Frederick Stafford

Frederick Stafford
Born Friedrich Strobel von Stein
(1928-03-11)March 11, 1928
Czechoslovakia
Died July 28, 1979(1979-07-28) (aged 51)
Switzerland
Occupation actor
Years active 1965–1977
Spouse(s) Marianne Hold

Frederick Stafford (11 March 1928 – 28 July 1979) was a Czech-born actor. Born Friedrich Strobel von Stein, he spoke fluent Czech, German, English, French and Italian, and was a leading man in European spy-movies.

Film career

In 1964 French director André Hunebelle discovered him on holiday at a hotel in Bangkok and asked him "How would you like to make movies with me?" Stafford replied, "Why not?," and replaced Kerwin Mathews to play an agent code-named OSS 117 in two Bond-like-adventures. He co-starred in the first one with Mylène Demongeot, and in the second with Marina Vlady. He also appeared in macaroni combat war-films (The Battle of El Alamein) and in Michel Boisronds thriller Million Dollar Man alongside Anny Duperey.

These movies brought the attention of Alfred Hitchcock, who signed him in 1968 to play the leading role as agent André Devereaux in Topaz (1969), but the film was not a success. The casting of Stafford, whose performance was found lacking by critics, was largely blamed for its failure. Channel4 claimed, "Heading the international cast is a very wooden Stafford, who is no Cary Grant."

He married German actress Marianne Hold. His son is the singer Roderick Stafford, who was born in 1964.

He made a come-back in 1972 as Commissario Luca Micelli in the Italian Giallo Shadows Unseen. Five years after Topaz, he starred with French actress Claude Jade (who had played his daughter in Topaz) in the Italian thriller La ragazza di via Condotti (Meurtres à Rome/Special Killers) (1973/74). In that movie, Stafford's character has a brief platonic romance with Jade's character despite a 20-year age difference. His last successes were the Spanish Movies Blood and Passion (1975) and White Horses of Summer (1975, starring Jean Seberg, his co-star from 1966 Estouffade à la Caraïbe), the Italian thriller Werewolf Man (1976) and the Spanish-Italian-French coproduction Hold-Up (1977).

Stafford died in 1979 in a plane crash near Lugano, Switzerland.

Films

Year Title Roles Director starring Notes
1965 Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117 Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath, alias OSS 117 André Hunebelle Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot
1966 Agent 505 – Todesfalle Beirut Richard Blake / Agent 505 Manfred R. Köhler Frederick Stafford, Geneviève Cluny
Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117 Michel Boisrond Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlady
1967 Dirty Heroes Joe Mortimer, Sesame Alberto De Martino Frederick Stafford, Daniela Bianchi, Curd Jürgens, Adolfo Celi, Michel Constantin
Estouffade à la Caraïbe Sam Morgan Jacques Besnard Frederick Stafford, Jean Seberg
L'Homme qui valait des milliards Jean Sarton Michel Boisrond Frederick Stafford, Anny Duperey, Peter van Eyck
1969 The Battle of El Alamein Lt. Giorgio Borri Giorgio Ferroni Frederick Stafford, George Hilton, Robert Hossein, Michael Rennie
Eagles Over London Captain Paul Stevens Enzo G. Castellari Frederick Stafford, Van Johnson, Francisco Rabal
Topaz Andre Devereaux Alfred Hitchcock Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, Claude Jade, Karin Dor, John Forsythe, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret
1972 Abuso di potere Commissioner Luca Miceli Camillo Bazzoni Frederick Stafford, Marilù Tolo, Reinhard Kolldehoff
1973 La ragazza di via Condotti Sandro Mattei Germán Lorente Frederick Stafford, Claude Jade, Michel Constantin
Metti che ti rompo il muso Rocky Miller Giuseppe Vari Frederick Stafford, Silvia Monti, Massimo Mollica
1974 Hold-Up Robert Cunningham Germán Lorente Frederick Stafford, Nathalie Delon, Marcel Bozzuffi
1975 White Horses of Summer Nicholas Kingsburg Raimondo Del Balzo Frederick Stafford, Jean Seberg
La trastienda Doctor Navarro Jorge Grau Frederick Stafford, Rosanna Schiaffino
1976 Werewolf Woman Inspector Modica Rino Di Silvestro Frederick Stafford, Dagmar Lassander
Sfida sul fondo Valdesio Melciade Coletti Frederick Stafford, Dagmar Lassander (Last appearance)
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