''Saracen'' was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam. The expansion of the meaning occurred first among the Byzantine Greeks and then among the Latins. By the time of the Crusades, beginning in 1095, a "Saracen" had become synonymous with a "Muslim" in European chronicles.

Roman times

The earliest datable reference to Saracens is found in Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD), which describes "Sarakene" as a region in the Northern Sinai named after the town Saraka located between Egypt and Palestine. Ptolemy also makes mention of a people called the ''Sarakenoi'' living in north-western Arabia. Eusebius of Caesarea references Saracens in his ''Eccelastical history'', in which he narrates an account wherein Dionysus the Bishop of Alexandria mentions Saracens in a letter while describing the Roman emperor Decius's persecution: "Many were, in the Arabian mountain, enslaved by the barbarous ''sarkenoi''." The ''Historia Augusta'', written in 400 AD also refers to an attack by ''Saraceni'' on Pescennius Niger's army in Aegyptus, 193 CE but provides little information on who they might be. The Saracens were often forced into slavery.

Hippolytus, the book of the laws of countries and Uranius mention three distinct peoples in Arabia during the first half of the third century, the Saraceni, Taeni and Arabes. The Taeni, later identified with the Arabic speaking people called Tayy, were located around the Khaybar Oasis all the way up to the eastern Euphrates while the Saracenoi were placed north of them. These Saracens located in the Northern Hejaz appear as people with a certain military ability and opponents of the Roman Empire who are characterized by the Romans as ''barbaroi''. They are described in a ''Notitia dignitatum'' dating from the time of Diocletian, during the 3rd century, as comprising distinctive units in the composition of the Roman army distinguishing between Arabs, Iiluturaens and Saracens. The Saracens are described as forming the ''equites'' (heavy cavalry) from Phoenicia and Thamud. In a ''praeteritio'', the defeated enemies of Diocletian's campaign in the Syrian desert are described as Saracens and other 4th century military reports make no mention of Arabs but refer to groups as far east as Mesopotamia (Iraq) involved in battles on both the Persian and Roman sides as Saracens.

The ''Historia Augusta'' carries an account of a letter to the Roman senate, ascribed to Aurelian, that describes the Palmyrian queen Zenobia: "I might say such was the fear that this woman inspired in the peoples of the east and also the Egyptians that neither Arabes, nor Saraceni, nor Armenians moved against her." Another early Byzantine source chronicling the Saracens is the 6th century works by Ioannes Malalas. The difference between the two accounts of Saracens is that Malalas saw Palmyrans and all inhabitants of the Syrian desert as Saracens and not Arabs, while the ''Historia Augusta'' saw the Saracens as not being subjects of Zenobia and distinct from Palmyrans and Arabs. Writing at the end of the fourth century Ammianus Marcellinus, a historian of Julian the Apostate, notes that the term Saraceni designating "desert-dwellers" of the Syrian desert had replaced ''Arabes scenitae''. After the time of Ammianus the Saracens were known as warriors of the desert. The term Saracen, popular in both Greek and Roman literature, over time came to be associated with Arabs and Assyrians as well

The Middle Persian correspondent terms for Saracens are ''tazigan'' and ''tayyaye''; who were located by Stephanus of Byzantium in the 6th century at the Lakhmid capital city of Al-Hirah.

Early and medieval Christian literature

Eusebius and Epiphanius Scholasticus, in their Christian histories, place Saracens east of the Gulf of Aqaba but beyond the Roman province of Arabia and mention them as Ishmaelites through Kedar; thus, they are outside the promise given to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and also therefore, in Christian theology, beyond a privileged place in the family of nations or divine dispensation. The Jews viewed them as pagans and polytheists in ancient times and in later Christian times they became associated with cruel tyrants from early Christian history such as: Herod the Great, Herod Antipas and Agrippa I. Christian writings, such as those by Origen, viewed them as heretics who had to be brought into the Orthodox fold. To the Christian Saint Jerome the Arabs, who were also considered in Christian theology as Ishmaelites, were also seen to fit the definition of Saracens; pagan tent-dwelling raiders of the lands on the eastern fringes of the Roman empire.

