Bill's brother Harold was involved in illegal abortions which led to a death at some time in the 60's. Bill was involved in the trial as he was accused of hiding evidence after the death.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1814058.html
He also had the honesty of admitting early steroid use from the mid 50's which caused dramatic size increase in the first edition of Getting Bigger. In later editions he is totally natural. On his website he always was natural and against steroids. Not someone to respect IMO.
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Also here's Pearl's admission to steroids in "Getting Stronger" -
My first experience with steroids was in 1958. I had won the Mr. America and Mr. Universe contests and was in Florida making a movie with Arthur Jones, a thoroughly unorthodox and eccentric friend (who would later revolutionize weightlifting with the invention of the Nautilus machines). Arthur told me about a new chemical the Russian weight lifters were using.
When I returned to California I did some research. At the University of California at Davis I met a veterinarian who told me that steroids were being used with good results to develop strength and growth in cattle. The name of the drug was Nilivar and the daily recommended dosage for humans was 10 mg. Now it might seem extreme for someone with no more information than that to begin using the drug, but that's what I did. Good enough for a bull, good enough for me! It never even occurred to me that there could be anything harmful in the drug or any side effects. I took dosages of 30 mg. a day for three months while training very hard. My weight jumped from 225 to 250 and my strength increased considerably.
For example, I could squat with over 600 pounds-my best ever. I'd never experienced so much progress in so short a time, and I knew this was no placebo effect. But there were problems. I felt heavy and awkward and actually couldn't bend over to tie my shoes. I had always felt limber and flexible, but now I was the proverbial ''muscle-bound" bodybuilder. I decided I looked and felt better at a lighter body weight and quit using steroids.
Two years later I decided to enter the 1961 Mr. Universe contest. By then, steroids were out of the experimental stage and well-known to most competitive bodybuilders. They were no longer an underground item. I remembered the fast progress I'd made using them and decided to do so again. Looking back, I think they were a crutch I didn't really need, but at the time it seemed easier to take them—so I did. I won the contest, but something inside me wasn't happy with steroid use, so I quit them again, this time for good.
I gradually began to "listen to my body." I changed my diet, I quit eating red meat and began eating more whole grains, raw milk, fertile eggs, nuts, fruits and vegetables. I won the Mr. Universe contest in 1967 and again in 1971 without the use of steroids, although by then most bodybuilders were deeply into steroid usage.
After I quit, I began to hear stories that made me feel I'd made the right choice."
No comment on the last paragraph or so
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