Mario Girotti was born on the 29th of March 1939
in Venice Italy. As a child he lived in the German town of Dresden where he and
his family survived the bombing attacks during World War Two.
Following the war Mario was a shy child who loved books, and
was a very good swimmer and gymnast. As a child his mother enrolled him in
acting classes. He had his debut film role at the age of twelve in, Vacation with a Gangster.
He continued to act in various films, but also studied
literature at university in the hopes of becoming a teacher. After a role in
the famed film The Leopard he dropped
out of university to become a full time actor. He went to Germany and had roles
in a series of films based on the beloved Western character, Winnetou. On his
return to Italy he starred in a trilogy of Westerns, starting with God Forgives I Don’t!, alongside former
Olympic swimmer Carlo Pedersoli. The studio asked Mario to changed his name so he
would appeal to American audiences. He chose Terence Hill. Carlo changed his
name to Bud Spencer.
During this time Hill met a young American who taught him
English, her name was Lori, and they were married two months later.
There son Jess was born in 1969. They adopted a son, Ross in 1973.
In 1970 Hill and Spencer stared in the hugely successful
Spaghetti Western, They Call Me Trinity.
The film spawned a sequel, Trinity is
Still My Name and the two actors became an incredibly popular comedy duo.
They tried to make a film a year and these films included, Watch Out We’re Mad, All the Way Boys, Odds and Evens & Crime Busters.
Hill’s solo projects included, My Name is Nobody, in which he starred alongside Henry Fonda, Mr Billion, and March or Die with Gene Hackman and Catherine Denevue. In Europe
Hill became a huge box office star and in 1983 he directed and starred in, Don Camillo.
Tragically in 1990 Ross was killed in a car accident. Devastated
Hill lessened his film activity, his next project; Lucky Luke was dedicated to his son. In 1994 Hill directed and
starred in the film, Troublemakers, alongside
old friend Bud Spencer.
Hill currently lives in America with his family and spends
time in Italy filming the television series, Don Matteo.
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