Muscle Beach History - by Stuntmovie

[jpm101]

Stunt

Yeah that's probably the Big Mac I was told about. Bending bottle caps, arm wrestling and bending iron bars. Think he did the long handled 12lb (might be mistaken about the weight) sledge hammer thing, where he held it straight out, at arms length, and slowly lowered the hammer to his nose and back up again. Sounds not that hard, but quite a feat of forearm strength. He hung mostly in the Hollywood area (lots of bars there) I believe. Think he had a SEG card, like a lot of the old time wrestlers had. Seen even women tear a deck of cards or local phone books, but thats an old trick. Guy's like Big Mac seem to be just big and strong naturals. Helps to be born with good leverage as well as strength.

Just adding: I grew up pretty much next to Camp Pendleton. So I understand that long drive going up to L.A. back in the old one lane highway days, in your younger days.. Foggy days and nights must have been hell. Use to have some military lifting and BB'ing shows around there. Haven't check any out for years, still might have some. Moved away from the area after college.

[funk51]

The PE electric car stopped running in about 1950-51. It was replaced by a coach to the beach.

I was 14 in 1954 when I joined Bert's gym. I told him I was 16. He assigned Steve Reeves as my trainer. Steve showed me the ropes and kept an eye on me. Other notables in the gym were Larry Scott and my fav...Bill Smith. They left after a while to Girondas in the Valley. No easy way for me to get there by bus.

Attached is a pic of me onstage at Muscle Beach, age 11. The kid in the stripe shirt.

that pic is priceless. here's a little bill smith

[Mr. MB]

Stunt....

Scott showed up maybe '56? And yes, he did lots of preacher bench dumbell curls, Saw less and less of Reeves. Movie commitments. Smith was always at the seated press machine doing behind the neck presses. So much so we called it "Smith's machine". The TRUE story.

I had the honor, after talking to Bill for his permission, of nominating him for the Muscle Beach Walk of Fame. The jerk politicians did not let me present it to him. I was so disappointed I didn't even attend. After all I 'only' held the titles of Mr. Muscle Beach over 40, Mr. Muscle beach over 50 and 2nd place Open (age 47) Mr. Muscle Beach.

[stuntmovie]

JPM, I recall seeing a photograph of Mac doing that sledge hammer feat.  I only saw him once and that was at the Embassy Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles at one of the events held there. But everyone in the place seemed to know who he was and the place got a little less rowdy while he was present.

Back in those days the contests weren’t as polite as they are today when less than deserving competitors would possibly get booed off the stage or even removed by a big long hook which was more than likely stored bacck there since the vaudevill days and now only used for bodybuilding events.

The Olympic lifters seldom got booed because most of the audience was fast asleep from boredom until the likes of Bednarski appeared on stage.

That’s one of the main reasons the Olympic lifters held off on the bodybuilding contest until the very last which was often way past mid-night. (OFTEN may be an exaggeration but I saw it happen more than a couple of times and it was often discussed among gym members everywhere. I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.The “camel” being the AAU with regards to bodybuilding.)

JPM, what side of the base did you live on….. Oceanside or San Clamente? And what years? I guess you know that Reeves owned a ranch in what I believe was the Escondido area.

There was a very small gym on a side-street a short distance from the beach in Oceanside and many years later it became a Gold’s franchise. The guy who most likely promoted those BB/Lifting events in Oceanside was most likely PAUL (last name forgotten).

And if you knew Oceanside well you might recall BOB JANUS who ran a very small racketball/handball club on the east side of the freeway just south of the main part of town.

I don’t recall if a gym was ever opened in San Clamente. And not even in Laguna Beach but it’s been years since I’ve been that far south.

But San Clamente was one hell of a great beach town back then.

Back in the 60’s just about every major beach between LA and San Diego would hold some small event such as a pull-up contest or a race or a beauty pageant or a bodybuilding contest  or some form of lifting event in addition to surf boarding.

Those were the days when you never had a problem finding a parking spot and when no one charged you $15 to park your car.

And the traffic was never like you find it today

[stuntmovie]

MR MB, Now I understand what Mr MB means. Thanks for the above info regarding your MB victories if I read it right.

In fact, there is a strong possibility that I ma y have met you a few years back.

I'm very bad at dates so let me attempt to explain the circumstances.

It was either a Sat or a Sun afternoon and I was on my usual beach stroll from Venice Beach to the Santa Monica Pier and then up to the Santa Monica parking structure on 2nd Street.

But while passing through the old SM Muscle Beach area along the 'broadwalk' I saw a bunch of old-timers sitting on the benches looking at a couple of scrap-books containing photographs that were taken when Muscle Beach really was Muscle Beach sometime during the 40's and the 50's.

