Childhood (1939 - 1945) Terence Hill was born as Mario Girotti in Venice on March 29, 1939. His father was Girolamo Girotti, a chemist from the Italian village of Amelia. His mother was Hildegard Thieme, a native of Dresden in Germany. The Girotti family also included Mario's two brothers Odoardo and Piero. In 1943 the family moved to the small Saxon town of Lommatzsch near Dresden. Mario's father found a job there. Towards the end of the Second World War, the family witnesses the bombing of Dresden. Luckily they survived the war unscathed, but left Germany immediately afterwards. Being afraid of the Russians, they moved to Italy. Entering the film business (1951 - 1959) After a few years in Amelia in Umbria, the family finally moved to Rome around 1950. Mario was an avid swimmer, rower and rider. In Rome he joined the Lazio swimming team. During his training there he often met Bud Spencer, who used to swim in the same team. Mario admired him, but realized that he is quite lazy with training. While swimming, Mario also met the assistant of director Dino Risi, who at that time was looking for five boys for his next film. He advised Mario to register for the casting and he finally did. This is how Mario came to his first film role in the film Vacanze col gangster (US-title: Holiday for gangsters) in 1951. He was only 12 years old at that time. Mario was not sure if acting was the right thing for him, but takes on other small roles. At the age of 15 he attended acting lessons at the Actors Studio in Rome for three years and was in demand as a young actor during these years. In 1957, he attracted more attention for the first time, as this year he appeared in the award-winning film La grande strada azzurra (US-title: The Wide Blue Road) alongside Yves Montand. By his 20th birthday in 1959 he had already appeared in 20 films. Folgore Division 1954 The Wide Blue Road 1957 Decision for acting, engagement in Germany (1959 - 1967) In 1959 he played Quintilius, the son of the powerful Roman senator Fabius Maximus, in the historical epic Annibale (US-title: Hannibal). Also to be seen in this film is his later friend and permanent partner Bud Spencer, who at that time still called himself Carlo Pedersoli. But Mario and Carlo didn't get to know each other during the shooting, because they have no common scene. In 1963 Luchino Visconti is looking for a young man who, in his new film Il gattopardo (US-title: The Leopard), could stand alongside such established actors as Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon. He chose Mario. The film was so successful that Mario abandoned his studies of literature and philosophy and fully concentrated on acting. In the meantime, the producer Horst Wendlandt had become aware of Mario in Germany. At that time he had great success in Germany with the film adaptations of Karl May novels and engaged Mario for the continuation of his successful western series of Winnetou. Mario's role as Lieutenant Robert Merril in Winnetou 2 (US-title: Last of the Renegades) gained him over night publicity in Germany so Horst Wendlandt decided to cast Mario in three more Karl May films. In addition, there were the German and Austrian productions Duell vor Sonnenuntergang (Italian title: Sparate a vista su Killer Kid) and Ruf der Wälder (Italian title: Il magnifico emigrante). In 1966 Mario was acting again in the two-part film adaptation of the Nibelung by Winnetou director Harald Reinl before turning his back on Germany in 1967 and returning to Italy. Hannibal 1959 Nibelung 1966 The birth of Terence Hill, the successful duo Spencer/Hill and private happiness (1967 - 1971) In 1967 Mario is very busy. His first film after his return to his homeland was Io non protesto, io amo. Here he could be seen again in his typical role as a young man in love. Immediately afterwards, however, he had the opportunity to gain a foothold in the western genre in Italy. Together with pop star Rita Pavone he shot the music western Little Rita nel West (US-title: Little Rita of the West). The role also indirectly laid the foundation for the subsequent fateful encounter with Bud Spencer during the shooting of the western Dio perdona ... io no! (US-title: God forgives... I don't!). Mario was not even intended to be a part of this movie’s cast., since the role of "Cat Stevens" was initially supposed to be played by Peter Martell. Because he broke his foot during a fight with his girlfriend shortly before the shooting started, director Giuseppe Colizzi had to find a replacement quickly. Manolo Bolognini, the producer of Little Rita nel West (US-title: Little Rita of the West) gave his friend Colizzi a hint to give it a try with Mario Girotti, who had just recently shot with him and who would look very similar to the very well-known western star Franco Nero. Colizzi met up with Mario