Italian actor and filmmaker Bud Spencer, who starred in a number of spaghetti westerns, has died aged 86.
Spencer's movies included Double Trouble, Go For It, Ace High, They Call Me Trinity and A Friend is a Treasure. "With our deepest regrets, we have to tell you that Bud is flying to his next journey," Spencer's family said on his Twitter account.
The actor's son, Giuseppe Pedersoli, added: "He had all of us next to him and his last words were 'Thank you'." Paying tribute to the actor, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tweeted: "Ciao #BudSpencer We loved you so much."
Hollywood star Russell Crowe said: "RIP Bud Spencer. My heart goes out to your family." The actor was a known fan of Spencer's work - at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year he thanked a journalist for comparing his double act with Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys to Spencer and Terence Hill.
Crowe said: "Dude, now you're talking. That's a really flattering compliment, thank you very much." Spencer was born in the southern Italian city of Naples in 1929, but later moved to Rome, where he became a promising swimmer.
In 1950, he became the first Italian to swim 100m in under one minute. He later abandoned his sporting career and began acting in westerns and comedy films - appearing alongside Hill in 16 films.
The actor said he chose his name as a tribute to his favourite beer Budweiser and US actor Spencer Tracy.