Antony Carbone was born on 15 July 1925. He died at the age of 95.
I know him best for playing the duplicitous Doctor Leon in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). The film is the second of the Corman Poe Cycle. A lot of people tried to drive Vincent Price crazy during the 1950s and 1960s. But Carbone along with Barbara Steele were probably the best.
Corbone also played Dick Miller’s boss in A Bucket of Blood. He was the horrible husband in The Last Woman on Earth. And he plays a murderous gangster in Creature From the Haunted Sea. As you can see, despite his lead-actor looks, producers loved casting him as terrible people. Maybe it was anti-Italian prejudice?
Like many Corman regulars, Antony Carbone worked mostly in television in his later career. According to Tom Weaver, during his later career, he worked directing plays in the Los Angeles area. I don’t know if that’s true. But I want to think it. Most actors are happiest in the theater. It’s why they started acting in the first place!
I haven’t found any information about his personal life. Even his birthplace is not known. Some sources say he was born in Italy and others say New York. There was a Facebook post from someone who claimed to be his son. I don’t know nor do I especially care. The work is enough.
And speaking of that, I recommend that we celebrate Antony Carbone’s birthday by watching The Pit and the Pendulum:
But if you like, you can watch The Last Woman on Earth and Creature From the Haunted Sea and A Bucket of Blood — all for free on Archive.
Other 15 July Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Joe Turkel (1927-2022): Character actor known for The Shining and Blade Runner.
- Larry Cohen (1936-2019): Psychotronic icon, writer-director of many classics including It’s Alive, Q, and Maniac Cop.
- Jan-Michael Vincent (1944-2019): Actor known for The Mechanic and Damnation Alley.
- Terry O’Quinn (1952-): Actor best know for the very creepy title role in The Stepfather.
- Forest Whitaker (1961-): Actor known for Smoke, Panic Room, and much more.
- Brigitte Nielsen (1963-): Actor known for Red Sonja and Rocky IV.
Films
- The Clairvoyant (1934): A stage psychic gets real powers when around a woman who isn’t his wife.
- The Black Room (1935): Karloff plays good and evil twin brothers.
- It Conquered the World (1956): Bizarre Venusian comes to Earth to enslave us all. This is a Corman classic.
- Shock Waves (1977): Ocean Nazi zombies. Must-see psychotronic classic.
- Fear (1990): A police psychic’s ability to link to murderers’ minds is used against her.
- The Bloody Ape (1997): Carnival gorilla escapes and goes crazy.
- The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting (2003): Hitcher kills a string of people, framing the couple he’s kidnapped.
- Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005): Better than the original, if you ask me.
- My Alien Girlfriend (2019): A nerd must hide a beautiful space alien from his bride-to-be.
Image of Antony Carbone in The Pit and the Pendulum taken under Fair Use.