1. Francesco Maria Columbu was an Italian-American bodybuilder and actor.
19 Facts About Franco Columbu
1. 2.
Originally a boxer, Franco 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.
3.
Franco Columbu had an acting career and authored numerous books on bodybuilding and nutrition.
4.
Franco 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.
5.
Franco Columbu was born on August 7,1941, in Ollolai on the island of Sardinia, Italy.
6.
Franco Columbu was a son of shepherds Maria Grazia Sedda and Antonio Columbu.
7.
Franco Columbu moved to Germany at a young age for work, and met Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1965 at a bodybuilding competition in Stuttgart, Germany.
8.
Franco 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.
9.
Franco Columbu won the lightweight class of the 1974 and 1975 IFBB Mr Olympias, before winning the overall competition for the first time in 1976.
10.
Franco Columbu participated in the inaugural edition of the World's Strongest Man in 1977.
11.
Franco Columbu placed fifth, behind four men who outweighed him by around 100 pounds.
12.
Franco Columbu returned to win the 1981 Mr Olympia then retired from competition.
13.
Franco Columbu 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.
14.
Franco Columbu appeared as himself in the 1977 bodybuilding docudrama Pumping Iron.
15.
Franco Columbu was the bodybuilding coach for Sylvester Stallone in the film Rambo: First Blood Part II, and had roles in films that starred Schwarzenegger, including Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, and The Running Man.
16.
Franco Columbu was featured, as an actor, in the low budget production of Dreamland - La terra dei sogni.
17.
Franco Columbu was a licensed chiropractor, earning his degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College in 1977.
18.
Franco Columbu appeared in television commercials and magazines advertisements for Vitalis "Super Hold" hairspray in 1977.
19.
Franco Columbu became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1983.