Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016) was an Italian swimmer, actor and director, better known professionally as "Bud Spencer".
Born in Naples, he began his acting career in his late 30s, when he obtained a part in a western thanks to his swimming skills: there he met another younger actor, Mario Girotti (better known as Terence Hill), who would eventually become a very good friend of his. Throughout the seventies and eighties he starred in over thirty family-oriented movies, both with Terence Hill and on his own. His most notable recurring characters include Police Commissioner "Piedone" Rizzo (four movies from 1973 until 1980) and the Sheriff (two movies in 1979 and 1980). Later he starred in a few TV series and appeared as a cameo in several 90s movies.
Like Hill, he chose an American pseudonym for himself to give the films he starred in a better chance of selling in English speaking countries. He chose it after Spencer Tracy — his favorite American actor — and his favorite American beer, Budweiser.
A Beat 'em Up video game, Slaps and Beans, has been made in homage to Spencer and Hill's most famous collaborations.
Partial filmography:
- God Forgives... I Don't! (1967)
- Ace High (1968)
- Today We Kill... Tomorrow We Die! (1968)
- They Call Me Trinity (1971)
- A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die! (1972)
- Trinity Is STILL My Name! (1972)
- Watch Out, We're Mad! (1974)
- Go For It (1983)
His roles provide examples of:
- Acrofatic: His heavy build didn't stop him from being surprisingly fast and agile.
- Anti-Hero: In movies with Terence Hill, his character is generally portrayed as lazy, greedy and a little selfish, loving his quiet life and never liking Terence's character getting him in trouble. Willingly or unwillingly, however, (mostly unwillingly) he always ends up helping others.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Invoked in a memorable quote from one of his movies: "There's nothing badder than a good guy who has just decided to be bad".
- Big Eater: He can devour huge amounts of food and does it in almost every movie. Sometimes it's even part of the plot.
- Fat and Skinny: Whenever he paired up with Terence Hill, he played the big burly guy next to Hill's lithe, athletic guy.
- Kung-Shui: Each and every movie includes a brawl, which often implies the destruction of any surrounding facility. Furthermore, it's usually a bad idea to attack Bud with a piece of furniture.
- Manly Facial Hair: He grew a beard especially for his first important role and it became his trademark (he is barely recognizable in the clean-shaven pics of his youth).
- Mighty Glacier: His usual brawling style on film. When paired with Hill's Fragile Speedster antics, they contrast well with each other.
- Odd Couple: Stock part of his movies with Terence Hill, as the two almost always played stock characters: Bud's characters tend to be level-headed, talk little and are content to take things slow and steady. Hill's characters are often quick-witted talkers, and usually his eagerness to jump in the middle of a situation and drag Bud along is what sets off the plot.
- Production Posse: Many of his action comedies with Terence Hill were directed by Enzo Barboni.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: You could expect this to happen in a fight with him at least once per movie. A common variant was a mook smashing a chair over him from behind, only for Spencer to have no reaction except slowly turn around and knock down the incredulous mook in one punch.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the blue to Terence Hill's red.
- Same Language Dub: In most of his movies, Bud is actually dubbed over by other Italian voice actors, most notably Glauco Onorato, apparently because he was sensitive about his thick Neapolitan accent. Best seen in the picture Il Soldato di Ventura, where his accent is very noticeable, as he plays the historical Ettore Fieramosca
. - Stout Strength: Over 300 pounds and able to lift a grown man.
- Those Two Actors: With Terence Hill; they appeared in some 20-odd films together.
