Giuliano Gemma celebrating his 70th birthday.

Italian actor Giuliano Gemma has died following a car accident near Rome, on Tuesday. He was 75.

Born in Italy’s capital city, Gemma first worked as a stuntman before he was offered real acting parts in films such as Arrivano i titani (My Son the Hero) in 1962 and Luchino Visconti’s Il gattopardo (The Leopard) in 1963.

Gemma enjoyed great success in Spaghetti Westerns in the mid to late 1960s, where he was sometimes credited as Montgomery Wood. These included Una pistola per Ringo (A Pistol for Ringo), Un dollaro bucato (Blood for a Silver Dollar) and Per pochi dollari ancora (For a Few Extra Dollars).

Gemma also performed in art-house offerings. He won a David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Oscar, for Valerio Zurlini’s Il deserto dei tartari (Desert of Tartars).

He was also a popular face on Italian TV where he starred in various series such as Il Capitano (2005-2007).

He was last seen on the big screen in Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love, where he had a small role as a hotel manager.