and immediately took him to Spain to the set of Dio perdona ... io no! (US-title: God forgives... I don't!). Just like Bud Spencer, Mario needed a new name for this film, because the film, which was produced for Europe, where American-sounding names simply had a bigger impact with regards to the marketing effect.. Mario got a list of 20 names to choose one within 24 hours. He chose Terence Hill. He simply liked the name and it also had the same initials as his mother's name. The great success of the film surprised everyone involved. The duo Spencer/Hill celebrated their first public success and so they started working on a sequel. Before that, however, Terence Hill married Lori Zwicklbauer, an American of Bavarian roots, in 1967, who was the dialogue coach for Dio perdona ... io no! (US-title: God forgives... I don't!). In 1968 and 1969 the two sequels of the so successful debut at Bud Spencer's side followed, namely I quattro dell'Ave Maria (US-title: Ace High) and La collina degli stivali (US-title: Boot Hill). Also in 1969, Terence's first son Jess was born in Rome on November 7th. And even if you'd believe that things could not get any be better for Terence during this time, 1970 would be even more successful. In this year the former cameraman Enzo Barboni approached Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. He wanted to try something new. He wanted to shoot a western, which was more of a comedy than a hard western, garnished with plenty of harsh, sometimes snappy lines and comic fights. He found the ideal cast in Bud and Terence. Lo chiamavano Trinità (US-title: They call me Trinity), in which Terence's son Jess could be seen as a baby, and the even more successful sequel ... continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità (US-title: Trinity is still my Name) in the following year catapulted the Spencer/Hill duo to the top of European cinema. The era of one of the most successful film duos in film history began. Solo projects, moving to the USA and debut as director (1972 - 1983) In the 70's Terence Hill shot seven more very successful movies together with Bud Spencer. In between he always found the time for successful solo projects, as for example in 1973 in the role of Nobody in Il mio nome è Nessuno (US-title: My name is Nobody) directed by Sergio Leone and Tonino Valerii, a role he later described as his favourite role. The film was so successful that the western Un genio, due compari, un pollo (US-title: A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe), made two years later, was directly marketed as a sequel to Nobody in Germany, although the film was actually completely independent. Also in 1973, Terence and Lori Hill adopted an orphan boy in a Munich hospital during the shooting of Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo! (US-title: Watch out, we're mad!), whom they called Ross Girotti Hill. A year later the family moved to the USA to the small town of Stockbridge in Massachusetts. In 1976 and 1977 Terence Hill also appeared in two Hollywood productions, first in Mister Miliardo (US-title: Mr. Billion) and then in La bandera - Marcia o muori (US-title: March or die) alongside Gene Hackman and Catherine Deneuve. The following joint films and solo projects were back then mostly made in the USA, although as Italian productions, such as I due superpiedi quasi piatti (US-title: Crime Busters) (1976), Pari e dispari (US-title: Odds and Evens) (1978), Chi trova un amico trova un tesoro (US-title: Who finds a Friend finds a Treasure) (1981) and Nati con la camicia (US-title: Go for it) (1983). Terence Hill also made his debut as a director in 1983. Don Camillo (US-title: The World of Don Camillo) involved the whole Hill family. Terence's wife Lori wrote the script, Terence himself was the director and producer and played the leading role Don Camillo, giving the movie its title. Their two sons Ross and Jess could also be seen in small roles. The end of an era (1984 - 1985) Following this family work, Terence and Bud Spencer shot the film Non c’è due senza quattro (US-title: Double Trouble) in Rio de Janeiro, in which both were shown in a double role. One year later, in 1985, the era of the successful duo Spencer/Hill ended with the police comedy Miami Supercops (I poliziotti dell' 8ª strada) (US-title: Miami Supercops). Since it could be foreseen that this kind of comedy would not be as successful in the future as in the past, they decided to go separate ways for the time being after a total of sixteen joint films (Annibale (US-title: Hannibal) not counted). Terence shoting with his family and mourning for his son (1987 - 1992) This path brought Terence back together with E. B. Clucher in 1987. In Renegade un osso troppo duro (US-title: They call me Renegade) Terence Hill could once again be seen alongside his son