. Ironically, GLR apparently hates horror films and cannot stand any of his work - he particularly despises Cannibal Ferox with a vengeance. However, among Euro Cult fans, he is a legendary actor who thrilled and entertained us in many genre classics. GLR, we salute you!
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