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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