Ross. The cooperation happened rather coincidentally. Terence showed Ross the script and rather jokingly suggested that he could play the role of Matt. Terence liked the idea and took Ross to test shootings. Ross was convinced and was allowed to take the leading role next to his father. Unfortunately, this first leading role also was his last one, because on January 30th, 1990 Ross had an accident with his car. His car ran off the road on icy ground and collided with a tree. Ross was dead instantaneously, also his friend Kevin died from the consequences of the accident. A world collapsed for Terence. He was devastated and didn't know how to go on. He was in the middle of preparations for the comic adaption Lucky Luke, in which Ross should actually have played the role of Billy, the Kid. Terence was about to quit and to throw everything away. His wife Lori, who was responsible for the script for Lucky Luke, prevented him from doing so and the shooting began the same year. However, the role of Billy the Kid would not be casted newly, but was completely deleted from the script. The credits of the film ended with the words "Love is eternal", a dedication for Ross and Kevin. After the Lucky Luke movie, Terence took over the role of the comic book hero again for a TV series and could thus be seen in a TV series for the first time ever. By 1992, a total of eight episodes of the western series had been produced. For the promotion of Lucky Luke, Terence Hill was a guest of Thomas Gottschalk in the 70th show of Wetten, dass..? in Basel on November 2, 1991. In his bet he guessed that the competitor would not be able to catch 20 out of 200 flies within 100 seconds. As a bet amount, Terence offered to pay a visit to his Saxon hometown Lommatzsch, showing the children there some stunts from his films. He lost his bet, but his betting debt would not be settled until a few years later. Comeback with Bud Spencer and visit of the German homeland (1994 - 1997) In 1994 Terence was persuaded by his old companion Bud Spencer to make another film together. In Botte di Natale (US-Title: The Fight before Christmas; Troublemakers), over 20 years after ... continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità (US-title: Trinity is still my name), the duo returned to the Wild West. The script for this western comedy was written by Terence's son Jess, who could be seen in a small role again, while Bud's son Giuseppe was involved in the production. Bud and Terence appeared in person for the world premiere in Dresden on March 15th, 1995. Three days before this premiere, Terence used the opportunity, being in Saxony to redeem his debt with Thomas Gottschalk lost in 1991 (see above) and visited his hometown Lommatzsch on March 12th, where there is a small Terence Hill Museum today. Unfortunately, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer could not continue the success of past days with this comeback. The film flopped at the box offices as well as Terence Hill's next film Potenza virtuale (US-title: Cyberflic) from 1997, in which he played a computer hologram searching for his own killers. Potenza virtuale (US-title: Cyberflic) was Terence Hill's last work for the next 14 years, which was also published in Germany. Great success as priest Don Matteo (1999 - 2018) In 1999, the role in a new television series led Terence Hill back to Italy. In the small town of Gubbio in the Umbrian region, the first season of the series Don Matteo was being created. In 16 episodes, Terence Hill plays the priest Don Matteo, who is repeatedly involved in criminal cases. The series would become a huge success in Italy. Up to 9 million Italians watch Terence Hill solve the cases. With this success, of course, further seasons needed to follow. In 2001 Terence shot a second season and, thanks to the continuing success in the following year, a third one year later. Afterwards, Terence Hill took a year off before the still outstanding ratings of the series made him slip back into the role of the pastor in 2004. For the fourth season, even 24 episodes were shot instead of the usual 16. After the fourth season, Terence took another short break from Don Matteo and devoted himself to another project for the first time. In 2005 the priest's robe called him again. The fifth season of the series was about to start, and after another 24 episodes, the emigration of Don Matteo to Brazil would represent the ending of the successful series. But the audience was wanting more, still longing for an extension of the series and finally Terence Hill and the producers gave in announcing Don Matteo's return. So from summer 2007 to spring 2008 Terence was back in beautiful Gubbio, acting as a priest in front of the camera. The 24 episodes of the sixth season were first broadcasted from January to April 2008 and although Flavio