HERCULES The Movie
In 1957, when Steve was working for the American Health Studios, he received a telegram from Pietro Francisci of Rome, Italy.
Francisci wrote the Hercules screenplay and was hired to direct the new motion picture which would also be entitled, Hercules. He spent nearly five years searching for the right person to star in the leading role-as the half mortal, half god-Hercules. How he became aware of Steve Reeves and ended his search is very interesting.
One day, Francisci's thirteen- year old daughter went with some friends to the movie theater to see an American film, Athena. As she watched the film she was awe struck by a gorgeous hunk of a man (Steve Reeves) who played the role of a bodybuilder in the film. She was mesmerized with every move Steve made, and at one point leaned over to one of her friends and said in a very low and excited voice, "Imagine seeing him as Hercules in father's film!" The friend replied "Wow!"
After the movie was over, she excitedly returned home and told her father, "Papa, papa, I have found your Hercules!" With a little convincing Francisci and his daughter returned to the theater the next day. After seeing the film for himself, he was convinced that his daughter was right. There was his Hercules!
Francisci made arrangements the following day for the prospective producer, Federico Tati, to see the film. He told Tati, "Trust me, this is the guy we need!" After viewing the film, the producer strongly agreed with Francisci and authorized him to make a deal with the young actor.
Early the following day, Francisci sent a telegram to Steve Reeves in care of the MGM studios. After receiving it, MGM forwarded the telegram to Bert Goodrich's gym in Hollywood where Steve had been working. Steve had just recently changed jobs and now worked for American Health Studios in the Los Angeles area.
Ray Wilson, owner of American Health Studios, hired Steve to represent the company at grand openings for the health club chain. Steve would join the mayor of the city and other officials performing the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. He had just finished opening a club in Riverside, California when he received the telegram forwarded from Bert.
The Telegram Finally Finds Steve
The telegram's message was short and to the point. Francisci explained who he was and asked Steve if he would be interested in starring as the lead in the film, Hercules, and to please contact him as soon as possible if he was. At first Steve was a little skeptical about the part but deep inside him his desire to be a movie star was starting to rekindle. However, when Steve got the job at American Health Studios he told Ray Wilson that he would forget about acting and redirect his energies towards the club business. With that in mind, Steve put the telegram aside and mentally passed on the offer.
Two weeks later Steve received a letter from Francisci, along with a contract, a healthy retainer (a $5,000.00 check), and an airplane ticket to Rome dated the first part of June, 1957. Steve thought to himself, "These people are serious! I'm either going to have to send the money and ticket back or take a ch ance."
He decided he had to take the chance. Steve then sought out an agent to look over the contract. He contacted Mitchell Gertz who reviewed the contract then set Steve up with an agent in Rome by the name of Philippo Fortuni.
Almost immediately after he made his decision to take the movie offer, Steve began growing a goatee and a moustache in anticipation of the role. When Ray Wilson asked him about the new look, Steve just replied that it would make him look more sophisticated for the job, and that people would take him more seriously. Ray agreed the new growth did look good on him.
After judging the 1957 Mr. & Miss USA contest at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, time grew short for Steve to leave his job and head to Rome. It wasn't easy to finally tell Ray, but he understood and knew Steve had to take a chance on the offer.
Off to Rome
Steve boarded a flight out of Los Angeles and made a connecting flight in New York that arrived in Rome the following day. Steve was greeted by Francisci and the Roman press who took photos of him stepping off the plane in Rome. Francisci then drove Steve to the hotel where he would be staying during the entire filming. The hotel was none other than the American Palace Hotel of Rome.
It was where most of the actors stayed and was more like a condo than a hotel room or suite, and it had a very nice restaurant on the bottom floor. Steve stayed there through the entire shooting of Hercules because all of the locations were less than 90 miles away, and he could easily get to and from the set within 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
The following day the studio furnished Steve with an interpreter/driver who drove him to the studio for his first meeting. Steve met Francisci and the producers in the studio commissary for a lunch meeting.
As Steve and his interpreter walked into the commissary heads started turning as he passed by with whispers of, "That's Hercules, wow!" Not only were the producers impressed but also the entire studio had a buzz of excitement. Steve was introduced to everyone and pleasantries were exchanged through his interpreter. The lunch meeting lasted for more than an hour, and at the end they discussed the upcoming activities and the schedule for the following week.
