Franco Columbu

Francesco Maria Columbu (August 7, 1941 – August 30, 2019) was an Italian-American bodybuilder and actor.

Originally a boxer, Columbu won the Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981, and competed in the inaugural edition of the World's Strongest Man in 1977, where he placed fifth. He also had an acting career and authored numerous books on bodybuilding and nutrition. Columbu was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2001, International Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

Early life

Columbu was born on August 7, 1941, a son of Maria Grazia Sedda and Antonio Columbu, who were shepherds in Ollolai on the island of Sardinia, Italy. 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."

Columbu moved to Germany at a young age for work, and met Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1965 at a bodybuilding competition in Stuttgart, Germany. Columbu formed a lifelong friendship with Schwarzenegger, and was Schwarzenegger's best man for his marriage to Maria Shriver in 1986 and godfather to their daughter Christina. 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."