Born in
Kenosha, Wisconsin, from Italian immigrants, Russel served in the
United States Army Air Forces during
World War II. He then studied at
University of Wisconsin–Madison. Russel founded the English Languages Dubbers Association of Rome (ELDA) He was responsible for uniting all of the rival organizations operating in the city, After making
Burt Topper's
War is Hell (1963), he went to Italy first appearing in the title role of
La leggenda di Fra Diavolo. He then appeared in several
sword and sandal and
Eurospy films, including
Secret of the Sphinx (1964) and
Gladiators Seven (1964). Russel played
Zorro in
Behind the Mask of Zorro (1965); he had originally tested for the role of
Walt Disney's
Zorro but lost out to
Guy Williams. Among Russel's
starring roles are parts in the
sci-fi epics
Wild, Wild Planet (1965) and its
sequel,
War of the Planets filmed concurrently. He left Italy for America in 1967, and later appeared in such films as
The Hard Ride (1971) and
Soul Hustler (1973). He died on March 18, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, aged 91, and is buried in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery under his birth name, Antonio P. Russo. ==Filmography==