Thursday 30 June 2016

Italian film actor Bud Spencer dies


Bud Spencer, Italian actor and filmmaker, passed away on 27 June 2016 in Italy following brief illness. He was 86. Spencer was known among his fans as the big friendly giant of the screen because of his height and weight. Born in Naples as Carlo Pedersoli, he adopted the stage name Bud Spencer- the first name inspired by a Budweiser beer and the last to honour his favourite star Spencer Tracy.

• He first found fame as an Olympic swimmer competing in 1952 and 1956 after becoming the first Italian to swim the 100-metre freestyle in less than one minute.
• Spencer abandoned his swimming career after the 1960 Olympics in Rome. 
• He got his first break in 1955 when Italian director Mario Monicelli gave him his first big role in the film Un eroe dei nostri tempi (A hero of our times). 
• In 1967, Spencer teamed up with fellow Italian Terence Hill, whose real name is Mario Girotti, and they began starring in the Spaghetti Westerns.
• Some of the famous Spaghetti Westerns of Spencer were God Forgives … I Don’t, Ace High, They Call Me Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name.
• In 2005, Spencer briefly entered politics but was not elected.

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