Ray Nazarro

Ray Nazarro
Born (1902-09-25)September 25, 1902
Boston, Massachusetts
Died September 8, 1986(1986-09-08) (aged 83)
Studio City, Los Angeles, California
Other names Nat Nazarro
Raymond Nazarro
Nat Nazzaro
Ray Nazzaro
Occupation Film and television director, producer, screenwriter
Years active 1929-1964

Ray Nazarro (September 25, 1902 - September 8, 1986) was an American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter

Biography

Born in Boston, Nazarro entered the movie business during the silent era, and began directing short films in 1929 with In and Out (billed as "Nat Nazarro"). He spent the next 13 years working in two-reelers, honing an approach to filmmaking that was quick, lean and eminently desirable—to producers, at least—before he became a feature film director at Columbia Pictures, beginning with Outlaws of the Rockies (1945).

Nazarro did the vast majority of his work for Columbia, and was one of the busiest directors on the lot of any major studio—from 1945-1955 he worked at a furious pace, directing as many as 13 pictures in one year. These were almost all B-westerns, made very quickly but with some polish. They were lean and uncluttered—a technique he learned in his years directing shorts—with an emphasis on action but also a serious elegiac view of the west. Among them were Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951) and The Black Dakotas (1954).

At the end of the '50s, with the market for B-westerns drying up in America, Nazarro restarted his career in Europe, making spaghetti westerns. He also began working in television. His last film was the German-made Jayne Mansfield thriller Dog Eat Dog, released in 1964.

Nazarro died on September 8, 1986 and is buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

Selected filmography

Film
Year Film Notes
1929 In and Out Credited as Nat Nazzaro
1930 Darktown Follies Credited as Nat Nazzaro
1932 Runt Page Credited as Raymond Nazarro
1934 Jimmy the Gent Writer, story "The Heir Chaser"
1945 Texas Panhandle
1946 Laugh Jubilee Credited as Nat Nazarro
Writer
1947 West of Dodge City
1948 Phantom Valley
1949 Bandits of El Dorado Alternative title: Tricked
1950 Hoedown
1951 China Corsair
1952 The Rough, Tough West
1953 Kansas Pacific
1953 Gun Belt
1954 Southwest Passage
1954 The Black Dakotas
1955 Top Gun
1956 The White Squaw
1957 The Hired Gun
1958 Apache Territory
1964 Dog Eat Dog
Television
Year Title Notes
1951 The Range Rider Unknown episodes
1954–1956 Annie Oakley 14 episodes
1955 Buffalo Bill Jr. 8 episodes
1955–1960 Fury 8 episodes, produced two episodes
1959 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer 3 episodes

Award nominations

Year Award Result Category Film
1952 Academy Award Nominated Best Writing, Motion Picture Story The Bullfighter and the Lady (Shared with Budd Boetticher)


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