Franco Columbu is an Italian actor, author, former champion bodybuilder and
World's Strongest Man competitor. Biography
= Bodybuilding= Columbu was born in Ollolai, Sardinia.
Starting out his athletic career as a boxer, Columbu progressed into the sport
of Olympic Weightlifting, powerlifting and later bodybuilding, winning the
title of Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. At 163 centimetres in height, Columbu is
shorter than most of his bodybuilding competitors, but that did not prevent
him from achieving widespread success. In 1977, Columbu competed in the first
World's Strongest Man competition and was in fifth place in total points
during the competition; a remarkable outing, considering that Franco weighed
much less than all his competitors. Then came the refrigerator race, which called
for a downhill race in which a heavy, bulky, unwieldy refrigerator is strapped
to the racer's back. While ahead, Franco stumbled, and was shown on national
television collapsing with a grotesquely dislocated leg. This ended his
participation in the World's Strongest Man contest. After a court settlement,
he received a reported $1 million in compensation for his injury. It took six
hours of surgery to remove all the muscle and fix his leg. Doctors told him
he would never walk again, but Columbu fully recovered in three years. After
Arnold Schwarzenegger's comeback victory in the 1980 Mr. Olympia, Franco followed
suit and won the 1981 Mr. Olympia. Columbu is a long time friend of
Schwarzenegger, whom he met in Munich in 1965 and against whom he competed in
several international-level bodybuilding competitions. For the Mr. Olympia
competitions however, he competed in the under 200 lb category, whereas
Schwarzenegger was in the over 200 lb category. The final champion was
determined by a pose down between the two class winners. The IFBB has since
abandoned weight classes. Arnold and Franco were inseparable during the early
to mid-1970s and were training partners. Columbu served as the best man at the
wedding of Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver in 1986. Columbu and
Schwarzenegger had been encouraged to come to America by bodybuilding guru Joe
Weider in 1969; Weider sponsored them with an $80/week stipend and the two
European bodybuilders began a bricklaying and patio business called
European Brick Works in 1969, according to a report in The New York Times.
From the time he arrived in America in 1969, Franco Columbu was considered one
of the world's strongest men. He held a number of powerlifting and Olympic
weightlifting world records. He also performed a strongman act in which he
routinely blew up a hot water bottle by inflating it orally, lifted vehicles on
stage and deadlifted over 320 kg for repetitions. He designed a comprehensive
workout for men in 1988 to flatten the stomach, narrow the waist, and eliminate
love handles. He is both a chiropractor and a weightlifter and his career
parallels that of American weightlifting champion Karyn Marshall, who has used
chiropractic therapy to train for competitions and who became a
chiropractor herself. On November 3, 1990, Franco married long
time girlfriend Deborah Drake. And in later times on August 1, their only
daughter Maria Elizabeth was born in Los Angeles, California.
Acting career In addition to his athletic
accomplishments, Columbu has also made intermittent minor forays into acting.
Appearing alongside Arnold in Pumping Iron, he has also appeared in cameo
roles in Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, The Running Man and starred
in his own films such as Beretta's Island.
He has also done TV commercials, most notably, Vitalis.
Other TV appearances include The Streets of San Francisco and Dead Lift with
Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Last
Action Hero, the words "A Franco Columbu film" appear on the screen at the
beginning of Jack Slater IV as a tribute to Columbu.
In the opening scenes of Conan the Barbarian, Columbu plays a 'pictish
scout', complete with mustache, wig and blue body-paint.
In The Terminator, Columbu plays the infiltrating Terminator in Reese's
flashback/dream in which the picture of Sarah Connor is destroyed by fire.
The Columbu Terminator also features as a boss character in the Terminator 3
video game. = Filmography=
1976: Stay Hungry - as Franco Orsini 1977: Pumping Iron - Himself
1980: The Hustler of Muscle Beach - Himself
1980: The Comeback – Himself 1982: Conan The Barbarian as Pictish
Scout 1984: The Terminator as Future
Terminator 1984: Getting Physical – Himself
1986: Don Rickles: Rickles on the Loose – Himself
1987: The Running Man as 911 Security Officer #2
1987: Last Man Standing as Batty 1988: Big Top Pee-wee as Otto the
Strongman 1993: Il ritmo del silenzio as Nerescu
1994: Beretta's Island as Franco Armando Beretta
1995: Taken Alive as Enrico Costa 1997: Doublecross on Costa's Island as
Enrico Costa 1998: Hollywood Salutes Arnold
Schwarzenegger: A Cinematheque Tribute – Himself
2002: Raw Iron:The Making of Pumping Iron – Himself
2003: Ancient Warriors as Aldo Paccione 2008: Why we Train – Himself
2010: Muscle Beach then and Now – Himself
2011: Dreamland La Terra dei Sogni Chiropractic
Colombu is a qualified chiropractor. According to Columbu's website he holds
a DC from the Cleveland Chiropractic College achieved in 1977.\
In February 2006, Columbu was appointed to the California Board of Chiropractic
Examiners by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in what was later
described as a "coup". Dr. Columbu's tenure on the Board ended in January
2014. Achievements
= Bodybuilding titles= 1966: Mr. Europe, 4th
1968: NABBA Mr. Universe 1969: IFBB Mr. Europe
1969: NABBA Mr. Universe 1969: NABBA Mr. Universe
1969: IFBB Mr. Universe 1970: IFBB Mr. Europe
1970: AAU Mr. World 1970: IFBB Mr. World
1970: IFBB Mr. Universe 1971: IFBB Mr. Universe *Disqualified
for selling bodybuilding booklets - considered as a professional*
1971: IFBB Mr. World 1974 Mr. Olympia
1975 Mr. Olympia 1976 Mr. Olympia
1981 Mr. Olympia = Powerlifting titles=
Champion of Italy Champion of Germany
Champion of Europe = World's Strongest Man competition=
1977: World strongest man, 5th place = Powerlifting Best Lifts=
Bench press 525 Lbs / 238.35 kg Squat 655 Lbs / 297 kg
Deadlift 750 Lbs / 340.5 kg = Boxing=
Amateur Boxing Champion of Italy = Extra=
2009: Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award
See also List of male professional bodybuilders
References External links
Franco Columbu Facebook Page Columbu.com – official site
Franco Columbu at the Internet Movie Database
Pumping Iron Gallery www.lexnews.fr – Exclusive Interview for
the French Magazine LEXNEWS Bodybuilding – Exclusive Interview with
Columbu [3] Bodybuilders Nutrition Book by
Franco Columbu ^ Franco columbu deadlifting