RIP - Larry Scott - 1st Mr. Olympia - Tribute

[Bodybuilder Lex Reeves]

Steroids.



STEROIDSR4LOSERS

[erics]

Commiserations to his family and friends.

[240 is Back]

rest in peace.   amazing biceps, a good man.

[jude2]

rest in peace.   amazing biceps, a good man.

RIP to the man with one of the best arms back in the day.

[Big Willy]

RIP. OG.

[gracie bjj]

RIP LARRY, he had some of the fullest n thickest biceps ever imo,seemed like a really nice guy also

[Fortress]

Too bad. Met him once. Seemed friendly.

 

[Vince B]

Larry Scott came to my gym in 1979 and put on the best seminar any champion has given that I have heard. I recorded it on tape as well. Larry was not only a champion but he did it the hard way. If a skinny, narrow young fellow like Larry presented at my gym and wanted to be a bodybuilder I would have discouraged him. Not Larry. He kept trying and then invented methods that kept him growing until he was the best in the world in 1965. His victory at the first Mr Olympia in Brooklyn in September 1965 elevated him to legend status. By the gods, Larry became a demi-god that night. I was in York, Pa., watching the Mr USA contest and what a mistake that was. I missed probably the biggest event in bodybuilding history. Fans kept chanting, Larry, Larry, Larry even as he emerged from his dressing room. No one has received such an ovation since.

I think Larry deserves a special thread to celebrate his career and stardom in bodybuilding. He was featured in the Weider magazines as the golden boy. He had some of the best arms ever built by a human being. Larry was not only a great champion but he was an exercise technician second to none. He and Vince Gironda knew about the body and how to best train muscles. Larry influenced many others through his posing and appearances. He was an intelligent man and had the mind of an engineer that could solve problems. I remember what Vince Gironda told him when Larry introduced himself to Vince. Hi, I'm Larry Scott. Gironda: So what? Ah, who would have guessed that Larry would even eclipse the fame of the Iron Guru!!

[Vince B]

Today we would say that Larry didn't have the genetics to be a professional bodybuilder. Perhaps if he were starting out today he might not repeat his success. No matter, he ascended to the throne in the middle sixties among a very competitive field in Southern California. Larry grew up in Idaho. Pocatello, I believe. He started lifting weights perhaps to stop being the little puny guy. He eventually won the Mr Idaho contest and moved to Los Angeles to train there. He joined Vince's Gym in North Hollywood. That was a basic gym ruled by Vince Gironda. Vince has some peculiar beliefs re bodybuilding and members had to respect them or find somewhere else to train. For example, there was no squat machine in Vince's Gym. When Arnold came there in 1968 he couldn't do legs properly so trained them at Golds Gym. Gironda probably lost a chance to keep the fat Austrian there. Arnold liked the beach so eventually trained most of the time at Golds and the rest is history.

If you look at how narrow Larry is you would never imagine he would one day be Mr Universe. A point here about politics. In those days if you posed for certain magazines in a thong then you probably couldn't win the AAU Mr America contest. Larry won the IFBB Mr America title as well as the IFBB Mr Universe title. So Larry was a Weider man pretty much for his whole career. We were surprised to see Larry posing in G-strings for Tomorrows Man and other publications. I guess he needed the money so did what he had to do. Or maybe posing for those magazines didn't bother him.

[Vince B]

Larry kept training and improving. He started to place in local LA contests but it was years before he became a star.

[Vince B]

Here is one of the photos that were sensational. His kneeling back double biceps made everyone take notice. This was extremely impressive and even is today. In 1964-65 it was unbelievable.

[Vince B]

Larry took bodybuilding seriously. He told us in the seminar that he never played table tennis in those days! Why? Well, if he trained his arms to the maximum he wouldn't risk losing any size from other activities. He developed special exercises to make his biceps longer. Not sure if anyone can do this but the way Larry put tension on the lower biceps resulted in his going all the way to the elbow. Probably the best shaped arms any man has ever had.

[Vince B]

Larry would use the preacher bench with barbell and dumbbells. He insisted that the apparatus have a curve to allow the most effective workouts. That convex surface also kept the elbows off the pads and prevented damage to the sheath there. Larry also employed burns at the end of each set, especially for arms and shoulders. We all tried those routines in the sixties and seventies to try to get bigger arms. No one in my gym approached the size Larry obtained and perhaps he had other secrets. Larry did sell some exercise equipment and he did come up with a few designs for equipment. I guess he was one of the first guys to do personal training.