The term Saracen carried the connotation of people living on the fringes of settled society, living off raids on towns and villages, and eventually became equated with both the "tent-dwelling" Bedouin as well as sedentary Arabs. Church writers of the period commonly describe Saracen raids on monasteries and their killing of monks. The term and the negative image of Saracens was in popular usage in both the Greek east as well as the Latin west throughout the Middle Ages. With the advent of Islam, in the Arabian peninsula, during the seventh century among the Arabs, the term's strong association with Arabs tied the term closely with not just race and culture, but also the religion. The rise of the Arab Empire and the ensuing hostility with the Byzantine Empire saw itself expressed as conflict between Islam and Christianity and the association of the term with Islam was further accentuated both during and after the Crusades.

John of Damascus, in a polemical work typical of this attitude described the Saracens in the early 8th century thus: :There is also the people-deceiving cult (threskeia) of the Ishmaelites, the forerunner of the Antichrist, which prevails until now. It derives from Ishmael, who was born to Abraham from Hagar, wherefore they are called Hagarenes and Ishmaelites. And they call them Saracens, inasmuch as they were sent away empty-handed by Sarah; for it was said to the angel by Hagar: "Sarah has sent me away empty-handed" (cf. Book of Genesis xxi. 10, 14).

See also

Byzantine-Arab Wars

History of Islam in southern Italy

Medieval Christian view of Muhammad

Mohammedan

Moors

Orientalism

Serkland

References

Footnotes

Notations

Retso, Jan. 2003. ''The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads''. Routledge. ISBN 0-700-71679-3

Category:Ancient peoples

ar:ساراكينوس an:Sarracins be-x-old:Сарацыны bg:Сарацини ca:Sarraí cs:Saracén da:Saracener de:Sarazenen el:Σαρακηνοί es:Sarraceno eo:Saracenoj eu:Sarrazeno fa:شرقیون fr:Sarrasins fy:Sarasenen ko:사라센 hr:Saraceni id:Saracen it:Saraceni he:סרצנים lt:Saracėnai ms:Saracen nl:Saracenen ja:サラセン人 no:Sarasenere nn:Sarasenarar oc:Sarrasins (pòble) pms:Sarasin nds:Sarazenen pl:Saraceni pt:Sarracenos ro:Sarazini ru:Сарацины sk:Saracén sl:Saraceni sr:Сарацени sh:Saraceni fi:Saraseeni sv:Saracener tr:Sarazenler uk:Сарацини wa:Sarazin zh:撒拉森人

Marc Trauner, better known by his numerous aliases including Marc Acardipane, Mescalinum United, The Mover, Pilldriver, Marshall Masters and Resident E, is a Frankfurt, Germany based DJ and producer.

History

Trauner was co-founder of record label Planet Core Productions and released, as Mescalinum United, "We Have Arrived" in 1990. "We Have Arrived" was remixed by Aphex Twin and two versions of the track appeared on Aphex Twin's album ''Classics''.

He scored a top 20 hit in the UK in collaboration with Scooter in 2003, with the single "Maria (I Like It Loud)", a cover of his 1998 single "I Like It Loud".

In 2006 he released his Best Of Album - Best Of Marc Acardipane (1989-1998). This was spread over 2 volumes.

"We Have Arrived"

"We Have Arrived" is a gabber track by Marc Trauner under the alias Mescalinum United. It was first released by Planet Core Productions in 1990 on the ''Reflections of 2017'' EP. The track is often regarded as the first gabber/hardcore track.