The schedule called for a three-month shooting plan, which would be followed strictly. At the end of the meeting Steve returned to the car and his driver drove him back to the hotel. Steve ventured outside the hotel that night and took in a little of the surroundings, just outside the immediate hotel area, and had dinner in a very nice spot. The following day Steve went to the costume designer for his fittings and to see the drawings of the costumes. Steve made sure the look of his wardrobe would be correct for his physique.
Learning an Entire Script
A couple of days later he was given the script and returned to his hotel room to start reading it and learning not only his parts, but the parts of his co-stars. That was extremely important because of the many different languages spoken by his co-stars during the filming.
He had to know what they were saying, if not word for word, at least thought for thought, so he could know how and when to respond to dialogue, no matter what language it was being spoken in. Upon completion, the film would be dubbed in several different languages for worldwide distribution or given subtitles so, the languages spoken by the actors was not very important.
During the first weeks Steve not only studied very hard but was also required to appear in many promotional photo shoots with the Yugoslavian beauty, Sylva Koscina, who played lole, Princess of Jolco in the film. She spoke both her native language and Italian. He also was in photo shoots with the lovely Gianna Maria Canale who played, Queen Antea the beautiful Amazon Queen.
They started filming about two weeks after Steve arrived. Steve would normally be introduced to the cast on that day it called for that person in the script. That is, he might not meet an actor until that particular day they would be in a scene together.
Because of the language barrier, Steve knew it was up to him to make it work and took full responsibility of being the driving force, and took this responsibility very seriously. He put himself under enormous pressure to do the very best job possible. The driver would pick Steve up at 6am each morning and filming would end 12 hours later. In between takes Steve would go back to his trailer and rest until his next scene.
One day, about a month into the production, Gelloa Rosemino, an Italian script person who spoke English said to Steve, "Why don't you play a trick on Francisci and learn one of your lines in Italian today for kicks, just to see his reaction?" Steve agreed.
After practicing a few times through Steve had perfected the line, "Dobe ondante? Key via davato de la sharto narvi?" which translates to, "Where are you going? Who told you, you could leave the ship?" As the scene unfolded Steve came into the scene speaking his lines in Italian. Francisci was closely watching the scene and did not notice the change in languages. All of a sudden he realized what had taken place and did a double take!
Everyone busted up with laughter including Francisci. What was really amazing was that at any one time five or six languages could be spoken in one scene and Francisci was directing only in Italian. Something not easily done by even today's standards, and to do it 40 years ago was a tremendous feat. Steve always made sure that when doing a scene he was totally into it, paying close attention to the other actors dialog and by being alert for a key work or gesture from the other actor.
Stunts and Other Feats
Steve performed nearly all of the stunts for the film and did all of his character's horse riding. No one in Rome could ride a horse as well as Steve, or just about anywhere else for that matter. Even if the studio could have found a horseman that was equal to Steve, he would not have the size to pull off the scene.
Some of the duelling scenes had a stunt double for the long shots but the short shots were mostly all of Steve. The scene with a lion in was a little spooky for Steve. The lion was given a substance to slow him down somewhat but Steve found that the lion was breathing heavily on his neck, not a place where you want to feel lion's breath! All of the scenes that involved hazards were filmed the last few days of shooting, just in case the actor would get injured or eaten!
Typical Reeves Lunch
The meals for the film cast and crew were always brought to the set. Steve made sure that his lunch included a nice beef steak or chicken, some pasta and quart of tomato juice or milk, and some fruit. This was necessary to keep his physique in top shape while enduring the gruelling filming pace.
Who Was That Girl?
During a weekend off from shooting, Steve took a short jaunt to the Isle of Capri on the Italian Rivera. While there, he spotted a particularly beautiful young woman walking down the stairs in a tee shirt and short white shorts. Steve said to himself, "Boy is she beautiful, she is really beautiful." He spent the rest of the weekend taking in the scenic sights of famed Capri, but kept catching himself thinking of nothing except the beautiful young woman he saw going down those stairs.
After Steve returned to Rome to continue shooting the movie, Francisci said to Steve, "Steve, would you do me a favor and do a screen test with this girl I know from Capri?" Steve agreed.
Francisci then introduced Steve to the same girl that he thought was so beautiful in Capri. She was an 18-year- old German girl who spoke English. She was on vacation in Italy with her grandmother. Francisci had met her and her grandmother in Capri while he was staying at his villa there.