[The Ugly]

Fabulous hair. RIP.

[Vince B]

Larry was photogenic and usually had a smile. So Joe Weider took a lot of photos of Larry and he certainly had his share of covers in those days, many with Joe's wife, Betty. Larry was married and had 5 children. I think he lost a son via a road accident and then another son got depressed by that loss and that was doubly tragic for Larry and Rachael. We weren't sure what Rachael thought about Larry's bodybuilding but there were several years when he gave up the sport and I guess became more of a family man.

[Vince B]

I smile now when I think about it but most of us copied how Larry held his hands when he posed! As if that is going to help us? Well, Larry was a perfectionist and did whatever was necessary to be the best bodybuilder in the world. Today we would say he was narrower than Phil Heath, but in the sixties the narrowness was overlooked. Those huge arms and shoulders made him stand out. His posing hid his weak points.

[Vince B]

Larry had an idea about pumping his muscles. Well, he believed that if he could exceed his previous maximum pumped biceps then he would grow. The next day he would be bigger. So that theory became incorporated in hypertrophy theory. Not that pumping by itself is important but if your training results in ever larger muscles you will grow rapidly. He was one of the first to use the tape measure as a training aid. You can do that with arms and calves.

[Vince B]

The first Mr Olympia got a crown! The next year Larry got $1000. Joe and Ben were not that generous in those days. Heck, they charged promoters more to hold that contest than they ever gave out in prize money.

No matter. In those days a title and trophy were sufficient. Maybe a cover in a magazine if you won a major title. That was it. There was no pot of gold in bodybuilding.

[Vince B]

Larry did try to compete in 1979. I told him he shouldn't bother but he entered a contest in Vancouver and was way down the placings which was a shame. He did a posing routine in Sydney in 1979 and he was impressive for a guy over 40. He still had those great arms, but the rest of his body wasn't as impressive.

[Vince B]

The AAU Mr America was a prestigious title to bodybuilders. John Grimek, Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross, George Eiferman, Bill Pearl, Tom Sansone, Ron Lacy and many other champions won this title. Larry must have known he wouldn't do well there. Neither did Hugo Labra and other guys from the sands of Southern California. So when Joe Weider finally moved to California it worked out well for Larry and later, Arnold. Joe used Larry in countless advertisements for protein and equipment. Goodness knows if Larry made much out of all that exposure but guys like Clancy Ross ended up with not much at all. Larry was intelligent so I guess he took whatever money he made from endorsements and seminars and courses. I can't say how well he did but the Mormons tend to look after themselves okay. Larry settled in Salt Lake City, headquarters of the Mormon Church. We all wondered how a Mormon was posing there on stage and appearing in various men's magazines. Anyway, today, who cares?

[Big Willy]

Too bad. Met him once. Seemed friendly.

 

Was he laughing at your puny body? Ain't nuthin but a peanut!

[liberty]

Great pics Vince

[Vince B]

Steve Reeves, Clarence Ross, John Grimek, Reg Park, Serge Nubret, Sergio Oliva, all gone. These guys were giants in the old magazines. Heck, if any of us got a mention in them we were delighted. These guys were featured many times and in the ads. Sort of sad the way most
bodybuilders didn't make much even if they were featured. That wasn't the goal, anyway. Just to be someone and win a major title was enough. Nowadays Mr America and even Mr Universe don't mean that much. The Mr Olympia seems to be the major title and all those other titles have less meaning which is a shame. I mean, who can be bigger than a Mr Universe?

[Vince B]

In 1991 I was in San Francisco at an IRSA convention for gyms and fitness clubs from all over the world. I met Bill Pearl and Larry Scott there. I noticed Larry walking among the exercise machines and talked to him. He looked much thinner than when he was at my gym 12 years earlier. Well, he simply didn't remember who I was. That was a surprise. He did remember Robert Nailon who lives in Sydney. So, perhaps this was a sign that he was losing his memory back then. Or maybe I simply didn't make an impact on him? Yeah, that is the Getbig default answer. Anyway, he did keep some size in his arms well past 60. However, his shoulders were narrow and you would never know he even lifted weights if you saw him dressed in a shirt and trousers walking down the street.

[liberty]

Father time is a mofo