Remixes

The Advent remix (5:35)

Aphex Twin QQT remix (4:24)

Aphex Twin TTQ remix (5:03)

Darrien Kelly's 98 retake (4:18)

DJ Promo remix (6:19)

Lory D remix (4:24)

Manu le Malin remix (4:40)

Miro remix (5:05)

Rude Awakening remix (4:10)

The Horrorist remix (4:06)

The Mover remix

References

External links

Marc Trauner's official homepage

Information on discogs.org

Article by music journalist Simon Reynolds, originally published in The Wire, July 1998.

Category:German DJs Category:People from Frankfurt Category:Living people

de:Marc Acardipane es:Marc Acardipane fr:Marc Acardipane hr:Marc Trauner it:Marc Acardipane nl:Marc Acardipane ja:マーク・トローネ sk:Marc Trauner

name	Keep It Together
type	Album
artist	Guster
cover	Keepittogether.jpg
released	June 24, 2003
recorded	2001—2003
genre	Alternative rock
length	48:44
label	Palm, Reprise
producer	Roger Moutenot and Ron Aniello
last album	''WBR Sessions''(2003)
this album	''Keep It Together''(2003)
next album	''Live 09/04/03 Knoxville, TN''(2003) }}

''Keep It Together'' is an album by the band Guster released in June 2003. The album was recorded from 2001 to 2003 in Bearsville, New York, New York City, Burbank, California, and Shokan, New York. This is the first album by Guster that features Brian Rosenworcel on kit drums instead of hand percussion. ''Keep It Together'' went through several working titles, including ''Bitch Magic'', ''Olympia Dukakis'' and ''Come Downstairs & Say Hello''.

Joe Pisapia contributed guest vocals on "Jesus on the Radio." Just months after the release of the album, he became the new member of the band.

The song "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today" features Ben Kweller on vocals.

Track listing

#"Diane" – 3:46 #"Careful" – 3:42 #"Amsterdam" – 3:37 #"Backyard" – 2:55 #"Homecoming King" – 3:37 #"Ramona" – 3:06 #"Jesus on the Radio" – 2:17 #"Keep It Together" – 3:43 #"Come Downstairs and Say Hello" – 5:16 #"Red Oyster Cult" – 3:27 #"Long Way Down" – 4:34 #"I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today" – 3:22 #"Silence" – 0:30 #"Two at a Time" (hidden track – 4:57)

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

! Year	! Chart	! Position
2003	The Billboard Top 200

Singles - Billboard (North America)

! Year	! Single	! Chart	! Position
		Adult Top 40
	Adult Top 40

Song facts

"Jesus on the Radio" - When the band plays the song live, they often play it "unplugged", without any instruments or microphones plugged in.

"Keep It Together" - The song can be heard at the end of the Season 1 The O.C. episode The Rescue.

"I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today" - The song can be heard during the film Wedding Crashers, when John and Jeremy "break up".

See also

The Meowstro Sings - Guster's Keep It Together

References

Category:Guster albums Category:2003 albums

pt:Keep it Together

Ali Baba ( ''ʿAli Bāba'') is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. Some critics believe that this story was added to ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by one of its European translators, Antoine Galland, an 18th-century French orientalist who may have heard it in oral form from a Middle Eastern story-teller from Aleppo. However, Richard F. Burton claimed it to be part of the original ''One Thousand and One Nights''. The American Orientalist Duncan Black MacDonald discovered an Arabic-language manuscript of the legend at the Bodleian Library; however, it was later found to be counterfeited.

This story has been used as a popular pantomime plot such as in the pantomime/musical ''Chu Chin Chow'' (1916). Like many other folk tales frequently adapted for children, the original tale is darker and more violent than the more familiar bowdlerised versions. Popular perception of Ali Baba, and the way he is treated in popular media, sometimes implies that he was the leader of the "Forty Thieves": in the story he is actually an "honest man" whom fortune enables to take advantage of the thieves' robberies.

