 Among Russel's starring roles are parts in the sci-fi epics "Wild, Wild Planet" (1965) and its sequel, "War of the Planets" filmed concurrently.He left Italy for America in 1967, and later appeared in such films as "The Hard Ride" (1971) and "Soul Hustler" (1973).In 1969, Russel played the rustler Mike Cassidy in the episode "Drop Out" of the syndicated television series, "Death Valley Days", hosted by Robert Taylor, not long before Taylor's own death.