Bud Spencer
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| Bud Spencer | |
| Born | Carlo Pedersoli 31 October 1929 Naples, Italy |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | Carl Spencer |
| Occupation | Writer, Actor, former Swimmer, Singer, Composer, Jurist, Screenplaywriter, Fashion designer, Record producer |
| Years active | 1951-present |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Amato (1960-present) |
Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli 31 October 1929) is an Italian actor, filmmaker, former swimmer (he was the first Italian to swim 100m in less than a minute). He is known for his height at 194 cm (6ft 4 1/2in) and his past roles in spaghetti westerns. Growing from a successful swimmer in his youth, he got a degree in law, and has registered several patents.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Spencer was born in Santa Lucia, a historical rione of the city of Naples. He married Maria Amato in 1960, with whom he had three children: Giuseppe (1961), Christine (1962) and Diamante (1972). He changed his screen name in 1967 reportedly chosen to pay homage to Spencer Tracy as well as his favorite American beer, Budweiser. Other sources report that he found it funny to call himself "bud" despite his weight and his height at 1.94 m[1].
[edit] Swimming and water polo career
A successful 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.[2] In the 1951 Mediterranean Games, he won a silver medal in the same 100m freestyle event.[3]
Spencer participated in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, reaching the semi-finals in the 100 m freestyle (58.8 s heats, 58.9 s semi final).[4] Four years later, in Melbourne, he also entered the semi-finals in the same category (58.5 s heat, 59.0 s semi final).[5] 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.[6] On 24 January 2007, he received from the Italian Swimming Federation's president Paolo Barelli, swim and water polo coach diplomas.[7]
[edit] Acting career
Spencer's first movie role was that of a member of the Praetorian guard in Quo Vadis, a film shot in Italy, in 1951.[1] 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."[1]
Spencer met Terence Hill, with whom he made a large number of Italian Westerns and other films together, including (named using their most common US titles):
- Hannibal (1959)
- God Forgives... I Don't! (1967)
- Ace High (1968)
- Boot Hill (1969)
- They Call Me Trinity (1970)
- Blackie the Pirate (1971)
- Trinity Is STILL My Name! (1971)
- All the Way, Boys (1972)
- Watch Out, We're Mad (1974)
- Two Missionaries (1975)
- Crime Busters (1976)
- Odds and Evens (1978)
- Who Finds a Friend, Finds a Treasure (1981)
- Go For It! (1983)
- Double Trouble (1984)
- Miami Supercops (1985)
- Troublemakers (1994)
- I'm For the Hippopotamus (1979)
Films with Spencer in solo performance include:
- The Five Man Army (1969)
- They Call Him Bulldozer (1978)
- The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (1979)
- Everything Happens to Me (1980)
- Banana Joe (1982)
- Superfantagenio (1986)
Many of these have alternate 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.[1]
The main dubber of Bud Spencer in Italy is Glauco Onorato, who with his characteristic voice, successfully enriched the character of Bud Spencer with many particularities. In some movies the dubber is Sergio Fiorentini (Botte di Natale, Al limite and the series of Detective Extralarge). In the movie Oggi a te domani a me the dubber is Ferruccio Amendola
Spencer also wrote the complete or partial screenplay for some of his movies. His fan base is particularly large in Europe. His feature film career slowed down after 1983, shifting more toward television. In the 1990s he acted in the TV action-drama "Extralarge".
[edit] Personal life
After appearing in Più forte, ragazzi!, Spencer became a jet airplane and helicopter pilot[1]. 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.
[edit] Career in politics
In 2005, Pedersoli entered politics, unsuccessfully standing as regional counselor in Lazio for the Forza Italia party. Spencer has 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."[1] The opposition criticised him for engaging in "politica spettacolo" ("showbiz politics").[1]
[edit] Filmography
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| Film | Role |
|---|---|
| Quo Vadis (1951) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | Imperial Guard |
| Siluri umani (1954) (English title: Human Torpedoes) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | Magrini |
| Un Eroe dei nostri tempi (1955) (English title: A hero of our times) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | Fernando |
| Cocco di mamma, Il (1957) (English title: Mamma's boy) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | Oscar |
| A Farewell to Arms (1957) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | Carabiniere |
| Annibale (1960) (English title: Hannibal) (as Carlo Pedersoli) | |
| Dio perdona... Io no! (1967) (English title: Blood River) | Hutch Bessy |
| Oggi a me... domani a te! (1968) (English title: Today it's me) | O'Bannion |