Story

Ali Baba and his elder brother Cassim are the sons of a merchant. After the death of their father, the greedy Cassim marries a wealthy woman and becomes well-to-do, building on their father's business—but Ali Baba marries a poor woman and settles into the trade of a woodcutter.

One day Ali Baba is at work collecting and cutting firewood in the forest, and he happens to overhear a group of forty thieves visiting their treasure store. The treasure is in a cave, the mouth of which is sealed by magic. It opens on the words "iftaH ya simsim" (commonly written as "Open Sesame" in English), and seals itself on the words "Close, Simsim" ("Close Sesame"). When the thieves are gone, Ali Baba enters the cave himself, and takes some of the treasure home. Ali Baba borrows his sister-in-law's scales to weigh this new wealth of gold coins. Unbeknownst to Ali, she puts a blob of wax in the scales to find out what Ali is using them for, as she is curious to know what kind of grain her impoverished brother-in-law needs to measure. To her shock, she finds a gold coin sticking to the scales and tells her husband, Ali Baba's rich and greedy brother, Cassim. Under pressure from his brother, Ali Baba is forced to reveal the secret of the cave. Cassim goes to the cave and enters with the magic words, but in his greed and excitement over the treasures forgets the magic words to get back out again. The thieves find him there, and kill him. When his brother does not come back, Ali Baba goes to the cave to look for him, and finds the body, quartered and with each piece displayed just inside the entrance of the cave to discourage any similar attempts in the future.

Ali Baba brings the body home, where he entrusts Morgiana, a clever slave-girl in Cassim's household, with the task of making others believe that Cassim has died a natural death. First, Morgiana purchases medicines from an apothecary, telling him that Cassim is gravely ill. Then, she finds an old tailor known as Baba Mustafa whom she pays, blindfolds, and leads to Cassim's house. There, overnight, the tailor stitches the pieces of Cassim's body back together, so that no one will be suspicious. Ali and his family are able to give Cassim a proper burial without anyone asking awkward questions.

The thieves, finding the body gone, realize that yet another person must know their secret, and set out to track him down. One of the thieves goes down to the town and comes across Baba Mustafa, who mentions that he has just sewn a dead man's body back together. Realizing that the dead man must have been the thieves' victim, the thief asks Baba Mustafa to lead the way to the house where the deed was performed. The tailor is blindfolded again, and in this state he is able to retrace his steps and find the house. The thief marks the door with a symbol. The plan is for the other thieves to come back that night and kill everyone in the house. However, the thief has been seen by Morgiana and she, loyal to her master, foils his plan by marking all the houses in the neighborhood with a similar marking. When the 40 thieves return that night, they cannot identify the correct house and the head thief kills the lesser thief. The next day, another thief revisits Baba Mustafa and tries again, only this time, a chunk is chipped out of the stone step at Ali Baba's front door. Again Morgiana foils the plan by making similar chips in all the other doorsteps. The second thief is killed for his stupidity as well. At last, the head thief goes and looks for himself. This time, he memorizes every detail he can of the exterior of Ali Baba's house.

The chief of the thieves pretends to be an oil merchant in need of Ali Baba's hospitality, bringing with him mules loaded with thirty-eight oil jars, one filled with oil, the other thirty-seven hiding the other remaining thieves. Once Ali Baba is asleep, the thieves plan to kill him. Again, Morgiana discovers and foils the plan, killing the thirty-seven thieves in their oil jars by pouring boiling oil on them. When their leader comes to rouse his men, he discovers that they are dead, and escapes.

To exact revenge, after some time the thief establishes himself as a merchant, befriends Ali Baba's son (who is now in charge of the late Cassim's business), and is invited to dinner at Ali Baba's house. The thief is recognized by Morgiana, who performs a dance with a dagger for the diners and plunges it into the heart of the thief when he is off his guard. Ali Baba is at first angry with Morgiana, but when he finds out the thief tried to kill him, he gives Morgiana her freedom and marries her to his son. Ali Baba is then left as the only one knowing the secret of the treasure in the cave and how to access it. Thus, the story ends happily for everyone except the forty thieves and Cassim.