After completing the screen test and some stills, Steve asked for her telephone number and address and then invited her to a party in Rome. She accepted his invitation and was Steve's date at the get-together. But after that delightful day with Steve, she and her grandmother had to return to Germany. Before leaving she asked Steve to visit her in Germany. Steve said he would, if he had the chance.
Swing Those Chains
The most famous scenes at the end of the movie were the ones where Hercules grabbed the chains and started swinging them, knocking people out of the way. The chains were made from wood and painted to look like rusty steel. In one of the scenes Hercules had just pulled the chains out of the wall and then proceeded to break out of jail.
As Steve rushed down the hallway swinging the chains at everyone in sight, he didn't want to swing the chains too hard and really hurt someone. Francisci yelled out to Steve! "Hit them harder! Hit them harder!" Steve spoke back and told expained that he didn't want to hurt the other actors. Francisci replied through the interrupter, "If they don't get hurt, they don't get paid!"
Many years later Steve attended an award ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. After the event was over, Steve and a group of honorees went to the best Italian restaurant in Manhattan. All of a sudden the head waiter ran up to Steve and said, "Hay-a Stev-a Reevesss, I got to thanka, Stev-a of Reevesss. If it was not-a for Stev-a Reevesss, I would not a be here! He punched me! He hit me with the chains! Threw me overboard! Every time he did that, I get more money! If it was-a not for Stev-a Reevesss, I would not a be in America!" Steve enjoyed this encounter and still talks about it today.
But Did You See Those Blue Eyes?
The Hercules film crew was back in Rome for several weeks of filming. Towards the end of the shooting, Steve was invited to a dinner party at the "Madison House." It was a huge event for movie industry people and Rome society and featured plenty fine food and great music.
Upon Steve's arrival at the party, he was introduced to many people in the movie industry and one very special lady: his future wife, the lovely and quite elegant Aline Czartjarwicz, who was attending the event with her cousin George. Steve sat down at one of the tables and it just happened to be where Aline and George were seated. Steve was talking with the other guests at the table when Aline first noticed Steve sitting there. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him and his piercing blue eyes.
As the evening progressed and shortly after finishing the splendid meal, Aline looked across the table and directly into the eyes of Hercules and asked, "Where does one reach you, if one wants to invite you for a kilo steak?" (That's about two pounds of beef!) Steve smiled and said, "I'm at the American Palace Hotel."
It has been said by many people who knew her that, Aline's blue eyes were as captivating as Steve's. When George was driving Aline back home, he remarked to Aline, "Boy! Did you see the shoulders on that guy?" Aline replied, "Yeah, really padded. But did you see those blue eyes! George said, "That suit wasn't padded! That's the guy who is playing Hercules!"
About a week later Steve received a telephone call from Aline who asked him, "How about coming up for that kilo steak we talked about?" The two shared company that evening and found each other delightful to be with, and they had lunch together a couple of more times before Steve had to return to America - but Aline was the girl on his mind this time!.
Show Me the Money!
After the film was in the can, as they say when the filming is completed, Steve remained a week after, per his contract, to do any retakes as necessary. Steve grew impatient with his beard, so after about three days with no word from the studio, he decided it was safe to shave it off. Wouldn't you know it? they needed to reshoot a scene.
Part of Steve's contract agreement was that he was to be paid for any extension on the film including the retakes. Steve said, "Yes, I'll do it, but I want the money before we start shooting." Francisci said, "If you were my friend, you wouldn't asked to be paid!" Steve replied, "If you were my friend, you wouldn't ask me to do it for nothing." Francisci agreed that Steve would be paid.
The next day the car was sent for Steve and drove him to the set, which was about an hour from Rome. After arriving he had his costume and makeup on and was ready to do the scene. They had to glue a beard on him hair by hair for the scene. When he was transformed into Hercules. Steve walked over and sat in his personal chair. A short time later Francisci showed up to the set and walked over to Steve.
After exchanging greetings Steve said, "Did you bring the money I requested for shooting the scene today? Francisci replied, "They have not arrived with it as yet." Steve looked up at the sky, which just happened to be really cloudy, and kind of eerie looking. He looked back down at Francisci and replied, "Until you pay me, the clouds will not go away!" Steve sat with his eyes closed and head slightly bent forward with his hand resting in a position on his lap resembling a person in a deep concentration. Francisci, being somewhat superstitious replied, "They will come at noon and pay you half." Steve said, "Ok, (then with a slight pause) until you pay me, the clouds will not go away."
