1st L.A. Spaghetti Western Festival

Robert Woods, Mark Damon, Richard Harrison, Brett Halsey, Hunt Powers, Michael Forest, Dan van Husen

What a fantastic day. We also showed “Gatling Gun” with Q&A with Robert Woods, “The Dead Men Don’t Count” with Q&A with Mark Damon and “Fistful of Dollars”. It’s the first Spaghetti Western Festival of it’s kind… it won’t be the last!

Hopefully next time in a place near Belgium, Tom

Great to see all these men alive and kicking, and still in good shape, if I may say so
A Ride the High Country, spaghetti style, with these guys wouldn’t be a bad idea

Wish I could have went. Me and Spuff looked into it but airfare was just too much. Maybe next time. ;D How was the attendance?

Nice to see so many still alive and willing to speak about their Spaghetti adventures.

Yes, definitely an event I would have liked to attend. And the guys look in great shape which is good news in itself.
Next time…I hope.

Great stuff. How was the turnout?

We had about 200 turn out and another 30 free admissions. Most people came to see Fistful and the panel. We knew the audience would small as the only advertising was word of mouth, internet boards and some small write-ups in the L.A. Times and L.A. Weekly. With the actors that turned out we have some big names to throw out to bring in talent for next year. Mark Damon never turns out for events as he doesn’t feel comfortable in crowds. Richard Harrison drove in from Palm Springs and his son Sebastian brought him over. Robert Woods and Hunt Powers are well known for the genre and Dan van Husen and Michael Forest are also well known. We will see if we can get some sponsors next year and bring in some European actors etc. I’ll keep you posted and we will keep up the website.

200 is a start at least. Hopefully that number will continue to increase year after year. I’m also thinking that perhaps people who worked on Hollywood westerns can also be invited, which may boost the mainstream appeal but this is a Spaghetti Western festival afterall.

The Festival of the West was held in Scottsdale, Arizona the same weekend. We had asked John Saxon to join us, but he had committed to the Scottsdale convention. We did have some Hollywood actors in attendance and having them included in future festivals is somthing we’ll definitely consider.