Franco Columbu

Columbu was born on August 7, 1941, in Ollolai on the island of Sardinia, Italy. He was a son of shepherds Maria Grazia Sedda and Antonio Columbu. He said in 1982: "I was always skinny. Until I was 11, I got beat up a lot. Then one day, I started beating people up. Nobody could touch me." He worked as a shepherd while training as a boxer. He won over 30 fights as a boxer before quitting the sport in favor of weightlifting and bodybuilding, stating: "Boxing's too rough on your face and head."[6]

Columbu moved to Germany at a young age for work,[3] and met Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1965 at a bodybuilding competition in Stuttgart, Germany.[7][8] Columbu formed a lifelong friendship with Schwarzenegger,[9] and was Schwarzenegger's best man for his marriage to Maria Shriver in 1986 and godfather to their daughter Christina.[10][11][12]

With Schwarzenegger, Columbu moved to California in the late 1960s to train and work with Joe Weider.[6] Weider provided them with a place to live and an $80 (equivalent to $560 in 2019) per week stipend.[13] The stipend was not enough to live on, so to support their bodybuilding careers, they began a bricklaying company named European Brick Works in 1969.[12]

At 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) and a competition weight of around 185 pounds (84 kg), Columbu won the IFBB Mr. Europe and Mr. Universe titles in 1970, and the 1971 IFBB Mr. World. He won the lightweight class of the 1974 and 1975 IFBB Mr. Olympias, before winning the overall competition for the first time in 1976.[14]

Columbu participated in the inaugural edition of the World's Strongest Man in 1977. He placed fifth, behind four men who outweighed him by around 100 pounds (45 kg).[15] During the event, he dislocated his left knee while carrying a refrigerator on his back.[6] The injury kept him out of competition for a few years, and he received a reported $1 million (equivalent to $4.2 million in 2019) in compensation.[16] Columbu returned to win the 1981 Mr. Olympia then retired from competition.[14]

Known for his strength, Columbu's clean and jerk record was 400 pounds (181 kg), his bench press record was 525 pounds (238 kg), his squat record was 655 pounds (297 kg), and his deadlift record was 750 pounds (340 kg).[1][6] He was named in The Guinness Book of Records in 1978 for bursting a hot water bottle by blowing into it, which he achieved in 55 seconds.[5]

Columbu appeared as himself in the 1977 bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. He is also featured in films such as Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and had roles in films that starred Schwarzenegger, including Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), and The Running Man (1987). Columbu's later films, also as a writer and producer, included the cult film "Beretta's Island", (1993), "Doublcross on Costa's Island", which he also directed and the highly successful "Ancient Warriors" (2003). These 3 films were almost entirely shot in his homeland island of Sardinia. He was also feature, as an actor, in the low budget production of Dreamland - La terra dei sogni.[6]

Columbu lived in Los Angeles since the 1970s. He was a licensed chiropractor, earning his degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College in 1977.[5] Columbu returned to his hometown of Ollolai in Sardinia every year towards the end of August to attend the local festivities.[17]

On August 30, 2019, after experiencing a heart attack while swimming off the coast of San Teodoro, Sardinia, Columbu drowned and later died during transportation by helicopter to the hospital in Olbia,[18] twenty-three days after his 78th birthday.[19][20] He was survived by his wife, Deborah, their daughter, Maria,[21] and three sisters: Anna, Gonaria and Celestina.[6] A funeral was held in his birthplace of Ollolai on September 3.[17] A memorial was held in Los Angeles on October 6, 2019.

• Columbu, Franco; Fels, George (1977). Winning Bodybuilding. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809281091.
• Columbu, Franco; Fels, George (1978). Coming On Strong. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809275656.
• Columbu, Franco; Columbu, Anita; Knudson, R. Rozanne (1978). Starbodies: The Women's Weight Training Book. Dutton. ISBN 978-0525475279.
• Columbu, Franco; Tyler, Richard (1979). Winning Weight Lifting and Powerlifting. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809274284.
• Columbu, Franco; Tyler, Richard (1979). Weight Training and Bodybuilding: A Complete Guide for Young Athletes. Wanderer Books. ISBN 978-0671330064.
• Columbu, Franco (1982). Franco Columbu's Complete Book of Bodybuilding. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809259830.
• Columbu, Franco; Fragomeni, Lydia (1983). The Businessman's Minutes-a-Day Guide To Shaping Up. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809255795.
• Columbu, Franco; Fragomeni, Lydia (1985). The Bodybuilder's Nutrition Book. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0809254576.

• List of male professional bodybuilders

• Official website
• Franco Columbu on IMDb