Terence Hill (bornMario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer.[1] He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with hislong-time film partner and friendBud Spencer. During the height of his popularity, Hill was among Italy's highest-paid actors.[1]
His most widely seen films include comic and standardspaghetti Westerns, some based on popular novels by German authorKarl May about theWild West. Of these, the most famous areLo chiamavano Trinità (They Call Me Trinity, 1970); ...continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità (Trinity Is Still My Name, 1971), the highest grossing Italian film at that time; andIl mio nome è Nessuno (My Name Is Nobody, 1973), co-starringHenry Fonda. Hill also went on to a successful television career in Italy, most notably playing the title character in the long-runningRai 1 seriesDon Matteo from 2000 until 2022.
Hill was born on 29 March 1939 inVenice, Italy.[1] Hill's mother, Hildegard Girotti (née Thieme), was fromDresden, Germany; his father, Girolamo Girotti, was Italian fromAmelia, Umbria, and a chemist by occupation.[2] During his childhood, Hill lived in the small town ofLommatzsch, Saxony. As a child, he experienced thebombing of Dresden, which was traumatic for him.[3] He was there until theend of World War II in Europe.[4]
He was discovered at the age of 12 by Italian filmmakerDino Risi at a swimming meet, and he became a child actor, appearing in Risi'sVacation with a Gangster (1951) as Gianni, the orphan gang leader. "They were looking for a boy gang leader and they found me", he later said.[5]
He had support parts inIl padrone delle ferriere (1959) withVirna Lisi,Juke box - Urli d'amore (1959), andHannibal (1959) withVictor Mature and Carlo Pedersoli, who would later become known as Bud Spencer. Girotti had the lead roles inSpavaldi e innamorati (1959) andCerasella (1959), a teen comedy.
Girotti secured a substantial supporting role inLuchino Visconti's film epicThe Leopard (1963) alongsideBurt Lancaster andAlain Delon, in which he unsuccessfully tries to court the daughter of Lancaster's character. During this time he studied classical literature for three years at an Italian university.[5]
Girotti then appeared alongsideBud Spencer (then known as Carlo Pedersoli) inGiuseppe Colizzi's spaghetti WesternGod Forgives... I Don't! (1967). (Although Girotti appeared in the same movie as Pedersoli inHannibal in 1959, they did not meet during filming.[11]) At the time, cast and crew in Westerns frequently adopted American names to give the film a better chance of selling in non-Italian speaking countries; Girotti changed his name to "Terence Hill". He picked the name from a list of 20 he was given, the story about using his wife's name was a publicity idea.[12] The film was a huge hit – the most popular film of the year in Italy – and established him as a star.
Hill was a leading man in a musical WesternCrazy Westerners (1968), again with Rita Pavone, then was reunited with Spencer inAce High (1968), a sequel toGod Forgives with a cast including several American actors such asEli Wallach. Hill didThe Tough and the Mighty (1968), a biopic ofGraziano Mesina, then a second sequel toGod Forgives,Boot Hill (1969), co-starring Spencer andWoody Strode.[5]
Hill didThe Wind's Fierce (1970) then had a huge hit with Spencer with the comedy WesternThey Call Me Trinity (1971). Hill did a swashbuckler,Blackie the Pirate (1971), in which Spencer had a small role; they reteamed properly for aTrinity sequel,Trinity Is Still My Name (1972). It was even more popular than the original and had a successful release in the USA.[7]
Hill did a modern-day crime dramaThe Hassled Hooker (1972) and a comedy Western without Spencer,Man of the East (1972). He and Spencer did... All the Way, Boys! (1972), their first non-Western though it was still a comic adventure film.
Hill has stated in interviews thatMy Name Is Nobody (1973), in which he co-starred with Henry Fonda,[14] is his personal favorite of all his films.[14] The film was based on an idea bySergio Leone.
Despite his fluency in Italian and English, Hill was usually dubbed by other actors in both languages. In the Italian versions of his films, various actors provided his voice until the late 1960s, where he was primarily dubbed bySergio Graziani; he was voiced byPino Locchi from 1970 to 1983, and byMichele Gammino from 1983 to 1996. For English dubs,Lloyd Battista dubbed him in six films, including the "Cat Stevens and Hutch Bessy" trilogy, whileRoger Browne dubbed him in most of his early 1970s films (They Call Me Trinity toA Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe); fromMr. Billion onward, Hill dubbed his own English voice.[18][19]
In 2000, he landed the leading role in the Italian television seriesDon Matteo (2000–ongoing), about an inspirationalparish priest who assists theCarabinieri in solving crimes local to his community. This role earned Hill an international "Outstanding Actor of the Year" award at the42nd Monte Carlo Television Festival, alongside ones for the series, and for producerAlessandro Jacchia at that festival.[23] Hill left Don Matteo in 2022 after thirteen seasons, last appearing in 2024.[24]
During the series' run he appeared in TV moviesL'uomo che sognava con le aquile (2009),Riding the Dark (2009),Doc West (2009), andTriggerman (2009); he co-directed the last two.
In the summer of 2010, Hill filmed another Italian television series for the Italian state television channelRai Uno, this time entitledUn passo dal cielo (One Step from Heaven), playing a local chief of thestate foresters in the region ofAlto Adige, with a second season filmed in 2012.
Hill is married to Lori Hill (née Zwicklbauer) and they have two sons.[28] Ross was killed in a car accident inStockbridge, Massachusetts, U.S., in 1990, while Hill was preparing to filmLucky Luke (1991) on the Bonanza Creek Ranch nearSanta Fe, New Mexico.[29]
He holds American citizenship,[30] and in November 2022, he also attained a German citizenshipby descent from the German consulate-general inLos Angeles without requiring anaturalization test.[31]
^Paola Naldi (2007). "Il nuovo cinema cerca gloria," atLa Repubblica [Bologna]. 29 August 2007.bologna.repubblica.itArchived 26 December 2014 at theWayback Machine. Retrieved 11 May 2015. Quote: "Per il resto l´istituzione diretta da Gianluca Farinelli, impegnatissima a Bologna con la rassegna dedicata a Chaplin, sarà presente alla manifestazione semplicemente come prestatrice (attività che svolge tutto l´anno) facendo arrivare sul grande schermo veneziano due pellicole per la rassegna "Western all´Italiana": «Preparati la abara», girato nel 1968 da Ferdinando Baldi, con Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman, José Torres; «I sette del Texas», anno 1964, di Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent."
.jpg)