Insinna, one of the main characters had left the series, the ratings were still outstanding. The return of Don Matteo on 17 January 2008 had been watched by 7,449 million viewers on Italian television. Terence Hill then indicated in several interviews that the story around Don Matteo had come to an end and devoted himself to two other projects again. Yet he afterwards complied with the wish of the audience again in March 2009 and started shooting the seventh season. The seventh season again featured 24 episodes and would premiere on Italian television from September to November 2009, with ratings even higher than on the already strong sixth season. When being asked about the continuing success of the series, Terence replied that the likeable priest had apparently become an integral part of many viewers' lives. He was and still is very grateful for the audience remaining so loyal to him throughout his entire career and did not want to disappoint them. And so it was only logical that in May 2011 Terence would put on his priest's robe for the eighth time. The eighth season would again run over 24 episodes and was broadcast from September to December 2011. And Don Matteo remained the man on the top of ratings. Up to 8.5 million Italians switched on the new episodes and with the season’s finale, a feature-length episode was produced for the first time. Nevertheless, Terence Hill granted the pastor a break for 2012 and dedicated himself to a second successful series (see below). The break only lasted on year, he only started into the ninth round in 2013. The ninth season brought some changes. For the first time, the city of Gubbio would no longer be the place of action, but instead the small town of Spoleto, which is closer to Rome, would be. In addition, Pamela Saino, another leading actress, was leaving the series. The first 26 episodes of the new season were produced between April and November 2013 and were continued to be broadcasted from January to April 2014 with great success. It was no surprise the anniversary season was announced shortly afterwards. From May to February 2016, 26 episodes of the tenth season were produced, which were shown on Italian television spring 2016 with continuing success. Therefore as of mid2017 season 11 would continue. For this, the main role of the Capitano of the Carabinieri would be replaced a second time. Simone Montedoro had to leave after 124 episodes. He was replaced by Maria Chiara Giannetta, the first female capitano. It did no harm to the success of the series. The eleventh season in spring 2018 would also attract between 6.5 and 8 million viewers. Yet there is no end in sight. Despite the success in Italy for almost 20 years now, the series has inexplicably not really made it to Germany. Two episodes of the first season were dubbed for rehearsal in 2002, but unfortunately no tv station has been found in all these years to broadcast the series. The two test episodes were released in October 2011 via the Internet platform iTunes and later also on DVD in Germany, but there is little hope for further episodes to be published. Other countries are not so sceptical about the potential success of the pastor, e.g. the series was also shown in France, Hungary, Australia and the USA. Further TV projects and the long-awaited comeback in Germany (2005 - 2011) Although Terence Hill was very busy as Don Matteo during this time, he anyhow took the time for another project for the first time after the end of the fourth season. In addition, for the Italian channel RAI he shot the two-part television film L'uomo che sognava con le aquile from March to May 2005 in Calabria. He played a cheese farmer who defends his country against corrupt politicians and businessmen who want to build a recreation centre there. The TV premiere of the two-part series at the beginning of 2006 was an enormous success, with more than 10 million viewers watching the second part in front of the screens. So it was no surprise that Terence Hill, after completing the sixth Don Matteo season, was preparing a very similar project and would be back in front of the camera in the summer of 2008 for a new two-part television program. In L'uomo che cavalcava nel buio Terence played Rocco, a riding teacher, whose career was destroyed by his student's accident on a doped horse. Although Rocco is neither responsible for the accident nor for the doping, he took responsibility for it and retired from the equestrian sport. Years later he returned, faced the past and started to train a shy girl. The ratings of the new two-part series did not reach the sensational ratings of its predecessor, but they were still very good. Almost 7 million Italians watched the second part in May 2009. Even before the TV premiere of L'uomo che cavalcava nel buio, Terence was starting another project. He