I aksed one of the guys, "What's up?" and he explained that they were all a bunch of the original Muscle Beach regulars and had been called together to appear in a film or video-tape  that was a project of the UCLA film school.

I spoke briefly to a couple of the guys while looking at the scrap-book photos over someone's shoulder and made a recommendation that they should be published as a part of the area's bodybuilding history.

And then I had to head off to get my car to drive back to Woodland Hills for a family gathering.

Did you happen to be there that day about maybe 5 years ago. (Could be more>)
ANd woul it be possible to name those oldd-timers if you are familiar with that event?

Thanks, MB.

[funk51]

1954 was the year Reeves starred in the film (with his own voice!) "Athena".  Dick Dubois was also in the film but billed as "Richard Sabre".

Later in life it appears that Dubois married and became a Christian minister.  He recently passed away (I believe about two or three years ago) and I believe his church was in some part of Hollywood.  It may have been West Hollywood, but I was unable to locate any information on his family. 

Both Reeves and Dubois had great all natural physiques and their rolls in the film while relatively minor, were speaking ones and they looked and sounded fantastic.

It also starred Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Louis Calhern, Vic Damone and the very handsome (and fonly recently deceased) Edmund Purdom.

:Pathena one of the few times you heard reeves's real voice

[funk51]

JPM … Once again if I recall correctly Don’s sweaters were not specialluy designed nor modified.These were the good old days when service like that never existed. But I do know for a fact that some guys with big shoulders (and Don had the hughest shoulders among the bodybuilders back them) would often do a military tuck in the back .

But from the looks of that photo he simply purchased a sweater that was  two sizes larger than he would normally wear if his shoulder weren’t so darn huge.

The motorcycle gang story is exactly as I had heard it years ago so I woold assume it’s correct or nearly so.

Santa Monica Blvd was wide enough to accommodate rails down the center of the street … and in many cases … still is, but Venice Blvd is now and was then way too narrow to do so. Could be wrong though.

I don’t recall ever meeting Liedeman but that could have happened and just about all of the Physical fitness magazines had Ghost Writers writing articles attributed to one well knowb bodybuilder or another.

BIG MAC??? Cold that have possibly been Mac Batchelor? I wrote a small article about Mac Batchelor a long while back but I don’t believe he ever owned a bar.

Mac Batchelor was BIG but I believe that he was a trucker that delivered beer to various bars in the LA area (if memory serves me right).

It is my understanding that  Mac had a standing offer to buy any bar patron (or was it  all the bar patrons?) the next round of beer (or was it the next X rounds of beer?) if anyone in the bar could beat him at arm/wrist wrestling.

I ws probably too young to enter bars so I never did have the opportunity to accept his challenge ….. but there is no question that he would have broken my wrist, my elbow, my shoulder and a couple other of my bones if I had  stepped up and given it a try.

Ia’ve never heard of anyone who had beaten him.

That coul possibly be the BIG MAC you mentioned above.

And it is possible that he became a bar owsner later on.

Did you ever hear of L’il ABNER’s which was in the vicinity of ZUVER’S GYM?

And do you remember the electric trolly that ran from the Santa Monica Pier down to Venice Beach?

Thanks, MR!B Great to reminist with ya. Or however that word is spelt.

:Pdon h at a happening with gil lederman john decola and hell's angels.

[funk51]

Stunt

Yeah that's probably the Big Mac I was told about. Bending bottle caps, arm wrestling and bending iron bars. Think he did the long handled 12lb (might be mistaken about the weight) sledge hammer thing, where he held it straight out, at arms length, and slowly lowered the hammer to his nose and back up again. Sounds not that hard, but quite a feat of forearm strength. He hung mostly in the Hollywood area (lots of bars there) I believe. Think he had a SEG card, like a lot of the old time wrestlers had. Seen even women tear a deck of cards or local phone books, but thats an old trick. Guy's like Big Mac seem to be just big and strong naturals. Helps to be born with good leverage as well as strength.

Just adding: I grew up pretty much next to Camp Pendleton. So I understand that long drive going up to L.A. back in the old one lane highway days, in your younger days.. Foggy days and nights must have been hell. Use to have some military lifting and BB'ing shows around there. Haven't check any out for years, still might have some. Moved away from the area after college.

:Pi always got mac bachelor mixed up with bert elliot i guess it was the handlebar mustaches.

[funk51]

Stunt....

Scott showed up maybe '56? And yes, he did lots of preacher bench dumbell curls, Saw less and less of Reeves. Movie commitments. Smith was always at the seated press machine doing behind the neck presses. So much so we called it "Smith's machine". The TRUE story.

