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, 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." 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."

Athletic career

With Schwarzenegger, Columbu moved to California in the late 1960s to train and work with Joe Weider. Weider provided them with a place to live and an $80 per week stipend. 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. At 5ft 5in and a competition weight of around 185 lb, 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. 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 lb. During the event, he dislocated his left knee while carrying a refrigerator on his back. The injury kept him out of competition for a few years, and he received a reported $1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) in compensation. Columbu returned to win the 1981 Mr. Olympia then retired from competition. Known for his strength, Columbu's clean and jerk record was 400 lb, his bench press record was 525 lb, his squat record was 655 lb, and his deadlift record was 750 lb. 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.

Acting, writing, directing, and producing careers

Columbu appeared as himself in the 1977 bodybuilding docudrama Pumping Iron. He was the body building coach for Sylvester Stallone in the film 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). In addition, Columbu's name appears during the opening credits of Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero as the director of fictional film Jack Slater IV. 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.

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. He appeared in television commercials and magazines advertisements for Vitalis "Super Hold" hairspray in 1977. Columbu returned to his hometown of Ollolai in Sardinia every year towards the end of August to attend the local festivities. Columbu became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1983. 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, at age 78. A funeral was held in his birthplace, Ollolai, on September 3, 2019. A memorial was held in Los Angeles on October 6, 2019.

Filmography

Achievements

Bodybuilding titles

World's Strongest Man

Powerlifting records