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."[7]
Columbu moved to Germany at a young age for work,[3] and met Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1965 at a bodybuilding competition in Stuttgart, Germany.[8][9] Columbu formed a lifelong friendship with Schwarzenegger,[10] and was Schwarzenegger's best man for his marriage to Maria Shriver in 1986 and godfather to their daughter Christina.[11][12][13] Columbu and Schwarzenegger remained very close friends until Columbu's death, with Schwarzenegger stating in 2016, "He was my favourite training partner four decades ago and he is my favourite training partner today."[14]
Athletic career
With Schwarzenegger, Columbu moved to California in the late 1960s to train and work with Joe Weider.[7] Weider provided them with a place to live and an $80 (equivalent to $660 in 2023) per week stipend.[15] 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.[13]
Columbu posing in Sardinia c. 1970s
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.[16]
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).[17] During the event, he dislocated his left knee while carrying a refrigerator on his back.[7] The injury kept him out of competition for a few years, and he received a reported $1 million (equivalent to $5 million in 2023) in compensation.[18] Columbu returned to win the 1981 Mr. Olympia then retired from competition.[16]
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][7] 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.[6]
Columbu's later films, also as a writer and producer, included the cult film Beretta's Island, (1993), Doublecross on Costa's Island, which he also directed and Ancient Warriors (2003). These three films were almost entirely shot in his homeland of Sardinia. He was also featured, as an actor, in the low budget production of Dreamland - La terra dei sogni [it].[7]
Personal life and death
Columbu lived in Los Angeles from the 1970s. He was a licensed chiropractor, earning his degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College in 1977.[6] He appeared in television commercials and magazines advertisements for Vitalis "Super Hold" hairspray in 1977.[21] Columbu returned to his hometown of Ollolai in Sardinia every year towards the end of August to attend the local festivities.[22] Columbu became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1983.[23]
On August 30, 2019, after feeling unwell while swimming off the coast of San Teodoro, Sardinia, Columbu died during transportation by helicopter to a hospital in Olbia,[24] at age 78.[25][26][27][7] A funeral was held in his birthplace, Ollolai, on September 3, 2019.[22] A memorial was held in Los Angeles on October 6, 2019.
^"Ahhnold!?". Time. August 18, 2003. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2010. One crowd that Arnold has stayed with for a while are old bodybuilding friends, a faithful circle that includes Franco Columbu, the Sancho Panza of Schwarzenegger's early days, who says Arnold is running for Governor to give something back to the country that has been so good to him. 'He wants to do a big, beneficial thing, more than a movie—like straightening out this problem in California.'
^"Maria Owings Shriver Wed To Arnold Schwarzenegger". The New York Times. April 27, 1986. Retrieved June 11, 2010. Maria Owings Shriver, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. Sargent Shriver of Washington, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, a son of Aurelia Schwarzenegger of Graz, Austria, and the late Gustav Schwarzenegger, were married yesterday in Hyannis, Mass. ... Dr. Franco Columbu served as best man.
^LeDuff, Charlie (September 8, 2003). "Ethnic Issues in Recall Play Out at Latino Parade". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Mr. Schwarzenegger and a friend from Europe, Franco Columbu, were brought to California by Joe Weider, the bodybuilding guru, who sponsored them, giving them a place to live and an $85 a week stipend. The stipend was not enough to live on, said Mr. Columbu, who arrived in Santa Monica in June 1969. Mr. Columbu said last week in an interview that to make ends meet, he and Mr. Schwarzenegger began a bricklaying and patio business called European Brick Works in 1969.
^ abcde"Franco Columbu". International Federation of BodyBuilding. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
^Hal Erickson (2015). "The Hustler of Muscle Beach (1980)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2010. The hero's get-rich-quick scheme gets him into hot water when he selects a most unusual candidate for his protégé. Several real-life male bodybuilders appear onscreen, including Franco Columbu and Frank Zane, but the film's ad campaign focused on the bikini-clad female contestants.
^Hal Erickson (2013). "Beretta's Island (1993)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2010. Beretta (Franco Columbu) is an ex-Interpol agent. Imagining himself retired, Beretta returns to active duty when his friend is killed. His quest for justice takes him all the way to Sardinia. Going undercover, Beretta gets enmeshed in a vicious drug-smuggling operation. Watch for Arnold Schwarzenegger in a cameo.
^ abcdMary Stevens (February 5, 1988). "Throw Away The Excuses, Turn On The Vcr And Shape Up". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 11, 2010. ... is a comprehensive men's workout designed by two-time Mr. Olympia Franco Columbu. The workout can be used with or without weights and should help to flatten the stomach, narrow the waist and eliminate unflattering love handles.
