Franco Columbu (August 7th, 1941 – August 30th, 2019) was an Italian-American bodybuilder and actor. Originally a boxer, Columbu won the Mr. Olympia title in 1976 and 1981, and competed in the inaugural edition of the World's Strongest Man in 1977, where he won fifth place. Columbu also had an acting career with several roles included in The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, and The Running Man, hiss most notable film was Pumping Iron, a bodybuilding documentary that helped to grow the sport. He additionally authored numerous books on bodybuilding and nutrition, he was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2001, The International Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Franco Columbu only appeared alongside Andy Kaufman at the 1979 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the new Rocking Lion Toy Float.