- published: 06 Oct 2013
- views: 6468
Fernando Sancho (January 7, 1916 – July 31, 1990) was a Spanish actor. Sancho was born in Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain, and died in Madrid after surgery.
He was often typecast as a Mexican bandit in paella and spaghetti westerns, including The Big Gundown (directed by Sergio Sollima), A Pistol for Ringo and Return of Ringo (directed by Duccio Tessari), Arizona Colt (directed by Michele Lupo), Minnesota Clay (directed by Sergio Corbucci), and Sartana (directed by Gianfranco Parolini). Though invariably given the same role — a Mexican bandit chief — Sancho was a strong actor, and became one of the icons of these films.
He also appeared in a number of Spanish horror movies in the '60s and '70s. One of the better known horror parts was the role of a corrupt small town mayor in El Ataque de los Muertos sin Ojos (AKA Return of the Blind Dead), directed by Amando de Ossorio. Another notable horror film was Orloff and the Invisible Man (1971), directed by Pierre Chevalier and starring Howard Vernon, an unofficial continuation of the Dr. Orloff saga begun by Jess Franco in The Awful Dr. Orloff (1962). Sancho also turned up briefly in the epic Lawrence of Arabia playing the Turkish sergeant who arrests Lawrence in Deraa.