Spaghetti Western star Bud Spencer passes away at 86

Italian actor, filmmaker and star of Spaghetti-westerns, Bud Spencer died on Monday, at the age of 86. He died 'peacefully' and did not 'suffer any pain' his son, film producer Giuseppe Pedersoli was quoted as saying. "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'," he said. Born with the name Carlo Pedersoli in Naples, Italy, the

actor moved to Hollywood in the '50s, where he made a name for himself as the 'big friendly giant' for his sheer size. Starring alongside friend Terrence Hill, Spencer majorly played the role of cowboys or policemen. He was also a professional swimmer, and was the first Italian to swim 100m under a minute.

Tributes poured in from Italian PM Matteo Renzi, and Hollywood star Russell Crowe on Twitter.