- Born
- Birth nameMario Girotti
- Height5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
- Terence Hill was born as Mario Girotti on March 29, 1939 in Venice, Italy to a chemist. His mother was German, and as a child the family lived near Dresden, Saxony, Germany where they survived the Allied bombings of World War II. Italian film-maker Dino Risi discovered him at a swimming meet and he made his first film at the age of 12, Vacanze col gangster (1952) (Holiday for Gangsters). He continued acting to finance his studies and motorcycle hobby. After studying classical literature at the University of Rome for three years, he decided to devote full time to acting. In 1962 he appeared in Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (1963), He then signed a contract for a series of adventure and western films in Germany. In 1967 he returned to Italy to play the lead in God Forgives... I Don't! (1967). While on location in Almeria, Spain, he married an American girl of Bavarian descent, Lori Zwicklbauer, who was the dialogue coach for the picture. The producers of this movie wanted him to change his name. He then got a list with 20 names on it and 24 hours time to choose one of these names. He decided to take Terence Hill cause he liked it the most and it has the same initials as his mother's name (Hildegard Thieme). They only told the public that "Hill" was his wife's name out of publicity reasons. At this time of upcoming feminism a man who took his wife's name was something special. In 1976 Hollywood called and he appeared in March or Die (1977) with Gene Hackman and starred in Mr. Billion (1977) with Valerie Perrine. Since then he has concentrated on action/adventure films starring himself and often working with long time partner Bud Spencer. Terence lives in Massachusetts and is a film producer, as well as talented and respected actor.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- Terence Hill spent two years of his childhood from 1943 to 1945 in the German industrial town of Lommatzsch near Dresden, his mother's birthplace. In 1945 the family fled to Italy from the invading Russians. There the Italian filmmaker Dino Risi discovered the young Terence Hill, who was particularly noticeable because of his blue eyes. At the age of twelve he made his film debut in the title "Holliday for Gangsters". It was to be a deeply formative experience as he was forced to film by his mother and was supposed to support the family financially. At the age of 19 he began studying classical literature in Rome, but continued to appear in a few films.
In 1959, Hill took part in a film for the first time in which his future film partner Bud Spencer was also involved: "Hannibal". After Terence Hill had successfully completed his studies, he cast his first major role in Luchino Visconti's "The Leopard" in 1963. He then went to Germany and appeared in four Karl May films. In 1964, Hill cast a small role as a soldier in Winnetou II. A year later he appeared in "Winnetou and the Bear Hunter" and "The Oil Prince". He married the American Lori Hill and changed his name to Terence Hill. In 1967, Hill appeared in the film adaptation of "The Nibelungs." This year he also starred with Bud Spencer in the spaghetti western "God Forgives... Django Never!". In 1968, Hill celebrated his first major success alongside Spencer with "Four for an Ave Maria".
In 1970, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer achieved their breakthrough in the Western genre with the film "The Devil's Right and Left Hands." In these Wild West comedies, both often impressed with humorous fight scenes. The hit film "Four Fists for a Hallelujah" followed in 1971 and "Two Dogs of Heaven on the Way to Hell" a year later. In 1973, "My Name is Nobody", a solo film by Hill and starring Henry Fonda, was shown. Two years later, the sequel "Nobody is the Greatest" came out - Hill starred in it with Klaus Kinski. In 1976, Hill appeared in his first Hollywood engagement, alongside Gene Hackman, in the film "March or Die."
In 1983 he made the film "Nobody Looks Like Don Camillo". He tried to build on the success of the well-known "Don Camillo" films from the 1950s and 1960s. The 1970s and 1980s were all about Terence Hill. He played the adventure guy as well as the nice patrolman in the comedy "Two Out of Order" alongside Bud Spencer. Most of the films were huge box office successes. A stroke of fate befell him and his family on January 30, 1990, when his 17-year-old adopted son Ross died in an accident. Terence Hill then largely withdrew from the public eye and needed a few years to find his way back to normality and the film business.
In 1994, Hill starred again with Spencer in the film The Troublemakers. The film "Lucky Luke" was his last big success. Since then, Terence Hill has been quiet in the film medium. His next TV project was called "Don Matteo", a 16-episode Italian television series in which he played a priest on the trail of a detective.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- Appeared in 18 films with frequent co-star Bud Spencer.
- Part of the reason he was cast in the westerns was because he looked just like another actor who made hit westerns, Franco Nero. When Nero was not available to do a western, Italian producers cast Hill. Hill then went on to make a name for himself as a western star.
- He can speak German fluently.
- Changed his name in 1967. Hill stated on his official German website that it was made up by film producers who gave him a list with 20 names and 24 hours time to choose one of the names. He picked "Terence Hill" for he liked this name the most and it has his mother's initials whose name was "Hildegard Thieme". Most people to this day think that "Hill" was his wife's name. But her name was Lori Zwicklbauer and is today Zwicklbauer-Hill after she took his name. It was for publicity reasons when they said that Hill took his name from his wife. At this time of upcoming feminism a man who chose to take his wife's name was something special.
- His mother was German, his father an Italian chemist.
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