Finally at noon the messengers arrived with half of the money. They went over to Steve and gave him the money. Steve replied, "Ok, half the money for a half day's filming." A short time later, believe it or not, the clouds started to part, and within a half an hour the sun had returned.
After the months of shooting they all started believing that Steve was truly the son of Zeus. Because of the delay caused by Steve that day, the scene had to be completed on the following day. This time they brought the money right away.
After finishing the film at the end of summer of 1957, Steve flew to Germany and visited with the girl he met in Capri, who lived in Mannheim.
After saying good-bye to his beautiful friend, he flew to the Greek island of Myorka. He spent a week relaxing in the sun before returning home. He stayed in a great hotel room that was right on the beach. He paid the sum of five dollars a day for room and food on Myorka! On his second day there, he rented a Vesta motor scooter and took himself on a tour of the whole island. Steve was riding on a beautiful green lined road overlooking the sea in the warn sun and singing to the top of his lungs. He felt great! Just like a Greek god!
In our next issue
We will pick up our story as Steve returns to the shores of America. He thought that this was going to be the last time he would be filming in Europe. We will find out how his agent took advantage of him in the film deal for Hercules Unchained.
Steve Reeves International Society Newsletter Volumne 5 Number 2
HERCULES UNCHAINED
After Steve finished Hercules, he spent a few days in Mannheim Germany visiting Helga Botter, a young lady he had met while filming Hercules in Italy.
After Germany he traveled to the beautiful Greek Island of Myorka. Steve treated himself to some much needed rest and soaked up the warm Mediterranean Sun while riding around the coastline on a rented Vesta motor scooter.
A New Pair of Boots
For a long time Steve had dreams of having a ranch with horses. He had been receiving the Western Horseman Magazine while in Rome and decided he would start fulfilling his dreams.
While resting in Myorka, Steve decided to start with a new pair of cowboy boots. He left Myorka and returned to Rome where he took a plane to New York. After landing, he headed to his old stomping grounds, Manhattan.
He had the cab driver take him to a store which carried western wear. After a few minutes the door swung open and out walked Steve in his brand new boots. What a sight to see Hercules walking down the streets of Manhattan in a pair of cowboy boots! He made his way to the Morgan Horse Club in the city and asked them for a list of breeders in the west. From the list he found several ranches in the Salt Lake City area which looked like good prospects.
Steve called a bodybuilder friend of his, Mike Sill, who was Mr. Utah and lived in Salt Lake City. He asked him if he would mind taking him around the area to look at a few horse ranches. Mike was happy to do this, so he and Steve set a time and place to meet.
The next day Steve left New York and flew to Denver. He rented a car and drove to a town near Denver called Longmont to a shop with a reputation for producing high quality saddles. Steve finally decided on the one he wanted and ordered it to be delivered to Oakland. He returned to Denver and went into another saddlery where he purchased a pair of spurs and a very nice silver mounted horse bit.
The next day Steve flew to Salt Lake City and Mike was there to pick him up. They visited several quarter horse ranches looking for a horse to purchase. After much searching Steve finally found the horse he wanted. A great Palomino stallion called by the name of "Dickies Pride". The stallion had been used to run down wild mustangs on the desert range.
Dickie's Pride
Steve flew from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles and found a place to stay for a few days. Steve thought he would have to find work now that the movie was finished, not knowing that Hercules Unchained was in the works.
After settling in, Steve went down to talk with his former employer Ray Wilson, owner of American Health Studios. Steve asked him if he could do some public relations work for him again. Ray told Steve that he was still very upset with him because he said he was out of the movie business and then took the movie job in Rome. He told Steve he would have to get back to him later and to call him after the first of the year.
Steve decided to go back to Oakland for a few months to visit his mother. He spent the first few days visiting old friends and catching up on the latest news events and waiting for his horse and saddle to arrive. Three days before Thanksgiving Steve's new saddle arrived. Steve thought, great, I have a saddle and no horse to try it out on. To his surprise Dickie's Pride arrived in Oakland the very next day, delivered to the nearby Skyline Stables. Steve went over to see his new horse at the stables and went for a ride. Now, new horse, tack, rider, boots and spurs finally came together for a ride in the Oakland Hills. This is where he'd spent his early teen years wanting these things while helping out at the stables in Oak Noles.
