Bud Spencer, 86, erstwhile star of spaghetti westerns, passes away in Rome

London: Italian actor and filmmaker Bud Spencer has died aged 86. He passed away peacefully on 27 June in Rome, reported BBC online. [caption id=“attachment_2860586” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bud Spencer. Image from YouTube[/caption] Spencer, whose real name was Carlo Pedersoli, was known among his fans as the ‘big friendly giant’ of the screen because of his height and weight. “He had all of us next to him and his last words were — Thank you,” his son Giuseppe Pedersoli said. The actor, who was also a professional swimmer, starred in more than 20 films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was a regular in Spaghetti Westerns (a western film made cheaply in Europe by an Italian director) “Ciao #BudSpencer We loved you so much,” Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tweeted. Actor Russell Crowe also took to Twitter and wrote “RIP Bud Spencer. My heart goes out to your family.”

RIP Bud Spencer ... My heart goes out to your family https://t.co/KSfsfUtrga

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) June 27, 2016

Spencer was born in the southern Italian city of Naples in 1929, but later moved to Rome, where he became a promising swimmer. In 1950, he was the first Italian to swim 100m in under one minute. He later abandoned his sporting career and began playing in Westerns and comedy films, often alongside Terence Hill. He appeared in movies like Ace High, They Call Me Trinity, A Friend is a Treasure among others. Spencer said he chose his name as a tribute to his favourite beer Budweiser and US actor Spencer Tracy.