 | Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli on 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 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.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" . |
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. In the 1951 Mediterranean Games, he won a silver medal in the same 100m freestyle event. 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.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 Terence Hill, with whom he made a large number of Italian Westerns and other films together, (See Filmography).
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Pedersoli (right) with the Olympic swimmer Angelo Romani
Left to right: Geminio Ognio, Carlo Pedersoli, Sirio Banchelli, Pennecchini |
