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Riccardo Pizzuti
Rick Piper, Richard Pizzuti
born: 28.04.1934 in Rom
Biography

Riccardo Pizzuti was born on 28.04.1934 in Rome. After his childhood, he first worked for his father as an electrician. In 1951 he went to Venezuela for three years.

Beginnings in film

After his return, the stuntman Pasquale Basile brought him into the film business in the mid-50s. He remained true to this after his military service. In the 1960s he appeared as a stuntmen in the modern genre films such as the sword-and-sandal-films and later the spaghetti-western. In 1962 he appeared in "Cleopatra" (Cleopatra), 1964 in "Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators" (Spartacus e i dieci gladiatori), 1965 in "Blood for a Silver Dollar" (Un dollaro bucato) and 1967 in "Any Gun Can Play" (Vado... l'ammazzo e torno). In the late 1960s he joined Giorgio Ubaldi's stunt team.

First roles alongside Bud Spencer and Terence Hill

His first role in a Spencer/Hill film was 1968 in Ace High (I quattro dell'Ave Maria). In contrast to his later roles, however, he can only be seen very briefly here. But he got one of Bud's fist right away. With his next appearances in They call me Trinity (Lo chiamavano Trinità) and Trinity is STILL my name (...continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità) in the early 70s Riccardo Pizzuti become one of the most famous faces of the Bud Spencer and Terence Hill movies and, although he certainly did not belong to the famous actors at the side of the two, he contributed a certain part to the success of the movies. His role is basically always that of the right hand of the top villain and so it is he who always gets the fists of the two heroes in the first front. In the film Why did you pick on me? (Chissà perché... capitano tutte a me) you can even see Riccardo Pizzuti fighting alongside Bud Spencer. It is also interesting that Riccardo Pizzuti has often appeared in Bud Spencer solo films during his career, but is only involved in one Terence Hill solo project. But in Man of the East (...e poi lo chiamarono il Magnifico) he played the top villain and got one of his biggest roles. Riccardo Pizzuti made his 20th and final appearance in the Spencer/Hill universe in 1990 at Bud Spencer's side in his solo adventure Speaking with the devil. (Un piede in paradiso). In 1995 he was once again a gunslinger in Enzo Barboni's last film "Sons of Trinity" (Trinità & Bambino... e adesso tocca a noi!). Riccardo Pizzuti then retired from the acting business.

Dark times

In the mid-1980s, Pizzuti got into trouble with the Italian judiciary. He was accused of involvement in money laundering in connection with drug trafficking. Although Pizzuti asserted his innocence, he must go to jail. The judgment is annulled in 1988 and converted into an acquittal. Pizzuti turned his back on his homeland with bitterness and moved to France.

Back in the public eye

Twenty years later, Pizzuti was interviewed for the documentary They called him Spencer. In summer 2017 he was therefore invited to the premiere of the film in Munich. There he was warmly welcomed by the fans and so he accepted the invitation to the Spencer/Hill-Festival 2017 in Templin a little later. Here he presented himself in top form and in good spirits and was celebrated by 1000 enthusiastic fans.

Riccardo Pizzuti now lives in St. Jean near Toulouse in France.

Additional Links:
Internet Movie Database
Best-of-Video auf unserem YouTube-Kanal

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Filmography
No. Year Title Role Voice actor Picture
1. 1968 Ace High Handlanger von Drake  
2. 1970 They call me Trinity Jeff  
3. 1971 Trinity Is STILL My Name einer der 3 Gauner am Anfang des Films  
4. 1971 Can be done... Amigo Schläger  
5. 1972 Man of the East Morton Clayton  
6. 1972 All The Way, Boys Schlagender Wirt  
7. 1972 Even Angels Eat Beans „Die Natter”  
8. 1974 Two Missionaries Silberpappel  
9. 1975 Flatfoot Goes East Schläger  
10. 1975 Soldier Of Fortune Villefort, Französischer Ritter  
11. 1977 Crime Busters einer von Freds Leuten  
12. 1978 They called him Bulldozer Amerikanischer Soldat Edward Mannix 
13. 1978 Odds and Evens Mack Ted Rusoff 
14. 1979 The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid Soldat  
15. 1980 Flatfoot in Egypt Salvatore Coppola Robert Spafford 
16. 1980 Why did you pick on me? Holzfäller  
17. 1981 Buddy Goes West Colorado Slim  
18. 1981 Who finds a Friend finds a Treasure Schläger von Frisco Joe  
19. 1983 Go for It Dr. Spider Nick Alexander 
20. 1990 Speaking of the Devil Joe Grant, rivalisierender Taxifahrer Nick Alexander 
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Work as crewmember
 
Master of arms
No. Year Title Comment
1 1990 Speaking of the DevilStunt co-ordinator
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