# Duccio Tessari

Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns.
Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of peplum films. In 1964 he co-wrote Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, one year later he gained an impressive commercial success and launched the Giuliano Gemma's career with A Pistol for Ringo and its immediate sequel, The Return of Ringo. In 1975, Tessari launched the most popular and successful European depiction of Zorro, when he directed Zorro starring Alain Delon as the titular masked hero. The movie was a smash hit in Europe, Russia, Japan and China.
He later touched different genres and worked in RAI, directing some successful TV-series. He died of cancer in Rome, at 67. He was married to actress Lorella De Luca.

## Filmography

    Note: The films listed as N/A are not necessarily chronological.
| Title | Year | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Notes | Ref(s) |
| Title | Year | Director | Screenwriter | Screen story writer | Other | Notes | Ref(s) |
| Kanonenserenade [de] | 1958 | | Yes | | Yes | Assistant director | |
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1959 | | Yes | | Yes | Assistant director | |
| Carthage in Flames | 1960 | | Yes | | | | |
| Messalina | 1960 | | Yes | Yes | | | |
| Goliath and the Dragon | 1960 | | Yes | | | | |
| Colossus and the Amazon Queen | 1960 | | | | Yes | Assistant director | |
| The Revolt of the Slaves | 1960 | | Yes | | | | |
| Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| Goliath and the Vampires | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| The Colossus of Rhodes | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| The Wonders of Aladdin | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| Hercules in the Haunted World | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| Duel of the Titans | 1961 | | Yes | | | | |
| My Son, the Hero | 1962 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Marco Polo | 1962 | | Yes | | | | |
| Il fornaretto di Venezia | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| The Avenger of Venice | 1964 | | Yes | | | | |
| A Fistful of Dollars | 1964 | | Yes | | | | |
| Secret of the Sphinx | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| A Pistol for Ringo | 1965 | Yes | Yes | Yes | | | |
| The Return of Ringo | 1965 | Yes | Yes | Yes | | | |
| Una voglia da morire | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang | 1966 | Yes | Yes | Yes | | | |
| Seven Guns for the MacGregors | 1966 | | Yes | | | | |
| Dick Smart 2.007 | — | | Yes | | | | |
| Per amore... per magia... | 1967 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| La dama de Beyrut | — | | | Yes | | | |
| The Cats | 1968 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Better a Widow | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Train for Durango | — | | Yes | Yes | | | |
| Sundance and the Kid | 1969 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Quella piccola differenza | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| La morte risale a ieri sera | 1970 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| The Bloodstained Butterfly | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Long Live Your Death | 1971 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Winged Devils | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| The Heroes | — | Yes | | | | | |
| Tony Arzenta | 1973 | Yes | | | | | |
| Three Tough Guys | 1974 | Yes | | | | | |
| Puzzle | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Zorro | 1975 | Yes | | | | | |
| Sexycop | 1976 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Safari Express | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | | | |
| The Fifth Commandment | 1978 | Yes | Yes | Yes | | | |
| Un centesimo di secondo | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Tex and the Lord of the Deep | 1985 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| Please, Let the Flowers Live [de] | 1989 | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs | — | Yes | Yes | | | | |