I caught the tail end of the movie Force Ten from Navarone and started wondering whatever happened to Franco Nero. If you remember, Franco Nero played the handsome Lancelot in the movie musical Camelot (he didn’t actually sing in the movie).

Nero was born Francesco Sparanero on November 23, 1941, in San Prospero, Itay and grew up in Bedonia and Milan. He first studied Economy and Trade at the university before leaving to study acting.

His first films were Italian starting in 1964. In 1967, he starred in his first English speaking film, Camelot. There is met Vanessa Redgrave and they began a long term love affair. In 1969, they had a son Carlo Gabriel Sparanero (Carlo Nero) who is now a screenwriter and director. Nero and Redgrave separated for many years, but later reunited and were married on December 31, 2006. It was Nero who walked his step-daughter, Natasha Richardson, down the aisle when she wed Liam Neeson.

His roles were sometimes limited due to his lack of proficiency in English but he also appeared in several other American films including Die Hard 2. He has also appeared in many Italian films.