The film star - known for his hulking size - had played in spaghetti westerns and farcical comedies over the decades. Tributes have been pouring in from around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J.-P. Strobel
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The Naples-born actor and filmmaker died Monday in a Rome hospital, his family reported.
"My father died peacefully at 18:15 and did not suffer from pain, he had all of us next to him and his last words were 'Thank you'," his son, film producer Giuseppe Pedersoli, said in a short statement.
Born Carlo Pedersoli in the southern Italian city of Naples, he moved at age 11 with his family to Rome, where he became an accomplished athlete.
A star swimmer in his early days
After World War II, the family moved again, this time to Brazil, where the young man quit his studies and started taking odd jobs. He returned to Rome, where he went back to school and took up competitive swimming; in 1950, he became the first Italian to swim the 100-meter freestyle in under a minute.
After the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he abandoned his swimming career and went on to marry the daughter of a film producer and had three children.
In 1967, at the age of 38, he starred in his first western, "God forgives... I don't!" It was at this point he changed his name to Bud Spencer, a tribute to his favorite US beer brand "Budweiser" and the American actor Spencer Tracy.
Starring opposite fellow Italian actor Terence Hill (Mario Girotti), Spencer rose to acclaim in the 1970 spaghetti western comedy "They call me Trinity."
He became internationally known for playing a friendly giant of a cowboy, a role he would reprise in scores of films.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini hailed Spencer as "a great actor of our cinema industry, who over the course of his long career entertained whole generations."
Later in life, Spencer entered Italian politics. He is reputed to have 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. Given that the first two jobs are out of the question, I'll throw myself into politics."
He had a large fan base around the world, especially in South America and Germany, where his films were especially popular.
Farewell Bud Spencer: an Italian actor with many talents
Best known for his spaghetti Westerns, actor Bud Spencer was also an Olympic swimmer, lawyer and politician. He died on June 27, 2016, at the age of 86.
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A multi-talented man
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.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D.Castello
From sports to film
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.
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Bud was born
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.
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Never boring with Bud
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."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives
Inseparable duo
"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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives
End of a spaghetti Western era
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.
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All in the family
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.
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Spencer, the politician
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.