Bud Spencer, the Italian star of numerous Spaghetti Westerns, died peacefully in Rome on Monday, July 27. He was 86.
He is known to many Iranians as “Bigfoot” for his huge size; he weighed 125 kg and was 194 cm tall. The title was also the Persian translation of a series of his films known in the world as ‘Flatfoot’.
Born in Naples, Spencer began acting in the late 1940s, but it was not until the late 1960s that his career took off. Spencer, real name Carlo Pedersoli, chose the name Bud Spencer after his favorite 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, said Hollywood Reporter.
He grew to become a star of Spaghetti Westerns (a term used for a western film made cheaply in Europe by an Italian director), known for his towering height and friendly spirit. He partnered with Terence Hill for a string of successful hits including 1970’s ‘They 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 1970s and 1980s including ‘The Knock Out Cop’ and ‘Double Trouble’. The duo gained world acclaim and attracted millions to theater seats.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Spencer achieved great acclaim on various series on Italian television.
Over his career he was active in supporting multiple children’s charities, initiating the Spencer Scholarship Fund. Spencer was awarded a David di Donatello lifetime achievement award with Hill in 2008.
