Together with Bud Spencer, Terence Hill became an icon of the spaghetti western. But the Venice-born actor also has German roots. At the age of 83, he is now making it official: he recently acquired a German passport.
Acting legend Terence Hill has recently become a German citizen. He received the necessary documents from the German Consul General in Los Angeles, reports the "Bild" newspaper.
"My wonderful mother and thus my mother tongue have always had an impact on me. I'm happy that I now have this ID," the newspaper quoted the 83-year-old as saying. Born in Venice, whose real name is Mario Girotti, he has an Italian as well as a US passport. His son Jess Hill lives in the USA, he currently lives in Gubbio, Italy, where his father Girolamo also comes from.
Terence Hill's mother Hilde comes from Lommatzsch in Saxony, where the actor lived with his family from 1943 to 1947. During World War II he witnessed some air raids here.
More than a year ago, with the help of a friend, Hill went to the Federal Administration Office to prove his German ancestry, including his mother's marriage certificate. The step is "also a commitment to my roots," Hill told the "Bild" newspaper.
Appearance on the talk show "Markus Lanz" also made naturalization easier, Hill explains. The actor spoke fluent German on the 2018 show, which apparently didn't go unnoticed by an employee of the naturalization authority. "The nice officer had seen a visit from me on Markus Lanz's show," said Hill. As a result, the obligatory proof of language proficiency was no longer required for him.
The prolonged applause in the "Markus Lanz" studio also showed that the former Italo-Western star still enjoys great cult status in his mother's homeland. Together with his colleague and friend Bud Spencer, who died in 2016, he inspired in films such as "Four Fists for a Hallelujah" (1971) or "The Crocodile and His Hippopotamus" (1979).
Without Bud Spencer, Hill was seen in the films "My Name Is Nobody" (1973) and "Nobody is the Greatest" (1975). He is still in front of the camera in Italy as investigating pastor "Don Matteo" - and very successfully.
