Italian spaghetti Western actor Bud Spencer, who passed away on June 27, 2016, at age 86, began his film career late in life. Before he became an actor, he earned a law degree and became the first Italian to swim 100 meters freestyle in under a minute. He swam for Italy at the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games. Spencer was born on October 31, 1929, in Naples as Carlo Pedersoli.

Bud Spencer, pictured here on a German talk show in 1983, was also a world-class water polo player. He began his acting career with "Quo Vadis" in 1951. In the 50s and early 60s, he played in smaller Italian productions. It wasn't until he changed his name to Bud Spencer that he gained international fame.

Pedersoli became Bud Spencer in 1967, allegedly a tribute to actor Spencer Tracy and the American beer Budweiser. That marked the beginning of his international career. Alongside Italian actor Terence Hill, he made a string of action-packed spaghetti Westerns known for their fight scenes. The pair made 18 films together and are pictured here in "Trinity Is Still My Name" from 1971.

Apparently all that film action wasn't quite enough for Spencer. In the 1970s, Bud learned to become a jet airplane and helicopter pilot. He also owned his own air transportation company for a short time in the 80s. He balanced this work with many film appearances - sometimes without Terence Hill. He's pictured here in the 1980 film, "Buddy Goes West."

"Miami Supercops" (1985) was the second-to-last film Spencer made with Hill. ("Troublemakers" would come in 1994.) He once likened his relationship with Hill to that of siblings, explaining that brothers don't always agree. The pair were particularly popular across Europe.

Spencer also wrote or contributed to the screenplays of some of the movies he appeared in. "The Troublemakers," also known as "The Fight Before Christmas" (pictured) was his final film with Terence Hill in 1994.

After the Spencer-Hill era, the actor continued making some films for television, including the six-part Italian-French series "Noi siamo angeli" in 1996. It was produced by Spencer's son, Giuseppe Pedersoli, and co-starred "Miami Vice" actor Philip Michael Thomas.

Bud Spencer once said, "In my life, I've done everything. There are only three things I haven't been - a ballet dancer, a jockey and a politician." So, in 2005, he decided to pursue the third at the personal request of Italy's then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. However he lost his bid to become a regional counselor in Lazio for the Forza Italia party. Bud Spencer died in Rome on June 27, 2016.