traveled to the USA immediately after the shooting of the two-part film and prepared his comeback in the Wild West. From October to December 2008 he put back on a pair of cowboy boots. The two-part Western, which was shot in New Mexico and Arizona, is called Doc West. Terence played Doc West, who after a stroke of fate swaps his doctor dress against a saddle and revolver. He travels through the country and has to survive some adventures as a cowboy against his will. Besides Terence Hill, Paul Sorvino and Ornella Muti were also part of the team. The producer was Guido De Angelis, the directors were Terence Hill and Giulio Base. The first broadcast of the two-part film on the Italian TV station Canale 5 finally took place in September 2009 and the ratings for a Terence Hill project are quite sobering: not even 4 million viewers were watching his comeback as a western hero. However, the production designed for the international market is still paying off. The two-part was released on DVD in the USA, Spain, Czech Republic, France, the Netherland and Germany. This means that Doc West was the German comeback for Terence Hill, 14 years afte Potenza virtuale (US-title: Cyberflic) from 1997. Award for life's work, a second successful series and return to the cinema (2010 - 2018) Although Terence Hill was as active as an actor as ever, he would receive a special honor on May 7th, 2010. Together with Bud Spencer he was awarded the "David di Donatello", Italy's most important film prize, for his life's work. Accompanied by standing applause, the two accepted the prize from laudator Ermanno Olmi. On this occasion, the two have been seen together again since a long time, even if only on one stage. In summer 2010 Terence Hill would dedicate himself again to a new TV series, but for a change this time not Don Matteo. Instead of Umbria, he was now shooting from June to September 2010 in Alta Pusteria in South Tyrol and in Rome for the new TV series Un passo dal cielo (English translation: One step to heaven). In twelve episodes Terence Hill played the forester Pietro, who lived in seclusion in the South Tyrolean mountains to find his peace and himself again, after the gifted mountaineer was severely marked by a tragic accident. In his function as a forester, however, he was repeatedly involved in criminal cases, which he solved together with the newly appointed commissioner of the community. It was no coincidence that the concept was very similar to that of Don Matteo, except that by intention nature and particularly the South Tyrolean mountains were appearing significantly. The concept of the makers works. Un passo dal cielo (English translation: One step to heaven) would also be a great success and, unlike Don Matteo, this series would also make it to German television six years later. In July 2017 Terence Hill celebrated his comeback in Germany on Bavarian television. But back to the successful premiere of the series in 2011: Terence Hill was now the leading actor in two successful series that he would shoot alternately over the next few years. However, after the third season as forester Pietro, which will be shown on Italian television in early 2015, Terence's workload was becoming too much. He left the successful series and devoted himself to Don Matteo again. But in summer 2016 Terence would also have time for a new project. In the Spanish desert of Almería, the religious road movie Il mio nome è Thomas (English translation: My name is Thomas) was produced. It was and still is a heartfelt desire by Terence Hill, in which he not only plays the leading role, but for which he also wrote the script and which he also directs. The film is produced by his son Jess. During the preparations for the shooting in Almería on June 27, 2016, Terence received the news of the death of his long-time friend and film partner Bud Spencer. He traveled back to Rome for the funeral and gave an emotional eulogy. He also decided to dedicate his new film to his friend Bud. Although the film has already been completed in November 2016, it would be more than a year before its cinema premiere, which Terence Hill used again for the shooting of Don Matteo. On the day of the season final of the eleventh season, it is April 19th, 2018, Il mio nome è Thomas (English translation: My name is Thomas) would finally start in Italian cinemas. For Terence Hill, now 79, this meant the comeback on the big screen after 24 years of television. And this comeback did not only apply for Italy, because the film will also be shown in German cinemas from autumn 2018. Even at an experienced age, Terence Hill doesn't think about retirement. In spring 2019 he will celebrate his 80th birthday and will most likely be back in front of the camera for the twelfth season of Don Matteo.

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