George Hilton

Early life Hilton was born Jorge Hill Acosta y Lara in Montevideo on 16 July 1934. His maternal grandfather, Manuel Acosta y Lara, was a founder of the La Mañana newspaper. He was of partial English descent.

Career Hilton began his career working in radio. In 1955, he moved to Argentina, adopting the pseudonym Jorge Hilton. He soon began to appear in several soap operas and film production for Argentina's domestic market. In 1963, he moved to Italy, following the footsteps of other famous South American actors such as the Argentines Jorge Rigaud and Alberto de Mendoza, who were attracted by the thriving Italian film industry of the 1960s. After Anglicizing his first name to 'George', he got the lead role in The Masked Man Against the Pirates (Il corsaro nero nell'isola del Tesoro, 1965) and appeared in the Franco and Ciccio Bond spoof comedy Due mafiosi contro Goldginger, directed by Giorgio Simonelli.

Spaghetti Western star

His career in the Euro-Western genre was launched by director Lucio Fulci with the film Massacre Time (1966), starring Franco Nero, where his supporting role made him an instant icon in the genre. In 1967 he appeared to even greater effect as "Stranger" in Any Gun Can Play (also known as Go Kill and Come Back) with Edd Byrnes and Gilbert Roland. In the following year he participated in seven productions, enhancing his international reputation and garnering him significant attention, especially in Spain. Soon Hilton became one of the major stars of spaghetti Westerns, eventually playing Sartana in the last film of the "Sartana" series, Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, after Gianni Garko left the role. His most famous character is arguably that of the gunslinger Allelujah (or Hallelujah) in They Call Me Hallelujah (1971), created with director Giuliano Carnimeo, who also directed the sequel involving the same character in Return of Hallelujah (1972) as well as Man Called Invincible (1973), in which Hilton played Tresette, another of his famous roles.

Giallo Besides Westerns, Hilton was well-known as a leading man in numerous "gialli" films throughout the 1970s, including many considered to be classics of the giallo genre , often playing suave and successful businessmen or dashing playboy roles. He frequently collaborated with director Sergio Martino, starring in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), The Case of The Scorpion's Tail (1971), and All the Colors of the Dark (1972) as well as starring in other well-known giallo including The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968), The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), Tonino Valerii's My Dear Killer (1972) and The Killer Must Kill Again (1975). Hilton also featured in more conventional crime and action films after the spaghetti Western craze ended in the 1980s.

Later roles During the 1990s, Hilton appeared mostly in television series. In his last years Hilton reduced his film appearances but nevertheless remained active, being still fondly remembered as one of the biggest stars of Italian cinema, along with Terence Hill, Franco Nero and Giuliano Gemma. His legacy as a film star also remained intact, with Hilton asked to do many interviews and retrospectives on his film career on a regular basis.

Death On 28 July 2019, Hilton died at a clinic in Rome, Italy, at the age of 85, after suffering of a long undisclosed illness. The funeral was held the next day at 4.30 pm local time, at the Santa Maria in Montesanto in Piazza del Popolo.

Selected filmography

(1956) (1956) – Minor Role (1957) (1958) – Luis (1960) (1960) (1963) (1963) The Masked Man Against the Pirates (1964) – Suarez Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger (1965) – 007 Massacre Time (1966) – Jeff 'Slim' Corbett Two Sons of Ringo (1966) – Joe Kitosch, the Man Who Came from the North (1967) – David Kitosch Poker with Pistols (1967) – Ponson (1967) – Kitosch (1967) – Teddy Jason Her Harem (1967) – (uncredited) Any Gun Can Play (1967) – The Stranger / Lo Straniero / Django / - un cacciatore di taglie Halleluja for Django (1967) – Billy 'Rum' Cooney Red Blood, Yellow Gold (1967) – Tim Dooley The Ruthless Four (1968) – Manolo Sanchez The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968) – Robert Simack The Moment to Kill (1968) – Lord One More to Hell (1968) – Johnny King Trusting Is Good... Shooting Is Better (1968) – Glenn Reno The Battle of El Alamein (1969) – Lt. Graham (1969) – Captain George Bradbury Salt in the Wound (1969) – Michael Sheppard A Bullet for Sandoval (1969) – Corporal John Warner (1969) – Mike Russo Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970) – Sartana The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971) – George Corro They Call Me Hallelujah (1971) – Alleluja The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971) – Peter Lynch The Devil Has Seven Faces (1972) – Tony Shane My Dear Killer (1972) – Inspector Luca Peretti All the Colors of the Dark (1972) – Richard Steele The Two Faces of Fear (1972) – Dr. Roberto Carli The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972) – Andrea Antinori Return of Hallelujah (1972) – Alleluja Holy God, Here Comes the Passatore! (1973) – Stefano Pelloni, il 'Passatore' Man Called Invincible (1973) – Tresette / Tricky Dicky (1973) – James McDougall Seven Hours of Violence (1973) – George Anderson (1974) – Tresette / Tricky Dicky The Silkworm (1974) – Didier The Killer Must Kill Again (1975) – Giorgio Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar (1975) – Johnny Chitara / Johnny Guitar Mark of Zorro (1975) – Philip Mackintosh / Don Alba de Mendoza Taxi Girl (1977) – Ramon El Macho (1977) – Hidalgo, the Duke Sweetly You'll Die Through Love (1977) – Carlos Double Game (1977) – Insp. Ugo Moretti Blazing Flowers (1978) – Commissioner Morani El lugar del humo (1979) (1981) – Capo Terrorista Boodoostano Don't Play with Tigers (1982) – Prince Omar Abdul Yussef El Rahid The Secret Nights of Lucrezia Borgia (1982) – Duccio The Atlantis Interceptors (1983) – Professor Peter Saunders College (1984) Dinner with a Vampire (1989, TV Series) – Jurek Double Game (1989) College (1990, TV Series) – Colonnello Madison (1993) – Alfredo (1994) – Miccichè Fireworks (1997) – Gerard de la Fasse Cient' anne (1999) – Mauro De Angelis Killer's Playlist (2006) – Commissario Natale in crociera (2007) – Comandante della Nave Un coccodrillo per amico (2009)