I had the honor, after talking to Bill for his permission, of nominating him for the Muscle Beach Walk of Fame. The jerk politicians did not let me present it to him. I was so disappointed I didn't even attend. After all I 'only' held the titles of Mr. Muscle Beach over 40, Mr. Muscle beach over 50 and 2nd place Open (age 47) Mr. Muscle Beach.

bob b one of the greatest lifters ever and  muscle beach's bill howard.

[stuntmovie]

FUNK, I had a copy of ATHENA and Steve autographed it for me but somehow it got misplaced or stolen or packed away in some forgotten storage area, so now that the subject has come up, I ordered another copy from Amazon.com. ($19.95)

I did see it in 1954 the first week it came out. Musicals were big back then and Debbie Rynolds was a major star.

I’m gonna suggest that one of the majors makes a up to date revival.

I don’t recall the plot but I seem to recall that there were a lof of objections around his home town area when he got knocked on his ass in that movie.

Or was that when Arnold hit the camel ?

A friend of Steve’s once sent me another copy of ATHENA but it was in a format that I’ve been unfamiliar with and which most likely only lasted a couple of years. It was similar to a DVD but much larger and about the size of a 78 long playing record.

Strange but I attended a Debbi Rynolds performance in a small room at the South Point Hotel/Casino here in Las Vegas about a year ago and her old movies were shown on a screen in the background while she performed.

I don’t recall seeing a clip of ATHENA though.

I think Steve was about 28 years old when he appeared in that MGM production.

And then shortly after that, Hercules hit the screens which I consider to be some of the most boring films of all times … Not just Steve’s but all of those sword and sandel flicks.

FUNK,,,, I think that's PETER LUPUS in the photo with the dumbells at shoulder heighth.

[jpm101]

Stunt

Lived between the southern base reservation and Mission Ave, in Oceanside.  Move around the general area of north county also. Father died when I was 10 and we moved to the mainland, to Willowbrook for a while. Was eleven and a half when moved to the Oceanside area. I am an American National.

Now live in Escondido and heard that Reeves had a horse ranch here. But don't know the name of it or where  at.  He married very well, to a European lady I believe. Guess we have to be honest about Reeves, one of the worst actors in scene history. If he was any stiffer, in movies, could have used him as a fence post. Bill Smith wasn't a bad actor. As Dave Draper.

Know the old BB'ing contest had the best arms, best, chest, best legs, etc. Also the most muscular.  Slowed down a  contest ever more, I wonder.  There was an Olympic lifter named Dave Shepard, around the 50-60's. Pretty good and believe he hung around the beach. Heard he smoked, and at time, drank, during some of his lifting meets. And not the only one to do that. Any truth to that?

[funk51]

FUNK, I had a copy of ATHENA and Steve autographed it for me but somehow it got misplaced or stolen or packed away in some forgotten storage area, so now that the subject has come up, I ordered another copy from Amazon.com. ($19.95)

I did see it in 1954 the first week it came out. Musicals were big back then and Debbie Rynolds was a major star.

I’m gonna suggest that one of the majors makes a up to date revival.

I don’t recall the plot but I seem to recall that there were a lof of objections around his home town area when he got knocked on his ass in that movie.

Or was that when Arnold hit the camel ?

A friend of Steve’s once sent me another copy of ATHENA but it was in a format that I’ve been unfamiliar with and which most likely only lasted a couple of years. It was similar to a DVD but much larger and about the size of a 78 long playing record.

Strange but I attended a Debbi Rynolds performance in a small room at the South Point Hotel/Casino here in Las Vegas about a year ago and her old movies were shown on a screen in the background while she performed.

I don’t recall seeing a clip of ATHENA though.

I think Steve was about 28 years old when he appeared in that MGM production.

And then shortly after that, Hercules hit the screens which I consider to be some of the most boring films of all times … Not just Steve’s but all of those sword and sandel flicks.

FUNK,,,, I think that's PETER LUPUS in the photo with the dumbells at shoulder heighth.

maybe it was" lord love a duck" dave draper as billy gibbons  gets punched out by a little guy in it tuesday weld was also in that movie.pic didn't look like bert elliot maybe it was mislabelled.

[stuntmovie]

JPM, Did you live in Oceanside while Gold’s Gym was in operation on the side street down by the beach?

Bill Smith has an amazing Hollywood movie and TV, amd video game career which started in 1942 in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (a small and uncredited part in which he played the part of a boy in the village and through the 2012 release of TIGER CAGE …a story of a Vietnam War veteran recovering from the war.

Bill has performed in an incredible 273 titles according ot IMDB.com.

