Mark Forest
Forest in 1955
Born	Lorenzo Luis Degni (1933-01-06)January 6, 1933 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2022(2022-01-07) (aged 89)
Occupation(s)	Bodybuilder, film actor

Lou Degni (January 6, 1933 – January 7, 2022), known professionally asMark Forest, was an American actor and bodybuilder — widely known as the protagonist in a series of 1960ssword and sandal orpeplum movies — including his recurring role asMaciste.^[1]

Born Lorenzo Louis (Lou) Degni in Brooklyn, NY, Forest was a third generation Italian-American; his grandparents were fromNaples.^[2] He began bodybuilding at 13, subsequently opening his own gym inLong Island. A talent scout saw his picture and invited him to Hollywood to audition for the role ofTarzan. Though he did not get the part, he became a member of the musclemen troupe inMae West's Las Vegas stage show. During this time he entered numerous weightlifting competitions, winning the title of "Mr. Muscle Beach" inVenice, California.^[3]

After the worldwide success ofHercules, he became the second American actor recruited by Italian producers (afterSteve Reeves), and was signed to a three-picture contract withLa vendetta di Ercole (retitledGoliath and the Dragon) as his first film for the US market. At this time Degni began using the pseudonymMark Forest, and using his advantage of speaking fluent Italian prior to arriving in Europe. For the English version of the film he was dubbed byJackson Beck who voicedBluto in thePopeye cartoons.^[4]

Forest continued in the peplum genre, active in Rome from 1961-1965,^[2] leaving the cinema to pursue a career as a European opera singer (tenor), skilled in thebel canto technique, instructed by Giovanni Millo, composer and former tenor of theMetropolitan Opera of New York, father of the lyric sopranoAprile Millo.^[2] In his later years, Forest became a vocal coach inStudio City, California.^[5]

He later lived inArleta, California, and died on January 7, 2022, a day after his 89th birthday.^[6][7]

• Hughes, Howard (2011).Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide From Classics To Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris.ISBN 978-1-84885-608-0.

• Mark Forest atIMDb
• Mark Forest at Brians Drive in Theater

• 1933 births
• 2022 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male bodybuilders
• American male film actors
• American people of Italian descent
• Male actors from Brooklyn
• People associated with physical culture
• Sportspeople from Brooklyn
• 20th-century American sportsmen

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• Use mdy dates from October 2024
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