Celebrity Biographies
Franco Columbus
Franco Columbu, Italian-American bodybuilder and occasional actor, a great friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was sad at the unexpected news, has died at the age of 78. Death overtook Columbus while he was enjoying a bath in the sea.
Upon learning of the death, Arnold Schwarzenegger assures that his life was “more fun, enjoyable and complete” thanks to his relationship with Franco Columbu, whom I do not hesitate to describe as “my best friend”. Born in Sardinia in 1941, he turned professionally to bodybuilding, where he achieved the coveted Mister Olympia title in 1976 and 1981. Columbus was the second European to achieve such a distinction, hitherto only by Schwarzenegger.
The friendship that united both bodybuilders since they met in Germany in 1960, resulted in brief cameos by Columbu in a good handful of films by the Austrian-born actor. Thus, he could be seen in Muscles of Steel , Conan the Barbarian , Terminator and Hunted . In addition, Columbu was best man at Schwarzenegger’s wedding when he married Maria Shriver in 1986, and best man to his daughter Christina.
Columbus got to try his luck as a director starring in his own film, The Island of Betrayal , which had little impact. Columbus is survived by his wife Debbie and a daughter, Maria.