Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; born 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with his long-time film partner and friend Bud Spencer. During the height of his popularity, Hill was among Italy's highest-paid actors.
Biography[]
Born in Venice to a German mother and an Italian father, Hill spent the first few years of his life in the small town of Lommatzsch, Saxony, Germany. After the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, he and his family relocated to Italy.
Hill began his acting career at the age of 12, when he was discovered by Italian filmmaker Dino Risi at a swimming meet. His first role was Risi's 1951 film Vacation with a Gangster as Gianni, an orphan gang leader.
Hill's first lead role was in Guaglione (1956). During this time, he would also act in numerous supporting roles, including Anna of Brooklyn (1958), The Sword and the Cross (1958), Carthage in Flames (1960), The Story of Joseph and His Brethren (1961), The Wonders of Aladdin (1961), Seven Seas to Calais (1962), and The Shortest Day (1963). It was also during this time that he studied classical literature at an Italian university.
In 1964, he returned to Germany and appeared in many Westerns and adventure films, such as Last of the Renegades (1964), three films with Stewart Granger: Amongst Vultures (1964), The Oil Prince (1965), and Old Surehand (1965), Shots in 3/4 Time (1965), Duel at Sundown (1965), Call of the Forest (1965), Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried (1965), and Die Nibelungen, Teil 2 - Kriemhilds Rache (1967). Afterwards, he returned to Italy.
After his return to Italy, Hill followed with two musicarellos with Rita Pavone, The Crazy Kids of the War (1967) and Little Rita of the West (1967), then did a Western, Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968) for director Ferdinando Baldi, a sequel to Django (1966) with Hill playing the role done by Franco Nero in the original.
Partnership with Bud Spencer[]
Hill's first film with Bud Spencer was Hannibal (1959), although they never shared any scenes. As a duo, their first official film was the spaghetti Western film God Forgives... I Don't! (1967). It was the first film in a trilogy, followed by Ace High (1968) and Boot Hill (1969). They became a huge hit with the 1970 spaghetti Western comedy They Call Me Trinity and its sequel, Trinity Is Still My Name (1971). Both films were financial successes internationally, leading their popularity as a duo to increase significantly.
After starring in many spaghetti Westerns, All The Way, Boys (1972) was the first film set in a modern context, although many other slapstick elements of the earlier films were carried over. They starred in more adventure comedies, starting with Watch Out, We're Mad! (1974) and Two Missionaries (1974). By 1975, their films had grossed over $50 million (30 billion lire) in Italy. After a three-year break, they reunited in Crime Busters (1977), which was the first of their following films that were filmed in Miami. Next, they starred in Odds and Evens (1978), I'm for the Hippopotamus (1979), Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981), Go for It (1983), and Double Trouble (1984). Miami Supercops (1985) was their final non-Western film together and their last movie before they reunited nine years later for their final pairing in Troublemakers (1994).
Dubbing History[]
Despite his fluency in both Italian and English, Hill was usually dubbed by other actors in the two languages. In the Italian versions of his films, various actors provided his voice until the late 1960s, where he was primarily dubbed by Sergio Graziani; he was voiced by Pino Locchi from 1970 to 1983, and by Michele Gammino from 1983 to 1996.
For English dubs, Roger Browne dubbed him in most of his early 1960s-1970s films (Little Rita of the West to A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe). For Titra Studios-based dubs, he was voiced by Lloyd Battista (notably God Forgives... I Don't!, Ace High, and Boot Hill). In Django, Prepare a Coffin, Frank Latimore provides his English-dubbed voice. From Mr. Billion (1977) onward, Hill dubbed his own English voice.
Dub Actors[]
| Actor | No. of Titles | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Himself | 9 | 
|
| Roger Browne | 7 | |
| Lloyd Battista | 3 | 
|
| Rodd Dana | 1 |
|
| Chris Jahn |
| |
| Frank Latimore |
|
Filmography[]
Original Actor[]
| Year | Character | Title | Dub Voice | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Lazarus | The Sword and the Cross | ¿? | Italy |
| 1967 | Giuliano Fineschi | The Crazy Kids of the War | Rodd Dana | |
| Cat Stevens | God Forgives... I Don't! | Roger Browne | ||
| Lloyd Battista | United States | |||
| Black Star | Little Rita of the West | Roger Browne | Italy | |
| 1968 | Django | Django, Prepare a Coffin | Frank Latimore | |
| 1968 | Cat Stevens | Ace High | Lloyd Battista | United States |
| 1969 | Boot Hill | |||
| 1970 | Trinità/Trinity | They Call Me Trinity | Roger Browne | Italy |
| 1971 | Blackie | Blackie the Pirate | Larry Ward | |
| 1971 | Trinità/Trinity | Trinity Is Still My Name | Roger Browne | |
| 1972 | Plata | All The Way, Boys | ||
| 1974 | Father G. | Two Missionaries | ||
| 1974 | Kid | Watch Out, We're Mad! | ||
| 1977 | Matt Kirby | Crime Busters | Himself | |
| 1978 | Johnny Firpo | Odds and Evens | ||
| 1979 | Slim | I'm for the Hippopotamus | ||
| 1980 | Dave Speed | Super Snooper | ||
| 1981 | Alan Lloyd | Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure | ||
| 1983 | Rosco Frazer / Steinberg | Go for It | ||
| 1984 | Sebastiano Coímbra / Elliot Vance | Double Trouble | ||
| 1985 | Dough Bennett | Miami Supercops | ||
| 1994 | Travis | Troublemakers | ||
| 2018 | Thomas | My Name Is Thomas | Chris Jahn | United States |
External Links[]
- Terence Hill at the Internet Movie Database