STEVE REEVES: THE KING OF BODYBUILDING

By John Little

"As Tony Lanza (photographer) and Steve were walking along searching for a suitable location to begin shooting, suddenly they heard a crash behind them. A man had driven his automobile into another car. He climbed out of the wreck, raced up to Steve and shook his hand, saying "I just had an accident over there and I had to come over and congratulate you because you're the cause of it - I couldn't believe my eyes!"
-- Milton T. Moore

He was called "the body that launched a thousand careers;" a winner of the Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World titles and a man, as we've seen, who's god-like looks caused traffic accidents at busy intersections and drew crowds along busy Michigan beachfronts that followed him as a messiah. He was a man who made films that were not only inspirational and entertaining, but that also taught generations of film fans something about Greek, Roman, and Russian history. He was a man whose films inspired not only the average man in the street, but luminaries such as Winston Churchill, James Dean, Sylvestor Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bo Derek, Bruce Lee, Willie Mayes, Jesse Owens and the Heisman Trophy Association (which went so far as to craft a special trophy in his honor). Above all, however, he was a man who lived life on his own terms and refused to do otherwise; turning his back on Hollywood at the height of his popularity, having made enough money to fulfill his dream of owning and operating his own ranch. He would devote the rest of his life to breeding horses and researching and creating new exercises and bodybuilding methods that championed natural bodybuilding and fitness. This is the story and the legacy of this man; the legendary Steve Reeves -- the "king" of bodybuilding.

Having just completed the first ever film on Reeves' life and career (Steve Reeves: The Man. The Legend; see the ad elsewhere on this web site), along with my good friend George Helmer (a long time friend of Steve's, and the President of Classic Image Productions, a company devoted to preserving and perpetuating Reeve's legacy), I find myself in the unique position of knowing a fair bit about the incredible life that this man lived. In addition, I also had the pleasure of knowing Reeves quite well over a period of some 14 years. Many was the time where George and I would get together on an early Saturday morning and make the two-hour drive from Woodland Hills to Valley Center, California to interview or on occasion workout with Reeves (It was these weekly trips over a period of several years that resulted in my gathering most of the materials put to use in the film; the script from which I used as the basis of several articles in Ironman magazine about his life and training methods).

When I first met Reeves he had just turned sixty-years old, but his physique and appearance were unsettlingly youthful. I recall on one occasion discussing the subject of calf training, when he suddenly stood up and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a calf muscle that had to be at least 18 inches around and so beautifully formed that it looked as though Michelangelo had sculpted it out of living marble - and this at age 60! Moreover, I've spoken with others who knew Reeves very well in the mid to late 1950s who recall a time when it was "impossible" for Reeves to pull his pant leg up over his calf because it was even bigger!

I also recall working out with the former (and still the greatest) Hercules star shortly after he had just turned 70 and, if you'll forgive the vernacular, quite literally getting my "ass kicked" by him during a particularly brutal leg workout. However, rather than feeling embarrassed or humiliated by the fact that a man who was then thirty-five years my senior had left me in the dust during this workout, I felt instead both invigorated and inspired that a man could look that good and be that strong well into his "autumn years." Reeves not only showed bodybuilders how great the human body could look naturally (i.e., he never took a steroid in his life), and how masculine, dashing and handsome a leading man could appear in film, in addition to revealing how much more watchable and impressive action sequences in movies can appear when the star is muscular, but he also showed the world that growing old is not a death sentence one must resign oneself to, but was instead a chance to "start over" and maintain or build a physique and life that is every bit as enjoyable and impressive as when you were younger, and to do so with the wisdom that attends having passed through youthful exuberance, resulting in your being less likely to waste time on things that you don't enjoy and spending more time to fully realizing the totality of your human potential. As Nietzsche once said, "Ecce homo!" -- "Behold -- the Man!" -- and how he great he can be (and look) in all of the stages of his life.