Adaptations

The story was made into an Egyptian movie in 1942 as "Ali Baba We El Arbeen Haramy" (Alibaba and the Forty Thieves), with Ali AlKassar playing the lead as Ali Baba, and the comedian actor Ismail Yasin as his assistant.

A French film ''Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs'' starring Fernandel and Samia Gamal (1954).

A French telefilm starring Gérard Jugnot and Catherine Zeta-Jones (2007).

In 1970s Alibaba story was adapted in a Bengali film called 'Morgiana Abdulla'.

A Soviet-Indian joint film of 1979 ''Ali Baba aur 40 Chor'', starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Rolan Bykov and Zeenat Aman, was largely based on this adventure tale.

A Malaysian comedy film, ''Ali Baba Bujang Lapok'' (1960) which quite faithfully adhered to the tale's plot details, but introduced a number of anachronisms for humour, for example the usage of a truck by Kassim Baba to steal the robbers' loot.

The story was made into a Tamil language movie in 1955-56 titled Alibabavum Narpadhu Thirudargalum ("Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"), with M. G. Ramachandran playing the lead as Ali Baba and Bhanumathi Ramakrishna as Morgiana.

The story was adapted in the 1971 anime , storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki.

The concept of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves was used for the last installment of Disney's Aladdin series, ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', released in 1996, introducing Cassim the King of Thieves as Aladdin's father.

In the television mini-series ''Arabian Nights'', the story is told faithfully with two major changes. The first is that when Morgiana discovers the thieves in the oil jars, she alerts Ali Baba and together with a friend, they release the jars on a street with a steep incline and allow them roll down to break open. Furthermore, the city guard is alerted and arrest the disoriented thieves as they emerge from their containers. Later when Morgiana defeats the thief leader, Ali Baba, who is young and has no children, marries the heroine himself.

A film adaption ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' was made in 1944. The film was remade in 1965 as ''The Sword of Ali Baba''. Frank Puglia portrayed the character named Kassim in both versions.

At the United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Squadron 40 was originally nicknamed "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" before eventually changing its name to the "P-40 Warhawks"

A mythopoeic novel by Tom Holt, 'Open Sesame', is based on characters from the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"

In other media

A 1981 computer video game by Quality Software.

A 1982 arcade video game by Taito.

A Tamil movie featuring Krishna Kulasekaran

In the video game Sonic and the Secret Rings, Miles "Tails" Prower is Ali Baba. Despite the fact that the forty thieves appear in the game as spirits and reanimated skeletons, he has no involvement with them at all.

In the MASH episode, "The Novocaine Mutiny," Frank Burns accuses Benjamin Pierce of mutiny. When Pierce displays his typical nonchalance, Burns states: "Ali Baba 'til the very end, aren't you?"

A Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck cartoon, Ali Baba Bunny, has a similar premise to the concept of the treasure-filled magical cave, in which Daffy Duck is consumed by the same greed as Cassim.

A Looney Tunes cartoon with Porky Pig called Ali-Baba Bound, but this one portrays Ali Baba as a villain who attempts to attack the desert fort.

In a song "Ali Baba's Camel" by Noel Gay Ali Baba is specifically identified ("Forty thieves had he"). This song is now best known in the cover version by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Joint credit to Hulton (who?) is sometimes given; e.g. with the blessing of Neil Innes at .

In the Beastie Boys song "Rhymin & Stealin" they make reference to Ali Baba and the forty thieves.

A John Holt song, Ali Baba

''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'', a computer game for the Apple II published in 1982.

In the video game ''Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly'' the level ''Thieves' Den'' is a parody of the tale.

Dark Lotus of Psychopathic records has a song named Ali Baba.

A Popeye Cartoon, Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves, features Popeye meeting, and defeating the titular group. (In typical Popeye fashion, he uses the famous command to open a can of spinach, but pronounces it "open, sez me!")

