- Born
- Died
- Height6′ 0¾″ (1.85 m)
- Benito Stefanelli was born on September 2, 1928 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor, known for Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and A Fistful of Dollars (1964). He died on December 18, 1999 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Children
- Was stuntman and unofficial English translator on A Fistful of Dollars (1964) (A Fistful of Dollars). It was through him that star Clint Eastwood communicated with director Sergio Leone and the rest of the Italian cast.
- Father of actor Marco Stefanelli.
- In addition to his acting roles, he was also a stunt director and armorer. He would teach swordplay to the actors and choreograph sword-fights in the sword and sandal/mythological muscleman epics. He would also oversee the use of various weapons, from pistols to cannons, in many "spaghetti westerns." He would also step in and serve as an unofficial Italian/English translator.
- When he had to come up with an anglicized name for the spaghetti westerns, he chose "Benny Reeves." "Benny" was short for Benito and "Reeves" was a tribute to American actor Steve Reeves with whom he had worked on some of the sword and sandal/mythological muscle man movies.
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