To list all of Reeves' accomplishments would easily fill this web site, and be beyond the scope of this article. What I would like to focus on presently are some of his more noteworthy achievements, simply as a means of responding to the demand we've been receiving for "more information" on bodybuilding's greatest hero and icon. Just prior to his film career, which started in 1959 and quickly saw him become the most famous actor in the world, Reeves' handsome face and classically sculpted physique were eagerly sought after by the artistic community of America as classic subjects of inspiration and presentation. Dr. Avard Fairbanks, a Guggenheim Fellow and one of the world's leading art figures (known as the world's greatest sculptor of President Lincoln as well as the Pony Express Monument) said:

"Steve Reeves is the epitome of a man bringing his physique into harmony with the universe he is a part of. He's the grandest example I have ever seen of Michelangelo's dream come true. It is unfortunate Steve Reeves was not living during the Renaissance period, for the masters would have worn their hands to the bone making statues from him."

In bodybuilding competition, the greatest champions not only know of his greatness, but speak his name in hallowed tones:

"Steve Reeves' physique is perfect."
- Serigo Oliva, Mr. Olympia

"A few days before the [Mr. America] contest we heard rumors about a man who had throngs of people following him along the Lake Michigan Beach front, and we couldn't imagine who could draw crowds by merely walking along the beach!"
-- George Eiferman, Mr. America

"'Immortal' is the least word used to describe Steve Reeves. His photographs are just fantastic. He symbolized the perfect physique, and he was a legend in his own time. He has been a great inspiration to many of us in the field of bodybuilding."
-- Lou Ferrigno, Mr. Universe

"'Beautiful' was not a word you usually use in describing a man, but in his case it applies."
 - Bill Pearl, Mr. Universe

"The physique of the century."
- Reg Park, Mr. Universe

"The best looking, best built man God has ever created."
- Larry Scott, Mr. Olympia

"It was the Reeves movies more than anything else that inspired my training in the late 50's and early 60's" - Frank Zane, Mr. Olympia

"Michelangelo's concept of the perfectly formed man!"
- Vince Gironda

"He is a great man and has contributed much to the sport of bodybuilding … One of the best builds throughout the history of bodybuilding … Steve was a great inspiration to me."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Olympia

"I became interested in bodybuilding when I saw a muscle magazine with Steve Reeves' picture on the cover. I knew right then that was what I wanted to be."
-- Mike Mentzer, Mr. Universe.

The muscle magazines have likewise sung his praises over the decades to this day:

"The most admired, most looked up to, and most idolized bodybuilder of all."
-- Muscle Builder magazine

"The World's Best Built man"
- Ironman magazine

"Steve Reeves' phenomenal physique set new standards for bodybuilding … women still go bananas over him."
- Joe Weider, Muscle and Fitness magazine

"Mr. Everything…[he remains a] priceless inspiration to train and succeed in the wonderful world of bodybuilding."
-   Muscle Mag International

I distinctly recall a conversation I had in 1990 with Ben Weider, the long standing President of the International Federation Of Bodybuilders (I.F.B.B.), and a man who has seen all of the greatest bodybuilders - from "A" through "Z" - over the years. During the course of our dialogue, I asked him who he thought was the greatest bodybuilder of all time. His answer was immediate: "Steve Reeves." Similarly, veteran bodybuilding photographer, Russ Warner, who has literally "shot them all" over the years, summarized Reeves' uniqueness when he stated, "Let's face it; there is only one Steve Reeves…and I know as the years roll by and we are all dead and gone that Steve will live on in history as the greatest of all time in the field of physical culture, in addition to being one of the finest human beings that was ever created."

