Akademik

(1929-)

   Actor. After working at a wide variety of occupations and having been at various times a champion Olympic swimmer, an assembly line worker, a film extra, and a song-writer, in 1967 Pedersoli was offered one of the lead roles in the spaghetti Western Dio perdona . . . io no! (God Forgives, I Don't, 1967), playing alongside another little-known actor, Mario Girotti. Following what had become something of a tradition in the Italian Western, both actors adopted anglicized stage names, Girotti becoming Terence Hill and Pedersoli taking on the name of Bud Spencer (in homage to his preferred brand of American beer and his favorite American actor, Spencer Tracy). Their appearance in a handful of other films made them a popular duo but they then gained an over-whelming, and international, cult following with the knockabout comic Western Lo chiamavano Trinita (They Call Me Trinity, 1970), a popularity that was confirmed and augmented by its immediate sequel, Continuavano a chiamarlo Trinita (Trinity Is Still My Name! 1971). They continued to appear together in a dozen subsequent films, but Pedersoli (always as Bud Spencer) also branched out on his own, achieving his own cult following playing a limited number of character roles, the most famous in Italy being that of Inspector "Flat-foot" Rizzo in a series of comic police dramas directed by Steno. He became especially renowned in Germany, where in 1979 he received the Jupiter Prize as most popular actor, and Lo chiamavano Bulldozer (Uppercut, 1978), a film in which he played one of his most typical roles, was given the Golden Screen Award.

   After 30 years of playing an amiable hulk who uses his fists to bring evildoers back to the straight and narrow, Pedersoli has recently taken on more demanding roles and in 2003 (as Bud Spencer) was nominated for a Nastro d'argento as best supporting actor in Ermanno Olmi's Cantando dietro i paraventi (Singing behind Screens).

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira