Tribute To Actor Carlo Pedersoli aka Bud Spencer

Tribute to actor Carlo Pedersoli aka Bud Spencer (civil name Carlo Pedersoli; * 31 October 1929 in Naples; † 27 June 2016 in Rome) was an Italian film and television actor, swimmer and water polo player, pilot, musician and composer, politician and inventor, and founder of the airline Mistral Air.

He was the first Italian to swim the 100 metres freestyle in under a minute, won Italian swimming championships in various disciplines for ten consecutive years, and was a member of the Italian national water polo team. In 1952 and 1956 he took part in the Olympic Games in Helsinki and Melbourne respectively.

He became best known as Tribute to actor Carlo Pedersoli aka Bud Spencer alongside Terence Hill. The comedic duo appeared in numerous adventure and western comedies with extensive fight scenes and in some more serious Italian westerns. The actor usually played the stubborn, phlegmatic but good-hearted character who put his opponents out of action with a powerful punch.

In 1967, he received a film offer from the director and acquaintance of his wife Giuseppe Colizzi for the Italo western God Forgives... Django Never. This film was the beginning of the comedy duo Tribute to actor Carlo Pedersoli aka Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, who stepped in as a replacement for the originally planned Peter Martell, who had broken his foot the night before shooting began.

Both actors adopted English stage names because they were easier to market at the time and he did not want to ridicule his well-known name. His colleague Mario Girotti, whom he had known for many years before their first filming together at a swimming club in Rome, chose "Terence Hill" from a list. He told about his own stage name: "I didn't have a list! I had a bottle of Budweiser beer - my favourite beer - in front of me. And Spencer Tracy was always my favourite actor, so my choice was easy!"