In the video game Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, it is said that one of Sly Cooper's ancestors, Salim al Kupar of Arabia, had the stealth of forty-thieves. It is not said if this ancestor was part of the forty-thieves however.

A Los Garcias' song, Ali Baba

A Dara Puspita song, Ali Baba

In the video game Diablo II, "The Blade of Ali Baba" is the name of a unique sword that can be found, it increases the amount of gold and magical items dropped by monsters when it is used to slay them.

In the Sean Biggs (ft. Akon) song, "Never Gonna Get It" there is a reference to "chains hangin' like Ali Baba".

In the Disney film ''Aladdin'' there are several references to the story. During the Genie's song "Friend like Me" he lists the benefits other heroes have had in their adventures, including "Ali Baba had them forty thieves". Another possible reference is Aladdin's alias "Prince Ali Ababwa", which is very similar to Ali Baba. Also, in ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves'' the forty thieves play an integral part in the story. However the story is very different than the original Ali Baba story, particularly Cassim's new role as the King of Thieves.

A large illuminated tableau created for Blackpool Illuminations in 2005.

In the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) Granado Espada and all its counterparts in other countries, a "cash shop" costume is named Ali Baba. This costume belongs to Alejandro, One of the Unique Player Characters in the game.

In the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) Tales Runner an indirect reference is made to Ali Baba, a map is named Ali Baba Map.

In the 3CE song 'Take You To The Edge' the lyrics say 'Ali Baba had 40 thieves'

In Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour, Mission 4 of the GLA campaign is named Jarmen Kell and the Forty Thieves making a reference to Ali Baba and the 40 thieves although Jarmen Kell was only sent together with a few Hijackers and Rebels that number less than 40.

In the video game Team Fortress 2, "Ali Baba's Wee Booties" is the name of a weapon the Demoman can equip, it increases your maximum health and increases turning speed while charging.

The forty thieves were featured in the second ''Dinosaur King'' series. This group was led by Zayid who was in collaboration with the Sultan's Prime Minister Rasheed in a plot to dispose of Princess Zahrah and overthrow the sultan. They were defeated by the D-Team during their visit to Ancient Persia.

Iraq War

The name Ali Baba was often used as derogatory slang by American and Iraqi soldiers and their allies in the War in Iraq to describe individuals suspected of a variety of offenses related to theft and looting. British soldiers routinely used the term to refer to Iraqi civilians. In the subsequent occupation it is used as a general term for the insurgents, similar to Charlie for the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War.

Due to interaction of the two peoples, the term Ali Baba was adopted by the Iraqis to describe foreign troops suspected of looting, and the English-speaking mainstream press mistakenly reported the slang to be native to the locals.

References

External links

"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (e-text, in English)

Waller Hastings, "Ali Baba and the forty Thieves": essay

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Arabian Nights and The Sword of Ali Baba at the Internet Movie Database

Category:One Thousand and One Nights Category:One Thousand and One Nights characters Category:Fictional Arab people Category:Fictional Iraqi people Category:Iraq in fiction Category:Fictional outlaws Category:Fictional criminals

ar:علي بابا والأربعين حرامي (فيلم) bm:Ali Baba ni n'sonke binaani kɛlɛ br:Ali Baba hag an daou-ugent laer bg:Али Баба ca:Alí Babà i els quaranta lladres cs:Ali Baba de:Ali Baba es:Alí Babá eo:Ali Babo kaj kvardek rabistoj fa:علی‌بابا fr:Ali Baba et les Quarante Voleurs it:Alì Babà e i quaranta ladroni (fiaba) he:עלי באבא וארבעים השודדים hu:Ali Baba arz:على بابا والاربعين حرامى nl:Ali Baba en de veertig rovers ja:アリババと40人の盗賊 pl:Ali-Baba pt:Ali Babá ro:Ali Baba ru:Али-Баба scn:Alì Babà (pirsunaggiu) simple:Ali Baba fi:Ali Baba sv:Ali Baba tg:Алибобо vi:Ali Baba và bốn mươi tên cướp zh-yue:阿里巴巴 zh:阿里巴巴

Gordon Mitchell (born Charles Allen Pendleton; July 29, 1923 – September 20, 2003) was an American actor and bodybuilder.