A good friend of mine worked with Bill on THE VIRGINIAN TV series back in the mid 60’s and we threw parties for some of the cast and crew while we were stationed at Camp Pendleton but I don’t recall meeting Bill other than on the Universal lot.

BEST BODY PARTS.  Yep! Until reently most contests awarded best body parts to the competitors but it actually didn’t take too long because those decisions were made during the initial lineup during the mandatory phase. But the best poser decision was made ofter the evening finals.

I honestly don’t recall Dave Shephard but I can tell you that most of the pro’s I’ve ever met would enjoy after contest relaxation periods with a couple of tokes of Maui Wowie.

And that is when the interesting conversations always began.

[stuntmovie]

FUNK ..... I never even heard of Lord Love a Duck. I must have been out  of the country when that one came out.

I think that Dave did a gret job in DON'T MAKE WAVES! ANd I believe that was his first time before a motion picture camera.

[funk51]

FUNK ..... I never even heard of Lord Love a Duck. I must have been out  of the country when that one came out.

I think that Dave did a gret job in DON'T MAKE WAVES! ANd I believe that was his first time before a motion picture camera.

dave was an extra in a movie in 1963 who's been sleeping ion my bed.. in 66 he was in 3 movies = lord love a duck and walk don't run and three on a couch. in 67 he did don't make waves, monkees tv show, beverely hillbillies tv show. and in 69 he did here comes the brides tv show. chet yorton and reg lewis also in waves.

[funk51]

 

[stuntmovie]

FUNK, that last photo you sent is the original Gold's Gym. I'm almost positive of that.

An thanks for the Dave Draper update. I've never seen those old movies due to the fact that I was overseas most of the time back then,

Will be sending you PM this evening.

[funk51]

Stunt....

Scott showed up maybe '56? And yes, he did lots of preacher bench dumbell curls, Saw less and less of Reeves. Movie commitments. Smith was always at the seated press machine doing behind the neck presses. So much so we called it "Smith's machine". The TRUE story.

I had the honor, after talking to Bill for his permission, of nominating him for the Muscle Beach Walk of Fame. The jerk politicians did not let me present it to him. I was so disappointed I didn't even attend. After all I 'only' held the titles of Mr. Muscle Beach over 40, Mr. Muscle beach over 50 and 2nd place Open (age 47) Mr. Muscle Beach.

larry the legend

[funk51]

more larry s

[stuntmovie]

Another great series of ol time photos! Thanks, Funk.

Time for a TEST .... WIthout naming them, how many people can you ID in this photo (just give a number).

And have any of you GetBiggers met any of them personally?

[stuntmovie]

Here's a decent shot of three individuals mentioned in earlier posts ...

Don Howorth
Bill Mcardle
Larry Scott

Bill passed away at a very young age. (Does anyone know the circumstances? Larry had trained Bill to win the Cal contest but that was the year that John Corvbello won the title  .... A very close call.)

[The Scott]

Another great series of ol time photos! Thanks, Funk.

Time for a TEST .... WIthout naming them, how many people can you ID in this photo (just give a number).

And have any of you GetBiggers met any of them personally?

Five.  I did not have the pleasure of meeting any of them, but still I knew them.

[stuntmovie]

FIVE! NOT  bad, Scott, .... considering that that photo was taken over 40 years ago when we were all a hell of a lot younger.

GOTTA WAIT a couple of days and see if anyone says "6" or more. I doubt anyone can admit to "7".

I just counted them for the firs time myself and I can say "6" that I've personally  met or have worked with over the years,

Does your five include one of the seated ladies?

[The Scott]

FIVE! NOT  bad, Scott, .... considering that that photo was taken over 40 years ago when we were all a hell of a lot younger.

GOTTA WAIT a couple of days and see if anyone says "6" or more. I doubt anyone can admit to "7".

I just counted them for the firs time myself and I can say "6" that I've personally  met or have worked with over the years,

Does your five include one of the seated ladies?

Yup.  But I am familiar with the two gentlemen on the upper left row as well as the man on the left middle in the Hawaiian shirt but cannot reall their names.  The rest of the guys I can almost recall as they too look familiar.  Like I said before, I need a Wayback Machine!

[stuntmovie]

SCOTT, HAWAIIAN SHIRT guy is my good friend , Gene Mozee who' has been around the BB games since the 50's and I believe Gene wrote the first US article on Arnold S, but I never did see or read that one so I coul be mistaken.

BTW... that information was told to me by Only Me ... Keiith Jones who also knew Gene.

Gene is a walking, talking encyclopedia when it comes to all things regarding bodybuilding and to this day still stays in contact with most of the old timers. who still remain on planet earth.