The Perfect Location
In mid-January 1958 Steve gave Ray Wilson a call and Ray told Steve he had something for him down in Los Angeles. He said that it wasn't the same job as before but it would make good money for him. Steve's previous job was public relations and he performed ribbon-cutting ceremonies at new club openings.
This time Ray wanted Steve to go to San Diego to do pre-sales for a new club that wasn't going to open for six months in downtown San Diego. Steve drove down to San Diego and found a small house to rent within walking distance of the health club. Steve was really disappointed with the job. It was not what he was expecting and had a very small office where he was an assistant salesperson in the club. Steve made the best of it and worked hard selling new memberships. This was about the same time as Hercules was being released in Europe.
During his time off, Steve had spent some time researching places to live. One area that caught his eye was the small ranching community of Valley Center, located about 45 minutes north of San Diego. At 2300 feet in elevation, the area was reputed to have some of the best weather conditions in Southern California.
Amongst the properties given to him to look over was a 14-acre spread with a small house, garage and stable on a small hill just outside the township. The owner was anxious to sell so he agreed to lease the property to Steve with the option to buy at a great price. The papers were signed and Steve made the arrangements to move his horse down to his new little ranch.
How About Hercules Unchained?
Three months later, Steve was commuting to San Diego from Valley Center every day and was starting to tire of his job.
Then, a call came through from Steve's agent, Mitchell Gertz with the offer for the movie Hercules Unchained. The deal was $10 thousand dollars and shooting was scheduled to start in a few months in June of 1958. Unhappy with his job, Steve readily accepted the offer.
Unknown to Steve, Gertz and the Italian agent Philippo Fortuno had worked out a deal with the film studio in Rome back in 1957 for Steve to make "Hercules Unchained." Gertz didn't discuss this with Steve, nor did he make Steve aware of the fact that the movie "Hercules" was becoming a mega hit in Europe and that producer Joseph Levine was looking to bring it to the States.
The studios contacted Gertz and said that they wanted Steve for the sequel, Hercules Unchained. They said that they couldn't pay any more than $10,000 dollars for him. Gertz didn't care about Steve but only what he was going to get out of it. Gertz told them, "The $10,000.00 will be fine as long as you give me a first class plane ticket around the world, If you do that, I will get Reeves for you at that price." Gertz sold Steve down the river for the 10 grand when he could have had many times that amount.
The studio sent Steve the movie script in early May for he was to start shooting in the middle of June. As with Hercules, Pietro Francisci wrote the story although he would not direct this time. It was to be directed by Bruno Vailati and produced by Francisci. Steve read through the script and was impressed with the Hercules sequel.
He was looking forward to seeing the people he had worked with before. Steve made arrangements to board his horse white he was in Europe with a friend who lived about 50 miles north of the Mexican border in a town called Campole. He also made arrangements to rent out the Valley Center property while he was gone. Now Steve was set to go to Europe again. Only one more thing to do. Steve went into the American Health Studio club and resigned from his job.
Next Stop Rome
After arriving in Rome, Steve made his way to the American Palace Hotel where he had stayed during the production of "Hercules". The living quarters were set-up with the bedroom and bath upstairs and the living room and kitchen down stairs. It was located just across the Street from the Resonance Palace. This was a nicer hotel where most of the higher paid actors would stay. These were the two hotels that most traveling actors and actresses stayed in while filming in Rome.
At the entrance to Steve's hotel was a restaurant /café where you could get a good meal just about anytime. After returning from the day's shoot, Steve could be found dining somewhere between 8 and 9 p.m. This was the normal dining time in Italy. Few would dine earlier. There were times that Steve would have dinner elsewhere on special occasions, but for the most part he would be going over his lines and preparing for the next days filming.
Each morning Steve would be picked up at hotel very early and taken to the studio or location to do the filming that day. The first week Steve spent time in wardrobe being fitted for the new costumes. Now, the real work began and Steve was in his role again as Hercules. He knew his character, and the transition was seamless from Hercules to Hercules Unchained. It was as though someone have just put on another reel of film at the end of Hercules.