Biography

Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in his Denver neighbourhood to deal with his tough companions. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in the Battle of the Bulge where he was taken prisoner of war. He later obtained a degree at the University of Southern California under the G.I. Bill. He became a high school teacher and guidance counselor in Los Angeles where due to his physique he was given classes containing many delinquent students.

Following a return enlistment in the Korean War he found film extra work in movies such as ''Prisoner of War'', ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' and Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten Commandments'' where he and his friend Joe Gold dragged Charlton Heston's Moses to Pharaoh Yul Brynner. Mae West chose him to appear in her nightclub act.

He was one of the American bodybuilder-actors who migrated to Italy in the wake of Steve Reeves after he sent a photo to an Italian producer who signed him on a contract. Prior to going to Italy, he saw a clairvoyant who asked him if he had ever been known by the name of Gordon Mitchell. He replied no, but on arrival in Rome, Mitchell was given his new name. He found work first in sword and sandal films such as ''Sinbad'', ''Seven Slaves Against the World'', ''Treasure of the Petrified Forest'' (1965), then in Spaghetti Westerns such as ''Beyond the Law'' and ''Savage Guns''.

From the early 1970s onwards, his career started to diversify into everything from horror (''Dr. Frankenstein's Castle Of Freaks'') (1974), Nazi exploitation (''Achtung! The Desert Tigers!'') (1977), Sexploitation ("Porno-Erotic Western"), (1979), French criminal comedy ''The Umbrella Coup'' (1980), and post-apocalyptic films (''Endgame'' (1983). Mitchell appeared (as ''Hector'') in the bizarre 1982 Israeli adaptation, directed by Avi Nesher, of H. Rider Haggard's ''She'', which starred Sandahl Bergman. Mitchell also appeared in ''Satyricon'' (1969), directed by Federico Fellini.

Mitchell was close friends with fellow American expatriate actors Richard Harrison, Mike Monty (he appeared in a number of films with both and shared an apartment with Monty in Italy during the 1960s), and John P. Dulaney. Like Monty, Harrison and Dulaney, Mitchell acted in low-budget action films in the Philippines during the 1980s, having roles in ''Commando Invasion'' and ''SFX Retaliator'' for director John Gale.

He returned to the United States in the late 1980s and retired from acting but kept making occasional film appearances until his death from undisclosed causes in Marina Del Rey, California, aged 80.

Selected Filmography

''The Ten Commandments'' (1956): Egyptian Guard (uncredited)

''Spartacus'' (1960): Gladiator (uncredited)

''The Centurion'' (1961): Gen. Metellus

''Caesar Against the Pirates'' (1962): Hamar, the Pirate

''The Fury of Achilles'' (1962): Achilles

''Brennus, Enemy of Rome'' (1963): Brennus

''Erik, il vichingo'' (1965): Sven / Bjarni

''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967): Sergeant

''Satyricon'' (1969) : Robber

References

External links

Interview http://www.cinema-nocturna.com/gordon_mitchell_interview_prt_1.htm

A transcription of a Gordon Mitchell guest chat at Cinema Nocturna site

A Nanarland.com interview (in French)

Category:1923 births Category:2003 deaths Category:Actors from Denver, Colorado Category:American bodybuilders Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American schoolteachers Category:People from Los Angeles County, California Category:Spaghetti Western actors Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Category:American military personnel of the Korean War

de:Gordon Mitchell fr:Gordon Mitchell it:Gordon Mitchell ru:Гордон Митчелл