Italian actor Bud Spencer dead at 86

Bud Spencer passed away peacefully on June 27 in Rome, reported BBC online.

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." 

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 100 m 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.