White Warrior and Aline
Well into the shooting of the film, Gertz (Steve's agent) got word that another studio wanted Steve for "The White Devil" (aka The White Warrior). Gertz sent Philippo Fortuni, his representative in Rome, to talk to Steve about the script. Steve was seeing Aline Czartjarwicz at the time, a lovely blue-eyed beauty whom he'd met at a dinner during the making of "Hercules."
Aline was working with the Italian studios and was able to help Steve review the contract for the White Warrior. After reviewing it through Aline's translation from Italian to English, Steve wanted some changes. She gave him the name of lawyer and Steve presented the revised contract to the studio and to Fortuni. All parties were in agreement and Steve signed the contract agreement.
"The White Warrior" was scheduled to start shooting a month after "Hercules Unchained" was finished. Aline was a very good businesswomen and handled business in just about any language. She spoke six languages fluently and was a quick study with others when needed. She developed many important working relationships with the studios in Rome. Her background afforded her the opportunity to learn many languages. Aline's father was a Polish Prince and as a child she had an English governess, a French maid and they lived very close to the Russian border in Poland. She attended school in Switzerland and had friends who lived in Spain and Italy. She picked up some Italian and Spanish from them. Early in her adult life she went to Italy on vacation and found a job there. Within three months she could speak Italian fluently. Steve and Aline started dating on a regular basis towards the end of the filming of Hercules Unchained. Their common directions would not only create a successful business relationship for them but also began a deep love for each other.
Steve wasn't all that happy with the amount of compensation he was going to be receiving under the contract, but it was the best he could do under Gertz. He learned of the trip around the world that Gertz got for signing him to Hercules Unchained and wanted to end their business relationship. This was about two weeks before Hercules Unchained was schedule to finish.
At the same time Francisci heard a rumor that Steve had closed the deal to do "The White Devil" with a competitor of his by the name of Recardo (Richard) Freda. When Francisci asked Steve, if it was true that he signed to do " The White Warrior", Steve said, " Yes, I signed to do the film." Pietro told Steve "Don't do the film! You're Hercules!, and besides, without Francisci, you are nothing!" Steve was polite and didn't reply to the attack on him, but was thinking to himself, "We'll see."
The Tail of Two Tigers
The shooting continued and the film Hercules Unchained had some interesting times before it was complete. One of the great scenes in the movie was with the late Sylvia Lopez with Steve laying on the chaise lounge by the waterfall eating fruit and enjoying his surroundings. Sylvia Lopez walked over to him kneeled down beside him and started kissing him. She didn't take it as a screen kiss. Sylvia laid a kiss on Steve that he still remembers today.
During the take the director Vailati yelled, out when he thought it went on long enough, "Cut! Cut!, - Stop! Stop! Halt! Stop! Stop!" Finally the two ended their kiss. After the filming that day Steve returned to his hotel and got the make-up off and took a shower before going downstairs to get something to eat at the café. After dinner, he returned to his room to go over the lines for the next days shoot.
A few minutes after he started rehearsing his lines the hotel manager call Steve's room. He said, "Mr. Reeves, the actress Sylvia Lopez is down here to see you." Steve thought to that kiss must have been pretty good! He told the manager. "Please send Miss Lopez up". Steve and Sylvia practiced their lines for the following days shoot. Steve said, "Where did we leave off?" Sylvia replied, 'The kiss."
The film was now just about finished and they had to film the most dangerous parts. One day, the script called for a shot where Steve had to fight a tiger. It was being filmed on location in northern Italy in a town called Turin just west of Milan. The town had the circus playing there and the circus had the tigers they were going to use in the scene.
Steve flew up to Milan and was driven over to Turin. There he was put in costume and taken over to the set. The circus veterinarian gave the tiger a tranquilizer to quiet him down a lot but the tiger, tranquilized or not, was still a very impressive animal. When he was in the tiger's grips and with the tiger's mouth wide open, Steve looked over at those huge fangs, felt the hot breath on his face and thought, "I hope he was fed recently." That scene safely shot - Steve was ready for some time off.
Chateau Reeves
Steve made a trip with Aline to Switzerland to work on getting a residence there. He found the countryside just what he wanted. A place to unwind and rest between films. Aline had a friend who was a very prominent newspaper journalist in Lucerne. The friend got in touch with contacts within the Canpon, which is like a County or State here in the U.S. and vouched for Steve, to assist with his residency application. That's where we will leave it this time, with Steve in beautiful Switzerland.
Copyright Steve Reeves International 2017