Italian actor and ‘Monster’ producer Mark Damon dead at 91

Mark Damon, known for starring in Vincent Price horror classic House of Usher, died at age 91, via The Hollywood Reporter.

Damon, who revolutionised the foreign sales and distribution film business and producing features including 9 1/2 Weeks, Monster and Lone Survivor, died Sunday of natural causes in Los Angeles.

The late actor’s daughter, Alexis Damon Ribaut, told the outlet of the sad news.

While Damon was an actor for 20 years of his career, with many lead roles in Italian action movies under his belt, he ended up moving towards the business side of things.

Damon’s first success as executive producer includes World War II drama Das Boot (1981), which received six Oscar nominations. He also produced a big-budget fantasy film The Never Ending Story (1984).

He shared an Independent Spirit Award with director Patty Jenkins and others for Monster (2003), starring Charlize Theron in an Oscar-winning turn as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

“My claim to fame will be the fact that I basically, coming from an acting background, became what they call the godfather of independent films. The one who invented the foreign sales business. The one who invented ways to get films financed,” Damon said in Luke Ford’s 2004 book, The Producers: Profiles in Frustration.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his second wife, actress Margaret Markov, whom he married in October 1976, his son, Jonathan; and his son-in-law, Mathieu.