| Al di là della legge (1968) (English title: Beyond the law) | James Cooper |
| Ace High(1968) (Italian title: I Quattro dell'Ave Maria) | Hutch Bessy |
| Dio è con noi (1969) (English title: Crime of Defeat) | Cpl. Jelinek |
| Un Esercito di cinque uomini (1969) (English title: The Five Man Army) | Mesito |
| La Collina degli stivali (1969) (English title: Boot Hill) | Hutch Bessy |
| Lo chiamavano Trinità (1970) (English title: They Call Me Trinity) | Bambino |
| Il Corsaro nero (1971) (English title: Blackie the Pirate) | Skull |
| ...continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità (1971) (English title: Trinity Is STILL My Name!) | Bambino |
| 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971) (English title: Four Flies on Grey Velvet) | Godfrey 'God' |
| Torino nera (1972) (English title: Black Turin) | Rosario Rao |
| Più forte, ragazzi! (1972) (English title: All the way boys) | Salud |
| Si può fare... amigo (1972) (English title: Bulldozer Is Back Amigo) | Hiram Coburn |
| Una Ragione per vivere e una per morire (1972) (English title: A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die) | Eli Sampson |
| Anche gli angeli mangiano fagioli (1973) (English title: Even Angels Eat Beans) | Charlie Smith |
| Piedone lo sbirro (1973) (English title: A Fistful of Hell) | Inspector 'Flatfoot' Rizzo |
| Porgi l'altra guancia (1974) (English title: Turn the Other Cheek) | Father/Padre Pedro |
| Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo (1974) (English title: Watch Out, We're Mad) | Ben |
| Piedone a Hong Kong (1975) (English title: Flatfoot in Hong Kong) | Inspector 'Flatfoot' Rizzo |
| I Due superpiedi quasi piatti (1976) (English title: Crime Busters) | Wilbur Walsh |
| Il Soldato di ventura (1976) (English title: Soldier of Fortune) | Hector Fieramosca |
| Charleston (1977) | Charleston |
| Piedone l'africano (1978) (English title: Knock-Out Cop) | Rizzo |
| Lo chiamavano Bulldozer (1978) (English title: Uppercut) | Bulldozer |
| Pari e dispari (1978) (English title: Trinity: Gambling for High Stakes) | Charlie Firpo |
| Sceriffo extraterrestre - poco extra e molto terrestre, Uno (1979) (English title: E.T. and the Sheriff or The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid) | Sceriffo Scott (Sheriff Hall) |
| Piedone d'Egitto (1979) (English title: Flatfoot in Egypt) | Inspector Rizzo |
| Io sto con gli ippopotami (1979) (English title: I'm for the Hippopotamus) | Tom |
| Chissà perché... capitano tutte a me (1980) (English title: Everything Happens to Me) | Sheriff Hall |
| Occhio alla penna (1981) (English title: Buddy goes West) | Buddy |
| Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro (1981) (English title: A friend is a treasure) | Charlie O'Brien |
| Cane e gatto (1982) (English title: Cat and Dog) | Sergeant Parker |
| Banana Joe (1982) | Banana Joe |
| Bomber (1982) | Bud Graziano |
| Nati con la camicia (1983) (English title: Go for it) | Doug O'Riordan alias Mason |
| Double Trouble (1984) (Italian title: Non c'è due senza quattro) | Greg Wonder/Antonio Coimbra de la Coronilla y Azevedo |
| Miami Supercops (1985) | Steve Forest |
| Superfantagenio (1986) (USA title: Aladdin) | Genie |
| Big man (1988 - 1989) (TV Series) | Jack Clementi |
| Extralarge (1990 - 1993) (TV Series) | Jack 'Extralarge' Costello |
| Un piede in Paradiso (1991)(English title: Speaking of the devil) | John "Bull" Webster |
| Botte di Natale (1994)(English title: The Night Before Christmas; also called "The Troublemaker") | Moses |
| Noi siamo angeli (1997) (English title: We are Angels) (mini) TV Series | Orso |
| Fuochi d'artificio (1997) (English title: Fireworks) | The blind singer |
| Al limite (1997) (English title: To the Limit) | Elorza |
| Hijos del viento (2000) (English Title: Sons of the wind) | Quintero |
| Tre per sempre (2002) (English title: 3 - 4 Ever) | Bops |
| Cantando dietro i paraventi (2003) (English title: Singing Behind Screens) | Il vecchio capitano |
| Padre Speranza (2005) (English title: Father Hope) (TV) | Padre Speranza |
| Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling (2009) (English title: Murder is my Business, Honey) | Pepe |
[edit] Writer: 1990s
- Banana Joe (1982)
- Big Man
- La Fanciulla che ride (1988) (TV)
- Diva (1989) (TV)
- Boomerang (1989) (TV)
- Extralarge
- Ninja Shadow (1993) (TV)
- Diamonds (1993) (TV)
(in the 1980s, he was credited as Carlo Pedersoli)
[edit] Image gallery
 Pedersoli (right) with the Olympic swimmer Angelo Romani |
 The Italian water polo team, early 50s |
 Left to right: Geminio Ognio, Carlo Pedersoli, Sirio Banchelli, Pennecchini |
 Left to right: Paolo Galletti, Carlo Pedersoli, Angelo Romani, Osvaldo Berti, Giorgio Grilz |
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Bud Spencer at the Internet Movie Database
- Budterence.it - Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Italian Website (Italian)
- Spencer & Hill videos
- "Berlusconi picks film cowboy as his sidekick", telegraph.co.uk, 16 February 2005, Bruce Johnston
- Hill & Spencer website (French)
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