Franco Columbu

Actor

August 7, 1941 (78 years)

† August 30, 2019

Ollolai, Nuoro, Italia

Biography

An Italian born former bodybuilder, actor and author. Despite his short statue at 5 ft 5 (165cm) he won Mr. Olympia bodybuilding in 1976 and 1981. During a competition in Munich in 1965, he met Arnold Schwarzenegger and the two of them got very close. After Arnolds relocation to USA, he brought Franco over not long after because he missed his best friend. It was a friendship that would last for 54 years til Franco'a death. Franco Columbo's would participate in several minor roles in movies after…

Filmography

5.8

The Mike Douglas Show

Self

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

8.0

Tales from the Crypt

Doctor's Assistant (uncredited) (segment "The Switch")

Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and fun based on the classic E.C. Comics tales from back in the day. So shamble up to the bar and pick your poison. Will it be an insane Santa on a personal slay ride? Honeymooners out to fulfill the "til death do we part" vow ASAP?

7.6

Predator

Medic (uncredited)

A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

7.7

The Terminator

Future Terminator

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

7.0

The World's Strongest Man

Competitor

Athletes compete for a place in the World Finals.

6.8

Conan the Barbarian

Pictish Scout

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

6.5

The Running Man

911 Security Officer #2

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

5.7

Stay Hungry

Franco Orsini (uncredited)

A dishonest businessman asks rich layabout Craig Blake to help him buy a gym, which will be demolished for a development project in Alabama. But after spending time with weightlifter Joe Santo and gym worker Mary Tate Farnsworth, Craig wants out of the deal. The property negotiations turn ugly, causing a brawl at the gym and a spectacle at a big bodybuilding meet, as Craig learns that it's not easy to turn your back on fair-weather friends.

7.1

Pumping Iron

Self

Amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe contests as five-time champion Arnold Schwarzenegger defends his Mr. Olympia title against Serge Nubret and the shy young Lou Ferrigno.

5.0

Big Top Pee-wee

Otto the Strongman

Paul Reubens stars as Pee-wee Herman in his second full-length film about a farmer who joins the circus after a storm drops a big tent in his front yard. Pee-wee, along with an outlandish cast of animals and circus performers, puts on the best show ever.

8.0

Taken Alive

Enrico Costa

A beautiful secret agent recruits a local sculptor to aid her in rescuing a presidential candidate's kidnapped mistress.

3.5

Beretta's Island

Franco "Beretta" Armando

Franco Armando - code name Beretta - is forced out of retirement to avenge the cold-blooded murder of a cop. The killer's trail leads to Franco's hometown on the beautiful island of Sardinia, where drugs are turning the peaceful village into a hell hole. The sinister druglord has a sadistic welcome for Franco: the kidnapping of his best friend's beautiful daughter.

5.1

Ancient Warriors

Aldo Paccione

Special Forces Captain Aldo Paccione must pull together his former world team Delta Force and go deep within the mines of Sardinia when it is discovered that a vengeful band of mercenaries are developing deadly biochemical weapons.

7.1

Raw Iron: The Making of 'Pumping Iron'

Self - Mr. Olympia 1981

A documentary on the making of "Pumping Iron" to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Aired on Cinemax.

7.0

The Comeback

Self

After an absence of five years, six times Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a comeback and attempts to take the World Body Building Championship for the 7th time.

4.3

Getting Physical

Himself

The world of female bodybuilding provides the backdrop for this tale of an aspiring young actress who initially becomes interested in the sport as a means of self-defense following a physical attack by two men, but then finds that while concentrating on building up her body her relationship with her parents, with whom she is living, and her new-found boyfriend, a young cop, is breaking down. Several noted bodybuilders and iron-pumpers, male and female, put in appearances to give this production an added authenticity.

5.0

Last Man Standing

Batty

Roo Marcus has just spent 8 years in a mental institution, and takes up bare-knuckle boxing and gets a job fighting in a gym run by Napoleon. Roo is often tormented by memories of shock treatment and inhumane conditions. His friends, Capser and Ratty help him along the way, until he gets brutally beaten up by one of Napoleon's fighters...

7.0

Rickles... On the Loose

Self

Special featuring Don Rickles in his live comedy act at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, mixed with footage of Rickles "on the loose" across the state of California.

4.3

Desperate Crimes

Nerescu

In the large industrial port of an Italian city - sailors, women, black market traffickers, sleazy nightclubs, and dingy narrow alleys make up a world of danger, where a young American girl vanishes without a trace while an Italian man tries to track her down. On the way, he encounters a strange group of characters: a beautiful and ambitious prostitute, a girl ravaged by drugs, and the ferocious Joe Nerescu who is battling against a rival gang so he can gain control of the port.

6.4

Rocky IV: The American Punch

Self

Rocky IV is dually symbolic - it embodies both the victory of the American boxer over the Soviet one and the victory of neo-liberalism over a dwindling socialism. Today, Rocky is held up as a model by some and is a subject of derision for others. An emblem of the 1980s, its culture and its heroes, the film will be the subject of an entertaining analysis of popular culture.