Giovanni Lombardo Radice

Radice was born in Rome in September 1954, into a prominent local family. His father, Lucio, was a mathematician and a leading member of the Communist Party. His paternal grandfather was the pedagogist Giuseppe Lombardo Radice. His uncle, Pietro Ingrao, was a prominent politician, journalist, and World War II partisan. He was the first Communist to become President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, a position he held from 1976 to 1979. Radice studied to become a ballet dancer, but his career was sidelined by a back injury in his teenage years. After brief stint as a physical therapist, he decided to become an actor. == Career ==

After classical training, he started a Shakespearean company called The Swan Company (named after The Swan) at the age of 19. He was a successful stage actor for several years, but by his account was "a terrible administrator" and struggled financially. In several interviews, he reportedly stated that he wished he had never portrayed Mike Logan in Cannibal Ferox, criticizing the movie for being both fascist and racist and abusive towards animals. After his family criticized him for using his family name to create incredibly violent films, Radice adopted the stage name John Morghen, taking the anglicized form of his first name (Giovanni becomes John) and using his maternal grandmother's maiden name as his last name (Morghen). == Personal life ==

Lombardo Radice was married to actress Alessandra Panelli (b. 1957) from 1989 until his death. They had one child. Lombardo Radice was trilingual, fluent in English and French as well as his native Italian. The writer was his elder brother. Radice often posted texts criticizing social injustice, capitalism and corruption in Italy. He wrote about having a cocaine addiction when younger. == Death ==

Lombardo Radice died on 27 April 2023, at the age of 68, the same day as his Cannibal Apocalypse co-star Ramiro Oliveros. ==Filmography==