Touching photo: Bud Spencer in his father’s arms as a child
Thanks to a Facebook page called In the Wake of Piedone, we found a real treasure! A childhood photo of legendary Italian tennis player Bud Spencer has been shared, showing young Carlo in his father’s arms, while the boy’s newborn sister, Vera, is snuggled up to the right. Here’s a photo that will brighten up any Bud Spencer fan’s day:
By the way, Bud Spencer was born the son of Alessandro Pedersoli and Rosa Facchetti in the Santa Lucia district of Naples. At the time, his father had an iron factory in the port of Naples, but when a ship moored in front of the factory exploded in an accident, the iron factory was destroyed. He became a member of the local swimming club at the age of 8, from where he moved to Rome when his family moved to the capital in 1943.
His academic results were quite excellent, he was first at the age of five, then he failed fifth grade and entered a sixth grade high school. He then attended the chemistry department of the University of Rome (he became a student at the university at the age of 16), but he had to interrupt his studies because his family left Italy in 1947 and moved to Brazil.
He returned home a year and a half later (late 1948), and his family returned home in 1950. He continued his university studies, although not in chemical engineering, but in law, as well as in sports. In 1949, he won the Italian breaststroke championship, and in 1950 he became the champion of the 100-meter freestyle in under one minute. Already this year, he achieved 4th place at the European Championship with the Italian national team. After signing his first Hollywood contract, he took a break from professional sport.