To many of us he remains the greatest physique of all time, which is quite a complement given that the muscle he built and displayed in winning the Mr. America, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe titles was all natural, as he relied on proper training (not drugs) to build it. His strength was prodigious; he could lift a barbell weighing in excess of 400 pounds - from the floor to his thighs (as though in a deadlift) with only the tips of his fingers! Lying face down on the floor he would have a training partner hold his ankles steady and he would then raise himself up to a kneeling position by simply contracting his
hamstrings - and he would do this for reps! In a now legendary strength contest between Armand Tanny, George Eiferman (considered the two strongest bodybuilders of their era) and Reeves to see who among them could barbell clean the most weight from a kneeling position, Reeves shocked all in attendance by cleaning the most at with a lift of 225 pounds. Reeves also routinely performed strict reps in the dumbbell incline curl with 90-pound dumbbells. He practically "invented" (and most certainly popularized) the incline bench for dumbbell presses, barbell presses and dumbbell curls and was the first bodybuilder to make extensive use of pulleys or cables in his training. Reeves is also generally considered to have had the most phenomenal symmetry ever seen in bodybuilding - perhaps, given some of the above testimony from members of the artistic community, ever seen in human history. There was not one muscle group on the Reeves' physique that was built at the expense of another; balance, proportion and symmetry were his touchstones and beauty was the result. Add to these attributes the fact that he was 6'1" in height, incredibly handsome, and a man of sterling character who was always willing to help out a friend but who would not be taken advantage of, a decorated war veteran who faced down enemy fire while defending his country in World War II, and you have all the ingredients for what has been termed a "real man's man;" a genuine American hero. This was why crowds followed him as though he were a god; this is why cars careened into each other when he took off his shirt; this was why the fans pursued him so feverishly that in preparing to compete in the Mr. Universe contest in London in the late 1940s, Reeves had to check into not one, but two hotels to avoid the crush of fans. And this is why of course movie goers went repeatedly to all sixteen of his feature films -- they had never seen such physical perfection before in their daily lives and wanted to behold the experience more frequently.

It's impressive to note that the muscle Reeves built during his but thrice weekly workouts (which will also be covered in this series) stayed within him throughout his life and did not disappear "a week after the contest" -- like the bloated, drug-induced muscles of so many of our contemporary physique champions. It was his physique, in fact, that allowed Reeves to become what many still consider to be the ideal romantic action hero; one who was embraced (rather than rejected) by the general public. One of his films played continuously in one theater 24-hours a day for over two years. I've always been personally impressed that he chose to portray in his films the legendary figures from history -- Aeneas (the surviving Trojan hero from Homer's Iliad), Hercules (the mythical Greek and Roman strongman), Romulus (the legendary founder of Rome), Philippides (the Athenian Olympic hero from 490 BC, who was sent before the battle at Marathon to Sparta for military aid; legend indicates that he ran 200 km in two days), Hadji Murad (from Leo Tolstoy's short story of the same name) and the famous buccaneer Henry Morgan, which, in turn, brought history and literary awareness to the masses not as a dreary succession of dates and reigns, but as a form of entertainment, simultaneously teaching them of people and events of different (in some cases ancient) cultures and their significance.

Reeves' performance as Hercules sent millions of young men into the gyms and gave birth to the worldwide bodybuilding and fitness craze as well as opening the door  -- where there had been no door before -- to the very concept of "muscles in movies." Before Vin Diesel, before Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The Rock," Jean-Claude Van Damme or Jackie Chan, there was Steve Reeves -- the world's
greatest action hero. Reeves did the majority of his own stunt work (including leaping horses over pianos inside of ballrooms!) and fight sequences as well, and they compare quite favorably today with the current crop of action heroes - and were performed with only the human body (albeit an exceptional one), as Reeves did not require wires, CGI machines or quick cutaways.

In addition, it was Reeves who single-handedly introduced the "Sword and Sandal" genre of film (recently popularized by Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe in Gladiator) to the world and an actor who refused to portray leading men as anything but virtuous and heroic (both in body and in character). Debbie Reynolds called him "the handsomest leading man in Hollywood" (during kissing scenes in his films many of his female co-stars actually refused to stop when the Director yelled "cut").

Reeves' films and physique inspired (and continue to inspire) millions the world over, including many of Hollywood's elite and major sporting heroes. Worth singling out are the star of "10" Bo Derrick, The Incredible Hulk' Lou Ferrigno, and Arnold Scharzenegger (Conan, The Terminator). Even today Reeves has a
fan club, the Steve Reeves International Society (www.stevereeves.com) that boasts a worldwide membership that numbers in the thousands, and he remains to this day the standard by which all action heroes are measured.

Article copyright © 2003, John Little. All Rights Reserved. All photo's used in this article are property of Steve Reeves International, Inc. and are used with permission.