Bodybuilders Through the Ages
Over the past 150 years, bodybuilders have gone from circus sideshows to celebrities, imparting fitness lessons along the way
- By Jesse Rhodes
- Smithsonian.com, July 20, 2009
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(Library of Congress)
Siegmund (né Zishe) Breitbart (1883-1925)
Dubbed “The Iron King,” Breitbart attained fame on the post-World War I European and American vaudeville circuit by bending iron bars, biting through chains and pounding nails into boards with his bare fists. The consummate showman, Breitbart donned an array of costumes—from a skimpy Tarzan outfit to the elaborate garb of a Roman gladiator—that highlighted his physique and amplified the spectacle of his performance. For marginalized Jewish populations, Breitbart was a folk hero whose empowering displays of strength exploded cultural stereotypes.
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Comments (25)
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It would be great to see this story continued, showing some of the enormous bodybuilders of today. Ronnie Coleman etc
Posted by Plumleywalker on February 1,2013 | 03:02 PM
Charles Atlas and Joe Weider should be on the list for their impact on millions of young men wanting great bodies. And when I was growing up, Dave Draper was the bodybuilding idol for many guys.
Posted by Pusser on January 31,2013 | 10:44 AM
Charles Atlas, Dave Draper, Joe Weider, etc. should also be on the list, IMHO.
Posted by on January 31,2013 | 10:42 AM
I note that other than Jack, most of these athletes didn't live a very long life. Hmmmm. Maybe all that exercise isn't the path to longevity. Don't get me wrong I'm an exercise nut but lately it feels like I'm just wearing my body out.
Posted by Bill Stegall on January 30,2013 | 01:07 AM
No doubt Jack LaLanne was a great bodybuilder and he played football with my dad at Berkeley High School in the 1930s. My dad was 6' 2"+ but surprise Jack was 5'6". I only saw them together a few times, but Jack looked small! They were great friends. Great choice for this list.
Posted by bob kurtz on January 22,2013 | 03:50 AM
Charles Atlas? He was such a big part of my childhood reading comic books.
Posted by Mari on December 7,2012 | 10:19 PM
Vince Gironda had a far greater impact on body building than most of the people in this story and a better body as well.
Posted by Chris on December 7,2012 | 12:48 PM
Jay Cutler should be on this list no one works as hard as The Cut. He has changed the look like of bodybuilders like all of this people. Good list and I you should make more about bodybuilding.
Regards
Posted by Brian B on February 10,2011 | 07:53 PM
Interesting that you choose to end with Arnold, a very respectable face of the sport who has not competed since the 1980's. I am disappointed that the Smithsonian falls short of recognizing any of us male and female Pro physique competitors who compete today or any one of the many amazing athletes over the past 30 years. The sport lives on, yet you are cutting our proud history short.
Posted by Kayde on January 26,2011 | 08:35 AM
It can be very confusing, who played what. George Reeves played Superman on TV. Steve Reeves played Hercules in the movies. Christopher Reeve (no 's') played Superman in the movies.
Posted by Lorraine on January 24,2011 | 10:38 AM
If Jack LaLanne's exercise show on KGO-TV in San Francisco in the '50s wasn't the first fitness program on television, it was certain one of the first. R.I.P. Jack LaLanne, Broadcast Legend and Pioneer.
Posted by Robert Matheson on January 23,2011 | 11:29 PM
I wish I knew how much weight that Stocton gal is one arm shoulder pressing. I can't even do that! I'll bet it is a York barbell made in America, not China> Hosew were vey well constructed barbells. I've seen how they were made. I used to lift at a gym in Dayton, OH and one fell out of a third story window and split apart. Other than that, you could not break them.
Posted by Michael Ponzani on December 1,2010 | 06:29 PM
There were so many good bodybuilders from that era, how can you fit them all in? Inxcidently, go to YouTube and search for that 74 year old Japanese body builder who won the overall Masters contest last year. He doesn't look a day over 40, except for his white hair, which he sitll has a good deal of on his head; Where else?
Posted by Michael Ponzani on December 1,2010 | 06:17 PM
Jack Lalanne cartainly was right about the diet: no refined flour or sugar. He was sickly as a kid until someone told him abou that in a lecture on nutrition. His juicer looks good, too!
Posted by Michael Ponzani on December 1,2010 | 06:13 PM
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