Only this morning I read in the Los Angeles Times of the sudden death of Italian champion bodybuilder Franco Columbu, on August 30. He was 78. While vacationing in his native Sardinia, he became ill swimming in the Mediterranean and drowned.
Columbu’s nickname was “The Sardinian Strongman.” The son of shepherds, he started as a boxer, moved into weightlifting, then bodybuilding, won the title of Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. He acted in TV and movies, wrote books, was friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
I remember meeting Franco in 1978, at his home in Westwood, where he ran a chiropractor studio with his wife Anita. He had built a gym in his garage, where he trained.
I was conducting a series of interviews and photo sessions with prominent Italians living in Los Angeles. Here are a couple of quotes from my 1978 article.
About his childhood as the son of shepherds.
“Tending sheep as a child taught me a mental peace that would help me focus on the development of muscles, a tiring, monotonous, painful task.”
About moving to Los Angeles.
“In Europe, Germans hate Italians, Greeks cannot stand Turks, while Americans are happy to find out that you come from a foreign country and they always want to help you if they can.”
Goodbye, Franco…
For more photos, click on the series: Bodybuilding, Franco Columbu, in the Elisa Leonelli, Photojournalist collection at Claremont Colleges Digital Library.