Bud
Spencer, Italian Spaghetti Western Star, Dies at 86
10:43 PM PDT 6/27/2016 by Ariston
Anderson
The longtime onscreen partner of
Terence Hill died peacefully in Rome.
Bud Spencer, the Italian star of
numerous spaghetti Westerns, died peacefully in Rome on Monday. He was 86.
Spencer's son Giuseppe Pedersoli
confirmed the news in a short statement: “My father died peacefully at 18:15
and did not suffer from pain, he had all of us next to him and his last words
were 'Thank you.’”
Italy's Prime Minister Matteo
Renzi tweeted, "Ciao #BudSpencer We loved you so much."
Born in Naples, Spencer started
as an Olympic athlete in both swimming and water polo, competing in 1952 and
1956. He was the first Italian to swim the 100-meter freestyle race in under a
minute. Spencer earned a degree in law and registered several patents in his
name.
He began acting in the late
1940s, but it wasn’t until the late ‘60s that his career took off. Spencer,
real name Carlo Pedersoli, chose the name Bud Spencer after his favorite brand
of beer, Budweiser, and for American actor Spencer Tracy. Director Giuseppe
Colizzi was an admirer of the then 38-year-old swimming champion when he
recruited him to star as a strong man in his Western God Forgives … I Don’t! in
1967. The production team asked him to change his name to a more
American-sounding moniker to appeal to international audiences.
Spencer grew to become a star of
spaghetti Westerns, known for his towering height and friendly spirit. He
partnered with Terence Hill for a string of successful hits including
1970’sThey Call Me Trinity, which became the highest-grossing Italian film of
the time. A year later they beat their own record with the sequel Trinity Is
Still My Name.
Spencer and Hill continued to
have dozens of hits throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, including The Knock Out Cop
and Double Trouble. The duo garnered world acclaim and attracted millions to
theater seats.
Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s,
Spencer achieved great acclaim on various series on Italian TV.
He tried out a short stint in
politics in 2005 at the request of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi,
running under the center-right Forza Italia party in an act that was criticized
by leftists as "showbiz politics."
Over his career, Spencer was
active in supporting multiple children’s charities, initiating the Spencer
Scholarship Fund.
He was awarded a David di
Donatello lifetime achievement award with Hill in 2008.