Bud Spencer

Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli, 31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016) was an Italian actor, filmmaker and professional swimmer. He was known for past roles in action-comedy films together with his long-time film partner Terence Hill. Growing from a successful swimmer in his youth, he got a degree in law, and has registered several patents. Spencer also became a certified commercial airline and helicopter pilot, and supported and funded many children's charities, including the Spencer Scholarship Fund.

Bud Spencer and Terence Hill both appeared in, produced and directed over 20 films together.

Spencer was born on 31 October 1929 in Santa Lucia, a historical rione of the city of Naples. From 1947 to 1949 he worked in the Italian consulate in Recife (Brazil), where he learned fluent Portuguese. He changed his screen name in 1967, choosing to pay homage to Spencer Tracy as well as his favorite beer, Budweiser.

A professional swimmer in his youth, Spencer was the first Italian to swim the 100 m freestyle in less than one minute. He achieved this on 19 September 1950, when he swam the 100 m in 59.5 s.

In the 1951 Mediterranean Games, he won a silver medal in the same 100 m freestyle event.

Spencer participated in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, reaching the semi-finals in the 100 m freestyle (58.8 s heats, 58.9 s semi final). Four years later, in Melbourne, he also entered the semi-finals in the same category (58.5 s heat, 59.0 s semi final).

As a water polo player, he won the Italian Championship in 1954, with S.S. Lazio. His swimming career ended abruptly in 1957.

On 17 January 2005 he was awarded with the Caimano d'oro (Gold Caiman) by the Italian Swimming Federation.[10]

On 24 January 2007, he received from the Italian Swimming Federation's president Paolo Barelli, swim and water polo coach diplomas.

Spencer's first movie role was in Quel fantasma di mio marito, an Italian comedy shot in 1949 and released in 1950. Then he played a member of the Praetorian Guard in Quo Vadis, a film shot in Italy, in 1951.[3] During the 1950s and part of the 1960s, Spencer appeared in some Italian films but "his career was strictly minor league until the late 1960s."

Spencer met his future film partner, Terence Hill, on the set of Hannibal in 1959. They went on to work together on over 20 films, including (named using their most common U.S. titles):

1. Hannibal (1959), as Carlo Pedersoli together with Mario Girotti
2. God Forgives... I Don't! (1967), first time as Bud Spencer together with Terence Hill
3. Ace High (1968)
4. Boot Hill (1969)
5. They Call Me Trinity (1970)
6. Blackie the Pirate (1971)
7. Trinity Is Still My Name (1971)
8. All the Way, Boys (1972)
9. Watch Out, We're Mad (1974)
10. Two Missionaries (1975)
11. Crime Busters (1976)
12. Odds and Evens (1978)
13. I'm For the Hippopotamus (1979)
14. Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981)
15. Go For It! (1983)
16. Double Trouble (1984)
17. Miami Supercops (1985)
18. Troublemakers (1994)

Films with Spencer alone include:

1. The Five Man Army (1969)
2. The Fifth Day of Peace (1969)
3. It Can Be Done Amigo (1972)
4. Flatfoot (1973)
5. They Call Him Bulldozer (1978)
6. The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (1979)
7. Everything Happens to Me (1980)
8. Banana Joe (1982)
9. Bomber (1982)
10. Superfantagenio (1986)

Many of these have alternative titles, depending upon the country and distributor. Some have longer Italian versions that were edited for release abroad. These films gathered popularity for both actors, especially in Europe.[3] In an interview, Spencer said: "Terence is like a brother to me, and like brothers we don't always agree, and he can be a pain in the neck sometimes." [laughs] "... our relationship I suppose is reflected in our movies, but he can always count on me as I can on him. We always enjoyed working together, probably why we made so many films together."

The main dubber of Bud Spencer in Italy is Glauco Onorato who, with his characteristic voice, successfully enriched the character of Bud Spencer. Sergio Fiorentini dubbed Spencer in Troublemakers, To the Limit (1997) and the series of Detective Extralarge, (1991–93) while in the movie Everything Happens to Me the dubber is Ferruccio Amendola.

Spencer wrote the complete or partial screenplay for some of his movies. His feature film career slowed down after 1983, shifting more toward television. In the 1990s, he acted in the TV action-drama Extralarge. His autobiography was published by Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf in 2011.

Spencer married Maria Amato in 1960, with whom he had three children: Giuseppe (1961), Christine (1962) and Diamante (1972). After appearing in Più forte, ragazzi!, Spencer became a jet airplane and helicopter pilot. He established Mistral Air in 1984, an air-mail company that also transports pilgrims, but later sold it to Poste Italiane to buy a textile mill that produced clothes for children.

Pedersoli died aged 86 on 27 June 2016.

In 2005, he entered politics, unsuccessfully standing as regional counselor in Lazio for the Forza Italia party. Spencer stated: "In my life, I've done everything. There are only three things I haven't been – a ballet dancer, a jockey and a politician. Given that the first two jobs are out of the question, I'll throw myself into politics." The opposition criticised him for engaging in "politica spettacolo" ("showbiz politics").