Furio Scarpelli | Italian screenwriter, 90

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Furio Scarpelli, who cowrote some of the best postwar Italian comedies and ventured into the spaghetti western genre with the

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

, died of heart problems Wednesday in Rome.

Mr. Scarpelli wrote The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Agenore Incrocci, who was known as Age. The 1966 film was directed by Sergio Leone and starred Clint Eastwood.

But it was the Italian comedies, including the iconic Big Deal on Madonna Street, that mostly made the writing partners' name. Their sense of humor and unforgiving display of the vices of Italian people became their trademark, and made for memorable roles and lines for actors such as Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio Gassman.

Mr. Scarpelli was hailed Wednesday as one of the fathers of Italian cinema. Director Paolo Virzi said Scarpelli had the ability to see through people and praised his talent for vivid dialogue.

Mr. Scarpelli and Age received two Oscar nominations for screenwriting in the 1960s. Mr. Scarpelli received another nomination for Il Postino (The Postman) in 1996. Age died in 2005.

- AP